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Australian citizens, eligible New Zealand citizens, some permanent humanitarian visa holders and Pacific engagement visa (PEV) holders  who are enrolled in an award program (eg bachelor degrees and other undergraduate awards) are eligible to defer their fees to HECS-HELP, providing they successfully complete the HECS-HELP Commonwealth Assistance Form  on or before the census date of their first course in their current session/semester and provide their Tax File Number.

Undergraduate students enrolled at ANU on a cross-institutional basis may use HECS-HELP as long as they provide written advice from their home institution confirming that the course will be counted towards their program of study at their home institution and that they hold a Commonwealth supported place.

The Commonwealth Assistance Form (CAF) is a legal document whereby you accept and agree to the conditions of your Commonwealth supported place.

If you are enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place, you must submit a completed Commonwealth Assistance Form on or before the census date of your first course in their current session/semester.

If you do not successfully submit your CAF by the census date, you will no longer be eligible for Commonwealth support and your enrolment will be cancelled.

When you sign your request form, you are:

• confirming that you have read the  provided by Study Assist and the Commonwealth Assistance Form, and are aware of your obligations under HECS-HELP
• requesting the Australian government to provide you with a loan for the amount of your outstanding student contribution at the census date for each course of study covered by the form and to pay this amount directly to ANU on your behalf
• agreeing to begin repaying the loan to the Australian Government, through the taxation system, when your income for an income year is above the minimum repayment threshold for compulsory repayment.

The HELP loan limit will be $126,839 for most students with census dates in 2025. If a student is undertaking a medicine, dentistry, or veterinary science course, the HELP limit is $ 182,172.

From 1 January 2020, the Australian Government introduced the combined HELP loan limit which is a cap on what you can borrow to cover the costs of your tuition fees for your Undergraduate and Postgraduate degrees.

• Any HECS-HELP debt prior to 1 January 2020 will not be included in the combined HELP loan limit.
• Any previous FEE-HELP debt will be included in the combined HELP loan limit.

Eligible students may borrow up to the HELP limit to pay tuition fees over their lifetime.

When you use HELP to pay tuition fees, the amount you may borrow in the future is reduced. Once you have borrowed up to the HELP limit (the indexed amount at that time), you will no longer be able to receive HELP to pay tuition fees.

You may choose to pay part of your student contribution up-front and defer the remainder through HECS-HELP. To do this, you must apply for HECS-HELP assistance then simply pay the desired portion of student contribution by using one of the standard payment methods. Any remaining amount at the relevant course census date will automatically be deferred to the HECS-HELP loan as long as you have supplied your tax file number and have not reached the HELP limit.

Student who meet the eligibility requirements to defer their fees to HECS-HELP will be asked to provide your tax file number (TFN) when completing and submitting the  HECS-HELP Commonwealth Assistance Form.

If you choose not to provide your TFN, you will not be entitled to defer your fees to HECS-HELP and will be required to pay your fees up front.

If you cannot quote your TFN when you enrol, you should either, obtain a TFN, or a "Certificate of Application" for a tax file number (TFN) from the Australian Taxation Office. Please be aware that it can take several weeks to obtain a TFN.

If you have applied for a TFN and have not received your TFN before Census date, please ensure you submit a copy of your "Certificate of Application" from the Australian Taxation Office and a copy of your Australia Post "Application Receipt" to Student Central on or before Census date. Information on how to apply for a TFN can be found on the website.

Once you have been issued with your TFN, you will need to update your student record immediately.

ANU will use your TFN to report your loan details to the Australian Taxation Office regarding the amount of your loan.

You must submit your HECS-HELP Commonwealth Assistance Form (CAF) online through ANUHub on or before the census date of your first course in your current session/semester.

For eligible students, tuitions fees will be deferred shortly after the census date.

If you do not successfully submit your HECS-HELP CAF by the relevant census date, you will no longer be eligible for Commonwealth support and your enrolment will be cancelled. Please note that census date deadlines cannot be extended.

You will need to submit a new HECS-HELP Commonwealth Assistance Form if you transfer from one program to another.

Within 28 days after the census date for the relevant course(s), ANU will provide you with a electronic Commonwealth Assistance Notice (eCAN) for that course. Your eCAN will be available on ANUHub by selecting 'account details' from the menu and then selecting 'eCAN'. An eCAN is the electronic Commonwealth Assistance Notice which provides you with information on your HECS-HELP debt for your course(s) and may cover more than one course.

You can check the notice if the calculation of your HECS-HELP debt for the courses covered by the notice is correct.

If you believe the eCAN is incorrect, you should submit a written request to Student Central within 14 days of the date of your eCAN asking for the eCAN to be corrected. You should identify which parts of the eCAN that you believe are not correct and specify why you believe they are incorrect.

Students can access the link for a summary of their personal details regarding Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) assistance. This can be access through the website or by going directly to the webpage. Using their Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN), Unique Student Identifier (USI) and other personal identifying data, students can view their HELP usage as reported to the Department of Education by ANU and other institutions. However this may not show your most recent courses taken so please check your eCAN.

If you drop a course after the census date has passed or fail a course, you still remain liable for the debt associated with that course/s. It does not matter whether or not you attended any classes.

If you have successfully completed a course, you are not eligible to apply to have your HECS-HELP debt removed for that course.

To apply for a remission of HECS-HELP debt in special circumstances, you must apply for a late withdrawal. You must submit your application for late withdrawal to ANU within twelve months after your withdrawal date.

Late Withdrawals may be granted if you encounter unavoidable and unexpected extenuating circumstances that impede your successful completion of a course where the circumstances occur or are exacerbated after the census date. Each application will be examined and determined on its merits.

Your available HELP balance is the amount you are still able to borrow under the HELP loan limit. The HELP loan limit is renewable.

You can top up your available HELP balance by making repayments on your HELP debt. This will allow you to borrow that amount again in the future by increasing your available HELP balance.

Any voluntary repayments you make will top up your HELP balance as soon as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) tells the Department of Education about your repayments.

Any compulsory repayments will top up your HELP balance once:

• you have completed your tax return and have been issued a notice of assessment; and
• the ATO notifies the department of any repayments you made on your HELP debt.

Your fortnightly pay as you go (PAYG) repayments will not impact your HELP balance until you complete your annual tax return, and it is processed by the ATO.

For students who already have a HELP debt, only repayments made after 1 July 2019 will top up your available HELP balance.

You start repaying your accumulated HELP debt when your repayment income is above the minimum repayment threshold for compulsory repayment. The repayment thresholds are adjusted each year to reflect any changes in average weekly earnings.

When your repayment income is above the minimum repayment threshold for any particular year, the Australian Taxation Office will calculate your compulsory repayment for that year and include it on your income tax notice of assessment.

Your compulsory repayment increases as your income increases. The more you earn, the higher your repayment. Your compulsory repayment is based on your income alone, not the income of your parents or spouse.

You must start repaying your debt when your repayment income is above the minimum repayment threshold, even if you are still studying.