HECS-HELP loan

HECS-HELP is the government loan scheme that assists eligible Commonwealth supported students in paying their student contribution fees.

Eligible students must:

be studying in a Commonwealth supported place;
be an Australian citizen; or
be a New Zealand Special Category Visa holder who meets the long-term residency requirements; or
be a permanent humanitarian visa holder; or
be a pacific engagement visa (PEV) holder;
be enrolled in each unit at your university by the census date;
meet the relevant HECS-HELP residency requirements;
submit a valid Request for Commonwealth support and HECS‑HELP form by the census date (or earlier administrative date) to your university.

Whilst eligible for Commonwealth support, other New Zealand citizens and permanent residents are not eligible to defer their student contribution amounts to HECS-HELP and must pay their fees upfront. More information is available at Study Assist.

Please note:

All students with a Commonwealth supported place (including those paying upfront) must submit a Commonwealth Assistance Form (CAF) via the Student System to confirm your place and choose to defer your fees. Even if you don’t want to defer your fees, you still need to submit a CAF.

How to apply

To defer your student contribution fees to a HECS-HELP loan, you must complete a Commonwealth Assistance Form (CAF) before enrolling.

To submit a Request for HECS-HELP form:

Have your Tax File Number (TFN) and Unique Student Identifier (USI) number with you.
Access the Student System.
Select My Tasks.
Complete your required tasks - the HECS-HELP form will be presented to eligible students for completion.
Click Respond, complete required fields and submit the form.

You cannot proceed with enrolment until this form has been submitted.

To view a record of your form:

Go to My Study.
Select Manage My Course.
Select Government Assistance.
Search for and view the form.

How to complete My Tasks

Completing your finance forms in My Tasks.

How to navigate My Study

Viewing a record of your form in My Study.

Studying a combined degree?

You must submit a separate form for each course of study. Your onboarding tasks will appear in the system once you've accepted your offer in each course.

Frequently asked questions

What if I don't have a tax file number (TFN)?

If you are a Commonwealth supported student and you will be obtaining a HECS-HELP loan for all or part of your student contributions, then you must include your tax file number (TFN) or supply a Certificate of application for a TFN on your Commonwealth Assistance Form (CAF).

If you don't yet have one, you should apply for a TFN as soon as possible.

If you do not supply a tax file number or Certificate of application for a TFN to the University then you will be unable to obtain a HECS-HELP loan and will need to pay your student contribution amount up-front.

Note: If you are a Commonwealth supported student, and you are not eligible for a HECS-HELP loan or you will be paying all of your student contribution amounts upfront, then you do not need to supply your TFN on your CAF.

If your student contribution amount remains unpaid after the relevant due date your enrolment will be cancelled.

More information at Study Assist.

Apply for a tax file number at the Australian Tax Office.

What is my Commonwealth Assistance Notice?

A Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) is a statement of your enrolment, a record of the Commonwealth assistance you have accessed as part of your studies and shows what has been deferred via a HELP program for future payment through the Australian Taxation Office.

Your CAN is not an invoice and does not require payment. If you're enrolled in semester and non-semester topics you may receive multiple CANs within the same semester. CANs are generated based on the census date for each topic you're studying.

A CAN is provided to all students who have received Commonwealth assistance, and will include:

information about your enrolment
HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, OS-HELP and SA-HELP loan amounts
any up-front payments (student contributions) you've made
any loan fee(s) you have incurred.

In accordance with Commonwealth legislation, you'll be provided with a CAN within 28 days:

of a topics’ census date for which you've received Commonwealth assistance via HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP
of the date the debt is incurred for SA-HELP and OS-HELP.

You’ll receive a notification to your Flinders email address when your Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) is available. You can also access your CAN in the Student System:

Go to My Details.
Select Communication.
Search for Commonwealth Assistance Notice Report.
Click View to see or download the document.

Why do my fees appear as overdue in the Student System when I have submitted my HECS-HELP form?

When viewing the information on your finance dashboard in the Student System, it may appear that your fees are overdue even when a valid HECS-HELP form has been submitted.

If you know that you've successfully submitted a Commonwealth Assistance (CAF) HELP form in the Student System, then simply ignore your student contribution fees/amenities fees listed. Fees will remain listed until after the census date when they are deferred.

You can check if your HELP form has been submitted successfully by viewing your financial summary:

Log into the Student System.
Go to My Overview.
Select Financial Summary.

HELP loan limits in 2025

The 2018 Student Loan Sustainability Bill introduced a combined HELP loan limit that applies from 1 January 2020.

The combined HELP loan limit replaced the FEE-HELP limit and includes HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP.

Only HECS-HELP borrowings from 1 January 2020 count towards a person's HELP limit. This means that any HECS-HELP loans taken out before 2020 does not count towards the HELP limit.

For 2025, the combined HELP loan limit will be $126,839 for most students. For students undertaking medicine, dentistry, veterinary science or eligible aviation courses, the HELP loan limit will be $182,172.

From the 2019-2020 income year, repayments made towards HELP loans will top up your HELP balance.

Any compulsory or voluntary repayments can be re-borrowed in the future, up to the then current HELP loan limit.

How do I repay my HECS-HELP loan?

You don't need to start repaying your HECS-HELP debt until your income is above the minimum threshold for compulsory repayment.

In the 2024 - 2025 tax year the income threshold is $54,435. Visit the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) website for more information about repayments, including early voluntary repayments.

To check your current outstanding HELP balance, you can either contact the ATO on 13 28 61 or log in to myGov and click on the 'Accounts' tab to access your 'loan accounts'.

For more information about accessing your current outstanding HELP balance, visit the ATO's Repaying your student debt website.