Study now and pay later

Chisholm is an approved Higher Education provider under the FEE-HELP Assistance scheme and has been able to offer FEE-HELP assistance since July 2011.

What is FEE-HELP?

FEE-HELP is a loan from the Australian Government for eligible higher education students to pay part or all of their tuition fees. You cannot use the loan to pay for laptops, textbooks or stationery. There is a 20 per cent FEE-HELP loan fee applied to full-fee paying student enrolments. Here is a list of approved FEE-HELP courses offered at Chisholm:

  • Associate Degree of Psychology (CRS1401151)
  • Associate Degree of Business - Management and Leadership (CRS1401272)
  • Bachelor of Business - Management and Leadership (CRS1401274)
  • Bachelor of Community Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs (CRS1201285)
  • Bachelor of Engineering Technology (CRS1201286)
  • Bachelor of Psychology (CRS1401150)
  • Graduate Certificate in Family Violence (CRS1400479)
  • Undergraduate Certificate in Community Mental Health, Alcohol and Other Drugs (CRS1400933)

The FEE-HELP Tuition Fee Schedule (Higher Education) sets out the fees for courses and units of study in which an eligible student may request FEE-HELP assistance to pay for their tuition fees when enrolling in one of Chisholm’s Higher Education courses. See the 2024 Schedule of Tuition Fees for Higher Education. Please note there is no charge for Skills Recognition assessment (recognition of prior learning) or processing credit transfers (credit for equivalent formal study).

The Australian Government facilitates FEE-HELP loans and students are not required to repay the loan until their income is above the minimum repayment threshold for compulsory repayment.  A person may make voluntary repayments at any time to the Australian Taxation Office. 

To be eligible for a FEE-HELP you must:

  • Be an Australian Citizen who studies some of their course while living in Australia OR
  • Be an eligible New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holder who meets the long term residency requirements and who studies the entire course while living in Australia OR
  • Be a permanent humanitarian visa holder (or eligible former) and will live in Australia for the entire course.
  • Be studying a FEE-HELP eligible course, at a FEE-HELP approved provider
  • Enrol and submit the FEE-HELP form ( known as an eCAF) by the census date
  • Have a Tax File Number
  • Present a Unique Student Identifier (USI)
  • Have not exceeded the HELP balance

Proof of Australian Citizenship

Acceptable forms of evidence include:

  • Current Australian Passport;
  • Australian Citizenship Certificate or Naturalisation Certificate;
  • Australian Citizenship by Descent extract;
  • Australian Birth Certificate where you were born before 20 Aug 1986; OR
  • If you were born on or after 20 Aug 1986 we would require your Australian Birth Certificate plus proof of your parent’s Australian Citizenship at the time of your birth (Examples include your Parent’s Australian Birth Certificate or Australian Citizenship Certificate).

If you are a New Zealand Citizen who holds a Special Category Visa (SCV) you must also meet the below criteria:

  • First entered Australia at least 10 years ago as a dependent child aged under 18 years
  • Have been ordinarily a resident in Australia for the previous 10 years (that is, have been physically present in Australia for at least eight to of the past 10 years) and 18 months out of the last two years at the time of application for the loan
  • Provide an International Movement Record from the Department of Immigration to prove that you meet citizenship requirements as well as the above criteria. 

The Study Assist website contains important FEE-HELP information and students intending to access the scheme should visit: https://www.studyassist.gov.au/help-loans/fee-help

See also