Domestic student financial assistance

Commonwealth supported place

You are eligible to access a Commonwealth supported place if you:

Are an Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen or permanent visa holder
Study an undergraduate degree or eligible graduate entry bachelor degree or a postgraduate course which the University has allocated you a Commonwealth supported place
Meet the eligibility requirements outlined by the Australian Government

If you are enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place, the Australian Government will subsidise your fees and you will only be liable for a student contribution amount.

To be eligible for a Commonwealth supported place, you must:

Meet the citizenship and residency requirements
Submit a valid Commonwealth Assistance Form (CAF) before the census date (via the Student System)
Enrol in at least one topic prior to census date

Most domestic students will be offered a Commonwealth supported place.

Help completing your CAF and HELP forms

Further information about Commonwealth supported places is available at Study Assist.

Full fee paying place

A Full fee-paying place is one that is offered to students who are not eligible for a Commonwealth supported place.

As a fee-paying student you may be eligible for Commonwealth assistance via a HELP loan.

To be eligible for a Commonwealth assistance, you must:

Meet the citizenship and residency requirements
Submit a valid Commonwealth Assistance Form (CAF) before the census date (via the Student System)
Enrol in at least one topic prior to census date

Higher Education Loan Programs (HELP)

There are four Higher Education Loan Programs (HELP) that allow you to defer payment of your fees:

HECS-HELP	This loan scheme is only available to students enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place and allows you to defer payment of your student contribution amounts.
FEE-HELP	This loan scheme is only available to eligible students in a fee-paying place and allows you to defer your course fees.
SA-HELP	This loan scheme allows you to defer your Student Services and Amenities Fees.
OS-HELP	This loan scheme is available to students in a Commonwealth supported place who undertake some of their studies overseas and defer some associated costs through the HELP system.

If you choose to use a HELP loan, the Australian Government pays your fee amount directly to Flinders University on your behalf and a HELP debt is recorded with the Australian Taxation Office against your tax file number.

To access a HELP scheme, you will need to complete a relevant Commonwealth Assistance Form via the Student System. You must complete a separate HELP form for each loan type you would like to access (eg. HECS-HELP and SA-HELP forms).

You need to start repaying your HELP debt through the taxation system once your income reaches the compulsory repayment threshold.

Further information about HELP is available at Study Assist.

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 are 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 are 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 have made
Any loan fee(s) you have incurred

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

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

You will receive a notification to your Flinders email account when your CAN is available. You can access your CAN via the Student System under the ‘My Documents’ tab.

Further assistance and advice

If you require further assistance and advice, Student Assist - which is a part of FUSA - provides a free and confidential financial counselling service which can negotiate and advocate on your behalf with creditors as well as provide you with information on student grants, student loans and emergency assistance that may be available to you.