SA-HELP loan

SA-HELP loan scheme

SA-HELP is a loan scheme that assists eligible students to pay their student services and amenities fee.

Eligible students can choose to defer all or part of their fee for the relevant year.

To obtain a SA-HELP loan you need to meet all the following conditions:

be an Australian citizen, hold a permanent humanitarian visa or be a New Zealand citizen who has been a long-term resident of Australia since childhood and meet certain eligibility criteria (see the Study Assist website for details), or a pacific engagement visa (PEV) holder who will be resident in Australia for the duration of your topic(s)
be enrolled in a course of study;
meet the tax file number (TFN) requirements by providing either your TFN or Certificate of application for a tax file number as proof that you have applied for a TFN (you can obtain this document from the ATO); and
have lodged your Request for SA-HELP assistance form by the census date.

Non-award and cross-institutional study are not eligible for SA-HELP, except for those students participating in the Bridging for Overseas Trained Professionals (BOTP) program.

How to apply for a SA-HELP loan

To defer student services and amenities fees you must complete a SA-HELP form in addition to your HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP request form.

What is the due date for the SA-HELP assistance form?

You need to submit your SA-HELP assistance form by the census date for the topics concerned.

You can complete and submit your SA-HELP form through the Flinders Student system in the 'My Commonwealth Support' section.

Apply through the Flinders Student system

Key dates

Can I apply for a SA-HELP loan if I don't have another fee loan?

Yes, if you meet the eligibility requirement.

Only Australian citizens, permanent humanitarian visa holders and New Zealand citizens who have been long-term residents of Australia since childhood and meet certain eligibility criteria, or a pacific engagement visa (PEV) holder who will be resident in Australia for the duration of your topics(s) are eligible to defer fees using HELP loans.

Other New Zealand citizens and permanent residents are not eligible to defer fees and must pay their student services and amenities fees upfront.

View more information at Study Assist

Apply through the Flinders Student system

Do I need to apply every year?

No, once you have successfully lodged your Request for SA-HELP assistance, it is valid for the length of your course.

If you are studying multiple courses, then you must submit a Request for SA-HELP assistance form for each course.

If you transfer from one course to another, you must submit a new Request for SA-HELP assistance form for the new course.

In some cases, where you are readmitted to a course of study that you have been absent from, you may need to submit a new Request for SA-HELP assistance form for that course.

You can complete and submit your SA-HELP form through the Flinders Student system in the 'My Commonwealth Support' section.

Apply through the Flinders Student system

What if I don't submit the form by the due date?

If you don't submit your form by the due date -census date- you will need to pay the student services and amenities fee that apply for all enrolled topics, up to the date that you submit your form.

When your form has been submitted and approved, all student services and amenities fees for census dates, on or after the submission date, will be deferred to your SA-HELP loan.

Any unpaid student services and amenities fees will be subject to the University's Students with Outstanding Debt policy.

Apply through the Flinders Student system

Key dates

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 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.

If I withdraw from my topic will I still have the SA-HELP debt?

If you withdraw before the census date for your enrolled topics, you will not have a SA-HELP debt.

If you withdraw after the census date for your enrolled topics, you will have a SA-HELP debt. The University cannot remove or change this debt as your loan is with the Commonwealth government.

More information at Study Assist

Apply through the Flinders Student system

Key dates

How do I repay the SA-HELP loan?

You do not need to start repaying your SA-HELP debt until your income is above the minimum income threshold for compulsory repayment.

In the 2024 - 2025 tax year the income threshold is $54,435.

Visit the Australian Taxation Office 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.