All AFTRS award courses are FEE-HELP approved.
AFTRS is an approved Higher Education Provider and is registered with the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency.
ELIGIBILITY
This means eligible AFTRS students have the opportunity to apply for the Australian Government’s FEE-HELP loan scheme to help pay your course fees if you meet the citizenship and residency requirements as follows:
- You are an Australian citizen
- You are a holder of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa
- You are enrolled in an eligible unit of study by the census date
- You meet the tax file number requirements.
- You will undertake at least one unit of study whilst residing in Australia.
In order to meet the tax file number requirements:
- You must give AFTRS your valid Tax File Number (TFN) OR
- If you do not have a TFN you can give AFTRS a Certificate of Application for a TFN. This certificate is available from the Australian Tax Office (ATO) when you apply for a TFN.
You are NOT eligible for the FEE-HELP loan scheme if you are:
- A New Zealand citizen (other than a Special Category Visa holder).
- An Australian permanent resident (other than the holder of an Australian permanent humanitarian visa).
NEW ZEALAND CITIZENS WHO ARE SPECIAL CATEGORY VISA HOLDERS
- The Australian Government has passed legislation to provide Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loans to New Zealand citizens who are Special Category Visa (SCV) holders and meet the requisite criteria.
- Note: just being a New Zealand citizen, or holding a Special Category Visa, won’t automatically entitle you to HELP loans – you must meet all of the required eligibility criteria under this category.
If you hold a New Zealand SCV you will be able to access HELP loans, providing you meet ALL the long-term residency requirements:
- First began residing in Australia at least 10 years ago and at that time you were a child under the age of 18 with no spouse or de facto partner; and
- You have been in Australia for at least:
- a total of eight out of the past 10 years; and
- a total of 18 months out of the last two years.
If you do not meet all of the above criteria you are not eligible for HELP loans.
HOW FEE-HELP WORKS
FEE-HELP means you can study without having to pay upfront fees.
You can also pay your fees with a combination of an upfront payment and FEE-HELP.
If you obtain a FEE-HELP loan from the Australian Government to pay for your studies, a FEE-HELP debt is recorded for you with the ATO. You repay the government through the taxation system once your income reaches a set threshold.
Repayment of FEE-HELP debt is calculated by the Australian Tax Office and the amount will be included in your income tax notice of assessment.
The Student Centre will contact all eligible students prior to the commencement of their course with instructions on how to apply for a FEE-HELP loan.
FURTHER INFORMATION
For further information about FEE-HELP, refer to the following Australian government resources: