Australian citizens and holders of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa may pay their student contribution or tuition fee up front or they may request a Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loan. Holders of other Australian permanent visas and New Zealand citizens may have access to a Commonwealth supported place, but are not able to access HECS-HELP and must pay their student contribution up front.

There are two main types of HELP loans:

• HECS-HELP is for eligible Commonwealth supported students to pay their student contribution
   
• FEE-HELP is for eligible fee paying students to pay their tuition fees.

Students wanting to access a HELP loan will need to provide their Tax File Number to their higher education provider by the census date.

ACCUMULATED HELP DEBT

On 1 June 2012, any HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, VET FEE-HELP, or OS-HELP debts incurred in 2011 become part of your 'accumulated HELP debt'.

Your accumulated HELP debt also includes any unpaid debts you incurred before 2005, such as Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) and Postgraduate Education Loan Scheme (PELS) debts.

All HELP debts are indexed each year according to movements in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to maintain their real value, but are otherwise interest free.

If you are an Australian permanent resident but not an Australian citizen or a permanent humanitarian visa holder you will have to pay your student contribution or tuition fees up front.

HECS-HELP FOR ELIGIBLE COMMONWEALTH SUPPORTED STUDENTS

Australian citizens and holders of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa in a Commonwealth supported place may:

• pay all of their student contribution up front, or
   
• receive a HECS-HELP loan for the full student contribution, or
   
• pay some of the student contribution up front and receive a HECS-HELP loan for the remainder of the student contribution.

If a student receives a HECS-HELP loan, then the government pays the loan amount directly to the provider on the student's behalf and a HECS-HELP debt is recorded for the student with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

There are no fees charged on HECS-HELP loans.

If an Australian citizen or holder of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa pays all, or at least $500, of their student contribution up front, then they will receive a 20 per cent discount on the amount paid up front.

HECS-HELP BENEFIT

The HECS-HELP benefit encourages maths, science, education and nursing graduates who meet certain conditions to take up employment in related occupations.

If you are eligible for the HECS-HELP benefit the amount of your compulsory repayment in an income year will be reduced by the amount of the HECS-HELP benefit.

For more information on the HECS-HELP benefit visit the Going to Uni website at www.goingtouni.gov.au or the ATO website at www.ato.gov.au or phone 13 2861.

FEE-HELP FOR ELIGIBLE FEE-PAYING STUDENTS

Australian citizens and holders of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa in a fee paying place may:

• pay the full tuition fee up front, or
   
• receive a FEE-HELP loan for the full tuition fee, or

• pay some of the tuition fee up front and receive a FEE-HELP loan for the remainder of the tuition fee.

There are no discounts if a student pays any of their tuition fee up front.

If a student receives a FEE-HELP loan, then the government pays the loan amount directly to the provider on the student's behalf and a FEE-HELP debt is recorded for the student with the ATO.

A 25 per cent loan fee applies to undergraduate FEE-HELP loan amounts when the debt is created (for example, a loan for tuition fees of $1,000, will attract a loan fee of $250, so that the debt is $1,250). From 1 January 2011 students may borrow over their lifetime up to $86,422 in tuition fees under FEE-HELP, or $108,029 for students studying dentistry, medicine or veterinary science (this limit excludes the loan fee).

REPAYING A HELP LOAN

If you have a HELP debt you must make compulsory repayments through income tax assessments when your income reaches the minimum threshold which is $47,196 for the 2011-12 income year.

The amount of any compulsory repayment to be made depends on your income each income year. You can also make voluntary repayments direct to the ATO to reduce your HELP debts. Voluntary repayments of $500 or more attract a 10 per cent bonus. For example, if a voluntary repayment of $500 is made then the outstanding HELP debt is reduced by $550.

For more information on the repayment of HELP loans, visit the Going to Uni website at www.goingtouni.gov.au or the ATO website at www.ato.gov.au or phone 13 2861.