From 1 January 2021 the Australian Government has reintroduced the upfront payment discount for Commonwealth Supported Students. The 10% discount will be automatically applied to upfront payments of $500 or more made on or before the semester census date.
If you are eligible for HECS-HELP and you make a full upfront payment of 90% of your student contribution for your unit/s of study, or a partial upfront payment of $500 or more for your unit/s of study, you will receive a 10 per cent discount. This is known as the ‘HECS-HELP discount’. This discount effectively increases the value of your upfront payment (refer to the following examples).
Example only – HECS-HELP discount for full upfront payment of 90% of student contribution amount
Matthew is an Australian citizen. He is enrolled in four units of study for his Bachelor of Engineering and his total student contribution amounts for the semester will be $4,384. Matthew is eligible for a HECS-HELP loan but he wants to pay his entire student contribution amounts upfront. To do so, he only needs to pay $3,945 ($4,384 – 10 per cent i.e. 90% of his total student contribution amounts for his units of study) by the census date (amount is rounded down to the nearest dollar).
Example only – HECS-HELP discount for partial upfront payment of $500 or more
Grace is a permanent humanitarian visa holder. She is enrolled in four units of study for her Bachelor of Information Technology and her total student contribution amounts for the semester will be $4,384. Grace is eligible for a HECS-HELP loan, but she wants to pay half her student contribution amounts upfront ($4,384 ÷ 2 = $2,192) and use a HECS-HELP loan for the remainder. As Grace’s partial upfront payment is more than $500, she is also eligible for the HECS-HELP discount. Her upfront payment amount is multiplied by 1.1111 to determine the full value of her payment ($2,192 x 1.1111 = $2,435.53). The HECS-HELP discount has effectively increased the value of Grace’s upfront payment, so she will only need to use a HECS-HELP loan for $1,948 (amount is rounded down to the nearest dollar).