Fees for Undergraduate Degrees

On this page...

1. Student Contribution Amounts for Commonwealth Supported Students
2. Students who commenced study prior to 2005
3. Students who commenced study prior to 1997
4. What is the Equivalent Full-time Study Load (EFTSL) value for my subjects?
5. Calculating the student contribution amount for a subject
6. What if I'm doing subjects from different subject clusters?
7. How do I find out what I've been charged?
8. HECS-HELP
9. What is a census date?
10. Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN)

See also...

• Interactive HECS-HELP Loan Calculator
• Student Finance Self Help Guides

 1. Student Contribution Amounts for Commonwealth Supported Students

All domestic undergraduate places in 2008 will be Commonwealth Supported Places. The Australian Government contributes, on average, about three quarters of the funding of education costs for Commonwealth supported places. Commonwealth supported students are required to pay a student contribution amount to cover the remaining costs of their course.

Student contribution amounts are calculated per subject based on the Equivalent Full-time Study Load (EFTSL) value of the subject and the subject cluster it belongs to.

Subject clusters and student contribution amounts for 1.0 EFTSL of study are listed in the table below:

 2 .Students who commenced study prior to 2005

Students who commenced their study prior to 2005 may be considered pre-2005 students (click here for more information). The student contribution amounts for pre-2005 students are below and these will remain the same until the end of 2008.

3 .Students who commenced study prior to 1997

Students who commenced study prior to 1997 will continue to pay student contribution amounts at the flat rate of $3,001 per EFTSL for all subjects.

 4. What is the Equivalent Full-time Study Load (EFTSL) value for my subjects?

EFTSL values for each subject are calculated based on what fraction of a standard full-time load the subject represents.

For the majority of courses, one year of full-time study (1 EFTSL) is 48 credit points. The EFTSL value of individual subjects is then determined by dividing the credit points of that subject by the annual load of 48 credit points.

For example, a 6 credit point subject represents 6/48 of a full-time load, which gives 0.125 as the EFTSL value.

As EFTSL values for some courses are different, students are encouraged to view the EFTSL values for individual subjects by checking the subject details in the subject database. If your course has a different EFTSL value for that subject, your course code will be listed under Weighted Courses.

 5. Calculating the student contribution amount for a subject

The formula for calculating the student contribution amount for a subject is as follows:

If the final amount for a subject consists of whole dollars and a number of cents, it is rounded down to the nearest dollar.

For example:
John has enrolled in ACCY100 which is an Accounting subject worth 6 credit points (0.125 EFTSL). The student contribution amount for this subject is therefore:
$8,499 x 0.125 = $1,062.38 = $1062 (rounded down)

 6. What if I'm doing subjects from different subject clusters?

You can still calculate your student contribution amount in the same way, but will need to calculate each subject cluster separately.

For example
Anne is enrolling in a Bachelor of Arts. In 2007, she is enrolling in 5 Arts subjects, 2 Commerce subjects and 1 Law subject. Each subject is 6 credit points (0.125 EFTSL). Anne's student contribution amounts for these subjects will be:

$5,095 x (5 x 0.125) = $3,184 +
$8,499 x (2 x 0.125) = $1,124 +
$8,499 x (1 x 0.125) = $1,062
Total = $5,370

 7. How do I find out what I've been charged?

For those students who elect to make a partial or full upfront payment of their Student Contribution Amounts, the amount payable will appear on your Fee Statement which can be accessed through SOLS. The amount quoted will include the 20% discount for students who pay upfront.

Students who apply for HECS-HELP and do not elect to make an upfront payment will not have any student contribution amounts quoted on their fee statement. This information will be available from your SOLS Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) which is provided 28 days after each census date.

 8. HECS-HELP

This is a loan program to assist students with their student contribution amounts. This replaces the previous HECS deferment options. The deadline for applying for HECS-HELP is the census date for each session.

• Information about applying for HECS-HELP

 9. What is a census date?

The census date is the date by which you must have finalised your subject selection and payment for a particular session. If you have applied for HECS-HELP, any unpaid student contribution amounts are automatically added to your HECS-HELP debt after the census date for that session has passed.

After the census date, the University is required to send information to the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) about how much Student Learning Entitlement (SLE) you have consumed for the session, as well as any student contribution amounts that need to be added to your HECS-HELP debt.

Census dates for 2008 are:

Students enrolling in non-standard sessions (e.g. Distance or Intensive mode subjects) that are not listed above should check the subject database to find out the census dates for the subjects they intend to enrol in.

 10. Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN)

Each session you will be issued with a Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) within 28 days after the census date. The CAN will include the following information:

• Your name and student number
• Your Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN)
• The course you are enrolled in for that session
• The total Equivalent Full Time Study Load (EFTSL) value you are enrolled in for the session
• The total amount by which your Student Learning Entitlement (SLE) is reduced
• The total amount of any up-front payments
• The total amount of any HECS-HELP discount (for upfront payments of at least $500)
• The total amount of HECS-HELP debt (for Commonwealth Supported students) or the total amount of FEE-HELP debt (for full fee paying students).
• For each subject it will also list the subject code, census date, EFTSL value, amount by which SLE is reduced, and whether you were required to pay a student contribution amount, tuition fees, or were exempt for that subject.
• Students who have accessed an OS-HELP loan will also have details of their OS-HELP debt on their CAN.

The CAN will be sent to all students electronically via SOLS. The CAN replaces the old HECS and PELS Liability notices. You will have 14 days to advise the University if the information on your CAN is incorrect.

Last reviewed: 6 March, 2008