FEE-HELP is an Australian Government loan scheme to assist Australian citizens, Australian humanitarian permanent resident visa holders, former Australian Humanitarian Permanent Resident visa holders and eligible New Zealand citizens to pay part or all of their tuition fees. It is available for UTS College diploma programs.

How do I pay my fees using FEE-HELP?

Each semester, you will receive an invoice for the following semester tuition fees. If you are an approved FEE-HELP student, then you have the option of paying all of the fees noted on the invoice, some of the fees or to ignore the invoice.

Any subject fees that are not paid by the census date will be paid by FEE-HELP and added to your FEE-HELP loan along with a 20% loan fee applied by the Australian Government.

Immediately after the census date each semester, we will send you a CAN (Commonwealth Assistance Notice) confirming your FEE-HELP debt for that semester. This loan will need to be repaid through the taxation system when your income level reaches the repayment threshold. Learn more about repayments on the Australian Government Study Assist website.

The Pass Rate Requirement to maintain your eligibility for the FEE-HELP loan scheme

If you began your current enrolment with UTS College on or after 1 January 2018 and apply for FEE-HELP, the 50% pass rate will apply. More information is available at Study Assist.

This means that once you have undertaken 4 or more units in your diploma course, you must have passed at least 50% of your total attempted units in order to remain eligible for FEE-HELP. For example, if you are enrolled in the first semester of your diploma course,  you undertake 4 units and fail 3, you will not be eligible to access FEE-HELP in the second semester. You would have needed to pass at least 2 units. Then if in the second semester, having paid for your units upfront you undertook another 4 units (8 units in total), you would need to pass 3 of those in order to re-establish your FEE-HELP eligibility in the third semester (i.e. 8 units attempted and 4 passed). What you need to ensure is that you pass at least 50% of your total attempted units across your course of study. Otherwise you will have to pay the tuition fees upfront until you improve your pass rate.

If you choose to change courses or providers, your completion rate does not follow you, allowing you to re-set the clock on the 50 per cent pass rate. You may choose to pay for units up-front in your course to allow you to increase your success rate and regain eligibility for Commonwealth assistance.

If you have a low completion rate and you can demonstrate 'special circumstances' have adversely affected your academic performance, UTS College can allow consideration for these impacts.

Withdrawing after census date

If you withdraw from a subject or your program after the census date you will still incur a FEE-HELP debt.

How can I apply for FEE-HELP?

You can apply for FEE-HELP at any stage in your program, but you must submit your application before the start of the semester that you plan to use it for. To apply, you will need to complete a ‘Request for a FEE-HELP loan – Non-university  higher education providers'  form, which is available online through eStudent. Your offer letter will provide guidance on how to complete the form.

For more information refer to:

Who to contact for help

For more information regarding FEE-HELP, check the frequently asked questions on the How to Apply for FEE-HELP page or contact the Student Centre.