The Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) is a compulsory fee approved by the Australian Government (see the Higher Education Legislation Amendment (Student Services and Amenities) Act 2011), and are set in accordance with the SSAF rules.
The purpose of the SSAF is to provide student services and amenities beyond those required for the academic work of the University.
At ECU, proceeds from the SSAF are allocated to a range of services and initiatives in areas including health, counselling, sport and recreation, social clubs and societies, student welfare, careers advice, student advocacy, orientation, production and dissemination of media to students, and student representation.
Your SSAF is automatically charged when you enrol in your units. You must pay the SSAF by the due date on your Statement of Account.
The SSAF is payable in semester one and/or semester two according to your study load in the first or second half of the year. Please note, if you are enrolled in the Summer Session (December - January), your Student Services and Amenities Fee will be charged in semester one of the new year.
Eligible students will be able to defer payment of the SSAF through the SA-HELP scheme. You must complete the Request for SA-HELP form prior to the census date for the teaching period you are enrolled in. The Request for SA-HELP form is available on SIMO. If you are enrolled in non-award or cross-institutional unit(s) at ECU, you are not eligible to defer SSAF to a SA-HELP loan.
If the census date has passed, you cannot apply for a SA-HELP loan for the current semester and you are required to make an up-front payment of the SSAF.
If you do not pay the amount owing on your Statement of Account by the due date, an encumbrance will be placed on your student record which will prevent you from seeing your exam results, being able to obtain an academic transcript, or from graduating.
You are exempt from paying SSAF if you are:
The Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) Advisory Forum will meet on 17 April 2024 to discuss how to allocate income from the 2024 SSAF, the annual fee payable by all students for services and amenities at ECU.
If you would like to comment on how the Fee is spent, please refer to the ‘Student Services and Amenities Fee 2024: Funding priorities for student feedback’ under the Downloads tab, and email your feedback by 5pm on Tuesday, 16 April 2024.
Feedback may be directed to:
SSAF@ecu.edu.au or to the ECU Student Guild President, Sarah Rizwan via president@ecuguild.org.au.
SSAF is calculated based on your enrolled study load, your location and your study mode. The maximum SSAF charge is $351 in 2024.
| Enrolment Mode | Instalments per year | Instalment Due Dates | Part-time Costs per Instalment | Full-time** Cost per Instalment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vocational Education and Training (VET) WAAPA | 1 | Full Year (16 May) | $175.50 | $351.00 |
| On-Campus | 2 | Semester 1 (11 March) Semester 2 (12 August) | $87.75 | $175.50 |
| Fully Off-Campus* | 2 | Semester 1 (11 March) Semester 2 (12 August) | $52.65 | $52.65 |
| Fully Off-Campus Accelerated | 6 | Accelerated 1 (16 January) Accelerated 2 (13 March) Accelerated 3 (8 May) Accelerated 4 (10 July) Accelerated 5 (4 September) Accelerated 6 (30 October) | $21.06 | $21.06 |
* Enrolment in one or more on-campus units will incur the on-campus fee.
** Full-time means a study load of at least 75% of the normal full-time load for the relevant period.