AFTER SCHOOL STUDY ASSISTANCE - HECS-HELP

[Mara]

Please be aware that until you are an AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN you or your children are not entitled to HECS-HELP loan assistance from the government for further study.

For those that do not know what HECS-HELP is, it is the government loan system that is available to Australian Citizens to study further. They take out a loan, do their studies, and once they start working and earn over a certain amount then they start paying the government back for their loan.

Up until 2005 permanent residents and New Zealand citizens were eligible, but since 2005, when the laws were changed, this is no longer the case.

You can check it out for yourself

http://www.goingtouni.gov.au/Main/FeesLoan...onsHECSHELP.htm

[Guest colton]

Please be aware that until you are an AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN you or your children are not entitled to HECS assistance from the government for further study.

For those that do not know what HECS is, it is the government loan system that is available to Australian Citizens to study further. They take out a loan, do their studies, and once they start working and earn over a certain amount then they start paying the government back for their loan.

Up until 2005 permanent residents and New Zealand citizens were eligible, but since 2005, when the laws were changed, this is no longer the case.

You can check it out for yourself

http://www.goingtouni.gov.au/Main/FeesLoan...onsHECSHELP.htm

Thanks Mara,

I didn't know how to do the links. Hopefully that will clear up a lot of the confusion!

[MzT]

Thank you for the link Mara!

[Guest Bronwyn]

Thank you for this info, I didn't know any of it!

[Mara]

No problem guys, glad that you found it useful!

[Navigator]

Thanks for the info. I should be fine as my son is only 7 months now, so by the time he needs to study I should have citizenship.

[JJV]

Please be aware that until you are an AUSTRALIAN CITIZEN you or your children are not entitled to HECS assistance from the government for further study.

PR's are eligible for "Student Learning Entitlement" which means so-called "Commonwealth Support" for your unit of study. In a nutshell - you don't pay International Fees but don't qualify for the HECS-Help loan scheme that Mara described.

Just for interest sake - when I last checked, PR's doing bridging studies (for overseas trained professionals) do qualify for FEE-Help.

[Bob]

I think the old "H.E.C.S." (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) has been replaced by H.E.L.P. . . . . whatever that stands for??

My daughter, this year, will be getting H.E.L.P. to do her Uni studies . . . . either in Newcastle or Adelaide.

[Fran]

Hi All

I have been reading all the messages and unable to reply - hopefully now I've done what I need to, to be part of this Forum.

I have a son in Grade 12 SA now and a daughter in Grade 10. I'm not too concerned about my daughter as we have some time to sort her out.

There is no way we can afford international fees. I am working on being able to qualify for the Commonwealth fees. I understand that this is the same rate as Citizens but you can't get government loan - have to pay cash up front.

My question is: If my husband arrives on a work permit, when can he apply for PR and how long does it take. My son might redo Gr12 and have a gap year, which will keep him busy for two years...by then hoping we have citizenship and get Commonwealth fees.

Also are Uni fees a lot higher than Tech fees...

Thanks

Fran

[Tracy]

Aussies and their acronyms....

PR's do qualify for fee help (whatever the heck it's called). My daughter wants to study marine biology (and we live in Alice Springs....go figure!) and I called the helpline to enquire about it. She would get 75% of her tuition fees paid over the 3 year course. There is a maximum amount, but it seems to cover heaps of the tuition for most courses.

[Mara]

Thank you Tracy, in view of your information I have emailed the department to ask for their guidelines!

[colton]

Let's hope you are right Tracy, it would take a heck of a lot of pressure off us, we are paying 2 Uni and 1 International Student fees at the moment, gets a bit heavy!!!

Mara, let us know what they come back with....I found this on their site and it clearly states PR holders, unless Humanitarian, do not qualify for any loans!

FEE-HELP

Student doing research in science lab

Australian citizens and holders of a permanent humanitarian visa enrolled as a fee-paying student in an accredited postgraduate award program may pay their tuition fee in three different ways:

* pay the full tuition fee up front

* receive a FEE-HELP loan for the full tuition fee

* pay some of the tuition fee up front and receive a FEE-HELP loan for the remainder of the tuition fee

You can borrow up to the amount of the tuition fee charged for your unit of study. However, over your lifetime you can borrow only up to the FEE-HELP limit. In 2008, the FEE-HELP limit is A$102,000 for medicine, dentisty and vetinary science students. For all other students the FEE-HELP limit is A$81,600. This amount is indexed each year.

