Commonwealth assistance

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Commonwealth assistance

Commonwealth supported place

A Commonwealth supported place (CSP) is a place at university where the Government pays part of your tuition fees and you cover the remaining amount. This remaining cost is known as your student contribution amount.

The student contribution amount must be paid or, if you are eligible, deferred to a HECS-HELP loan on or before the census date.

The following courses are Commonwealth supported at ECU:

Enabling
Bachelor
Associate Diploma
Honours
select Postgraduate courses

If you are enrolled in an enabling course, you are required to complete a 'Request for a Commonwealth Supported Place in a FEE-FREE Uni ready course'.

All students enrolled in a Commonwealth supported course are required to complete the 'Request for a Commonwealth supported place and HECS-HELP loan' form on our Student Information Management Online (SIMO) system.

Help loans

There are four different types of HELP loans available to students.

Your eligibility for each type of loan depends on what it is being used for and your citizenship and residency status.

You can determine your eligibility by answering a few questions.

HECS-HELP

If you are enrolled in a CSP, HECS-HELP allows you to defer the payment of your student contribution amount, which is the portion of the fees that you are required to pay.

If you aren't enrolled in a CSP, you are enrolled in a fee-paying place refer to FEE-HELP.

To request a HECS-HELP loan you will need to complete the 'Request for a Commonwealth supported place and HECS-HELP loan' form on our Student Information Management Online (SIMO) system on or before the census date.

For detailed eligibility requirements refer to Study Assist HECS-HELP.

FEE-HELP

If you are enrolled in a fee-paying place, FEE-HELP allows you to defer the payment of your fees.

To request a FEE-HELP loan you will need to complete the 'Request for a FEE-HELP loan’ form on our Student Information Management Online (SIMO) system on or before the census date.

For detailed eligibility requirements refer to Study Assist FEE-HELP.

SA-HELP

SA-HELP allows you to defer payment of your Student Services and Amenities Fee.

To request an SA-HELP loan you will need to complete the 'Request for a SA-HELP loan’ form on our Student Information Management Online (SIMO) system on or before the census date.

For detailed eligibility requirements refer to Study Assist SA-HELP.

OS-HELP

OS-HELP is a loan scheme to assist eligible undergraduate students to undertake some of their Australian course of study overseas.

To apply for an OS-HELP loan you will need to complete and submit an OS-HELP Loan Application form.

For detailed eligibility requirements refer to Study Assist OS-HELP.

Charged rates

Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible to access a reduced student contribution amount under the grandfathered arrangement or if you are enrolled in professional pathway psychology or professional pathway social work units.

Grandfathered student contribution bands

Students completing ongoing studies they commenced before 2021 may be eligible for grandfathered amounts.

New students in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) are charged non-grandfathered student contribution amounts.

Grandfathered students (pre-2021)

You are considered to be a grandfathered student if any of the following applies:

you commenced a course with ECU in a Commonwealth supported place before 1 January 2021 and are continuing in that course
you completed a course of study in a Commonwealth supported place on or before 31 December 2020 and, on or after 1 January 2021, you commence an honours course that relates to the earlier course
you were undertaking an enabling course in 2020 and, on or after 1 January 2021, you commence another course of study in a Commonwealth supported place, leading to a higher education award
you were undertaking an undergraduate certificate/diploma course in 2020 and, on or after 1 January 2021, you commence another course of study that relates to the undergraduate course and that is leading to a bachelor degree

Study must be continuous between courses where grandfathering is related to an 'ongoing course'. Any changes you make to your ongoing course of study could impact your grandfathered status.

Refer to Grandfathered Scenarios for examples of when the grandfathered fee rate rule applies.

Non-grandfathered students (post 2021)

From 1 January 2021, all students who are commencing a course of study in a CSP will pay the new student contribution amount.

You will also be considered a non-grandfathered student if you started your course before 2021 and make changes to that ongoing course. This includes if you:

change your course of study to a new course
change your course of study to a new course by moving from a double/combined degree to a single degree
change your single degree to a double/combined degree
change your residency status to become a Commonwealth Supported student.

Refer to Non Grandfathered Scenarios for examples of when the non-grandfathered fee rate rule applies.

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