Applying to offer FEE-HELP to your eligible students

The introduction of FEE-HELP (Higher Education Loans Program) has proved to be a valuable marketing tool for private higher education providers and a great benefit for their eligible students.

FEE-HELP is a government loan scheme for Australian citizens that covers a student’s tuition fees up to a limit, which is indexed annually. The FEE-HELP limit for most courses for 2012 is $89,706. There is a one-off 25% loan fee on the amount borrowed for undergraduate courses (no loan fee is applicable to postgraduate courses) and repayment of the loan is income contingent - the threshold for 2011/12 is $47,196.

In order to gain access to FEE-HELP for their students a non self-accrediting higher education provider must be approved by the Federal Minister for Education as a FEE-HELP Provider.

To be approved as a FEE-HELP Provider an institution must:

be a body corporate which carries on its business in Australia;
have as its principal purpose education and/or research;
deliver at least one accredited higher education course;
be financially viable;
provide appropriate tuition assurance for its students;
observe certain quality control & accountability requirements; and
supply data to the Commonwealth as required.

Consult Ed is available to support higher education providers prepare their applications to become a FEE-HELP provider. We can assist you by:

providing an Evidence Gathering Tool outlining the documentation required to lodge an application to become a FEE-HELP provider;
advising the institution regarding the requirements of the application process;
developing draft policies to comply with FEE-HELP requirements;
reviewing the institution’s existing policies to determine compliance with published requirements;
preparing a draft application for lodgement.

We have already assisted a number of higher education providers to gain approval, so if you are thinking of becoming a FEE-HELP provider but would like some assistance with the application process, perhaps we can help you.

For a no obligation discussion please contact us.

Useful Links

Higher Education Provider Information - DEEWR

ACPET Tuition Assurance Scheme (ASTAS)