If a student receives a FEE-HELP loan, they begin making repayments on that loan when their annual income reaches the minimum repayment threshold.

Who is eligible?

Australian citizens and holders of a permanent humanitarian visa enrolled in an accredited postgraduate award program are eligible for FEE-HELP assistance.

FEE-HELP is not available to New Zealand citizens and holders of other permanent visas. These students must pay their program fees up front.

Edited April 17, 2008 by colton

[Annette]

Tracy. I suspect you have been misinformed. Our daughter is in yr12 so I have a reasonably good idea of what's available and what not (although it changes every few years of course ). Your daughter may qualify for a Commonwealth assisted place, but definitely not for HELP.

Fran, it's not possible to advise you when your husband can apply for PR without knowing a few datails: Does he presently qualify for a General skilled visa and did he just come over on an employer sponsored one because he found a job and it was quicker, or did he get a sponsored visa because he doesn't qualify for a PR one (too old, not enough points?). If he qualifies now for the PR visa he can apply at any time when he wants after arriving in the country. It seems to take about 9 to 15 months, depending on circumstances, but others will be able to tell you more than I.

Citizenship requirements are: residency in Australia for 4 years, 12 months of which have to be on a Permanent visa.

Therefore, you will not be able to apply for citizenship before you have been here for 4 years, sorry!

What you would call Tech is called TAFE here. Yes, the uni fees are higher than TAFE fees.

Be careful when it comes to to gap years as well. My daughter is having a gap year next year basically because we can't afford to pay uni fees upfront, so we have to wait until she has citizenship, which should be the first half of 2010. A gap year is a good idea in any case as far as I'm concerned, so we're happy that she's doing it. BUT - the plan was that she would travel for 6 of the 12 months and visit her friends back in the UK etc. However, we have now realised that time spent out of the country is deducted from the time requirements for citizenship and if a person has been out of the country for more than 3 months in the 12 months before qualifying for citizenship, they have to wait another 12 months before applying! Oh well, these things are sent to try us...

[Fran]

Tracy. I suspect you have been misinformed. Our daughter is in yr12 so I have a reasonably good idea of what's available and what not (although it changes every few years of course ). Your daughter may qualify for a Commonwealth assisted place, but definitely not for HELP.

Fran, it's not possible to advise you when your husband can apply for PR without knowing a few datails: Does he presently qualify for a General skilled visa and did he just come over on an employer sponsored one because he found a job and it was quicker, or did he get a sponsored visa because he doesn't qualify for a PR one (too old, not enough points?). If he qualifies now for the PR visa he can apply at any time when he wants after arriving in the country. It seems to take about 9 to 15 months, depending on circumstances, but others will be able to tell you more than I.

Citizenship requirements are: residency in Australia for 4 years, 12 months of which have to be on a Permanent visa.

Therefore, you will not be able to apply for citizenship before you have been here for 4 years, sorry!

What you would call Tech is called TAFE here. Yes, the uni fees are higher than TAFE fees.

Be careful when it comes to to gap years as well. My daughter is having a gap year next year basically because we can't afford to pay uni fees upfront, so we have to wait until she has citizenship, which should be the first half of 2010. A gap year is a good idea in any case as far as I'm concerned, so we're happy that she's doing it. BUT - the plan was that she would travel for 6 of the 12 months and visit her friends back in the UK etc. However, we have now realised that time spent out of the country is deducted from the time requirements for citizenship and if a person has been out of the country for more than 3 months in the 12 months before qualifying for citizenship, they have to wait another 12 months before applying! Oh well, these things are sent to try us...

[Fran]

Hi

Thanks Annette for your input.

We are still all here in SA. Martin (husband) is a registered Civil Engineering Technologist. We are currently having that assessed by Engineers Australia and hope to get the 60 points we need. Then using my Aunt, we plan to apply for PR visa. We already have all the required documents from her. This all might not happen for two reasons - No. 1 if Martin doesn't get 60 points and/or they do not accept my Aunt as a sponsor as although well off, she is aged.

Also if Martin does get 60 points, his position as a Technologist has then been acknowledged by Engineers Australia and better employment prospects. We were thinking that if he gets this done, then while we are applying for PR thru aunt, he immediately applies for jobs and hopefully goes over on a work visa asap. So therefore the question, if this pans out, can he apply for PR as soon as he arrives. This should then take 9-15 months per your comment. This should then get us the Commonwealth fees structure for 2010 all going well. Andrew would then only need to be on "gap" year for one year and not two...

