FEE-HELP

What is FEE-HELP?

FEE-HELP is an Australian Government loan scheme that assists eligible student’s to defer payment for all or part of their tuition fees through a loan. As AIB is an accredited Higher Education Provider, we are FEE-HELP approved for students who are Australian citizens or those who hold appropriate visas and in either case will study part of the course in Australia.

The Commonwealth Government initially pays the loan amount directly to AIB on the eligible student’s behalf, which can be repaid during or after study via the Australian tax system. Interest is not applied to FEE-HELP debts for approved postgraduate studies, including the AIB MBA course. However, an index amount is applied each year in line with the lower of either the Consumer Price Index (CPI).For further details, refer to Loan Indexation section of the Study Assist website.

Your eligibility for FEE-HELP is not affected by your income and assets. For more information about FEE-HELP and to check your eligibility, visit the Study Assist website. You can read about your Fee Help Loan obligations in the government’s  Fee Help Booklet.

Applying for FEE-HELP

If you are planning to request a FEE-HELP loan, you will need:

• a Tax File Number (TFN). If you don’t have a TFN yet, please apply online through the Australian Taxation Office website.
• a Unique Student Identifier (USI)*. To find out if you already have a USI, click here: Find Your USI. To create a USI, click here: Create USI
• a Request for FEE-HELP loan form, which will be provided by AIB during your enrolment process. If you have any questions about filling this out, your assigned Course Advisor will walk you through this.
• to fill out and submit your FEE-HELP loan form before the census date

When applying for a FEE-HELP loan at AIB, it is necessary to ensure that all personal details, including full name, date of birth, email, phone number, TFN and USI, exactly match those that are held with the Australian Taxation Office and USI Registry System.

If you are applying for FEE-HELP, you should familiarise yourself with key dates such as Census Dates for each study term, and EFTSL values of units, which you can find listed in our FEE-HELP information document. This information is applicable for new and existing students. You can also head to the Study Assist website for more information about FEE-HELP and to check your eligibility.

You will then be emailed a Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) within 28 days of your enrolled subjects Census date. These will automatically be emailed to you once the subject fee has been reported to the ATO.

*From 1st January 2021, it is compulsory for all new higher education students to obtain a USI in order to be eligible for Government financial assistance i.e. FEE-HELP.

A new student is anyone commencing a new course of study from 1 January 2021, and the census date for their first unit of study is on or after 1 January 2021.  Depending on the circumstances, this includes students who are changing their course or their course specialisation, completing one course and then progressing into another, those returning from a study break or deferral, or transferring from one provider to another.

Repayment of FEE-HELP

You will only start to repay your FEE-HELP debt once you earn above the compulsory repayment threshold.  You can repay your HELP debt directly to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) in two ways.

1. Compulsory repayments:

Compulsory FEE-HELP loan repayments are made through the Australian income tax system. If your income exceeds the ATO’s minimum threshold, they will calculate your repayment and include it in your notice of assessment, even for income earned before you started studying. And as your income increases, so does your repayment rate, which is based solely on your income.

Your employer can withhold additional tax from your pay to cover your estimated FEE-HELP debt. This should cover your repayment, but only based on the income they pay you. If you have other income sources, you may have additional repayments. Inform your payroll officer or tax agent that you have a FEE-HELP loan to set up automatic payments by completing a Tax File Declaration. If you don’t fill out this form, you will owe the total amount on your tax return at the end of the financial year. You’ll find additional information on repaying your FEE-HELP debt on the Study Assist and ATO websites.

At the end of each financial year, the amount you have owing will automatically be indexed in line with the lower of either the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Wage Price Index (CWI). For information on specific repayment thresholds, visit the Loan Repayments on the Study Assist Website. For a general guide, use AIB’s FEE-HELP calculator tool to estimate your potential FEE-HELP repayments.

2. Voluntary repayments

At any time, you can also make voluntary repayments towards your FEE-HELP loan, which can be done through BPAY or credit card, and you’ll need your payment reference number to ensure the payment is credited to the correct account. For more information on how to make voluntary payments, refer to Voluntary Repayments on the Study Assist Website.

Payment policies and procedures

This section will take you through the important points of each payment method and will also point you to important documents or information relating to your payment type. There are several policies and procedures relating to fees and payment options which you should refer to. These are:

• the Student Refund Policy and Procedure
• the Academic Progress Policy and Procedure
• the Student Review Procedures for Re-Crediting a FEE-HELP Balance and Refund of Fees Policy
• the Withdrawal and Deferral Policy and Procedure
• the Statement of Tuition Assurance
• your specific payment terms and conditions provided at the time of your enrolment.

A list of the fees payable for AIB courses (tuition and non-tuition fees) are outlined at the beginning of the Finance and Payment Options section of this Handbook.