Could someone clarify for me that the Commonwealth fees are affordable...that is the same fee for citizens, excepts citizens get the loan and pay back thru salary tax.

Thank you for your comments re: gap year. Nice to know these things.

Really appreciate the input.

Fran

[Fran]

Thanks JJV for the clarity on Commonwealth fees.

Fan

[colton]

Fran,

PR holders qualify for a Commonwealth Supported Placement which basically means you pay the same fees as citizens....just up front. Makes a HUGE difference to the fee structure. Is it affordable....depends! What we pay for Uni is cheaper than we paid for Private High School here and it all depends on the number of subjects you take as you pay per subject. If the fees are totally unaffordable you always have the option of taking fewer subjects which brings the cost down but extends the study time. That isn't always the best option as a 5 year degree could stretch out even longer!

[Mara]

Hi All, this is the reply I got from them and to me the gist of it is, that with PR you will pay the same price for uni as anybody else that lives here BUT you will still not have access to the loan from the government to study with.

As the info was in an email and not a link, I will post it here:

Australian citizens, permanent visa holders and New Zealand citizens are considered to be domestic students and are eligible for a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) (previously called a HECS place). This means that the Australian Government subsidises the cost of the education, however, Commonwealth supported students will still be required to pay a student contribution. It is up to universities to allocate Commonwealth supported places based on merit.

New Zealand citizens and permanent visa holders are also required to meet the residency requirements, which are that they be resident in Australia for the duration of each unit. For further information please refer to section 2.2 of the booklet referred to below.

Only Australian citizens and permanent humanitarian visa holders are eligible to defer their student contribution to a HECS-HELP loan. Permanent visa holders and New Zealand citizens must pay their student contribution or tuition fees up-front to the university.

If a person becomes an Australian citizen then they will be eligible for a HELP loan for any units of study that have census dates after the date of the ceremony where the person receives their certificate of Australian citizenship.

When a person becomes an Australian citizen, they must advise their provider in writing of the change in eligibility status and give their provider evidence of the change (such as your Certificate of Australian Citizenship) before the census date for their units of study. They will also need to provide their tax file number to their provider.

The above information on residency and citizenship requirements applies to the person applying for a place at university and not the parents or other family members of the person.

More information on Commonwealth supported places, residency and citizenship requirements and HECS-HELP is in the "Information for Commonwealth supported students" booklet. This is available at the following link:

http://www.goingtouni.gov.au/NR/rdonlyres/...NTERNET_004.pdf

For further advice contact the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations on 1800 020 108 (within Australia), +61 3 8341 3615 (outside Australia) or visit the Going to Uni website at www.goingtouni.gov.au

Regards,

Michelle

Commonwealth Supported Students Unit

Higher Education Group

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

[Tracy]

Annette,

Just to clarify things.

if we applied for a Commomwealth Supported Position through the Uni we want to study at, and we get accepted, we still only pay 75% of the tuition fees.

[Annette]

Mara, thanks for going to the trouble of getting that info. The email is very clear, thanks.

Tracy, thanks for the info. I was told we cannot get the 20% discount on Commonwealth fees if paid in full upfront, like citizens do, so it's good to know it's not true.

[Tracy]

No worries, Annette!

It's made me go back and check all my info too!

It pays to ask and ask again; even in Aus you sometimes get different answers from different authorities.

Cheers!

[E_N]

They take out a loan, do their studies, and once they start working and earn over a certain amount then they start paying the government back for their loan.

http://www.goingtouni.gov.au/Main/FeesLoan...onsHECSHELP.htm

[Mara]

E_N

Not quite as easy as you believe, but hey, obviously you have researched it and know what you are talking about.

The amount you pay back is the equivalent of around 10% of your gross earnings, but it only kicks in after, I think $18000 or something in that area. It will be automatically deducted by your employer as part of the tax on your wages. There is no set period, it will carry on until your loan is repaid.

[Fran]

Hi All

Although my query is visa related, its because we need PR as soon as possible so we can get our son (18 this month) into Uni.

For Skilled Migration subclass 176 - it mentioned on-shore and off-shore application.

Can anyone shed light on what this means (where you are or if you lodge hardcopy or on-line) and how long does each one take (estimate I know).

Thanks

Fran

[polly]

Are there things like bursaries, etc. e.g. for if I want ot get a steaching qualification? (Sorry, I know I am being lazy, but getting info from the department is like pulling teeth )