Tertiary education fees in Australia are payable for courses at tertiary education institutions. Responsibility for fees in vocational education and training (VET) rests primarily with the state and territory governments, while fees policy in higher education is largely controlled by the Commonwealth Government. For most domestic students in higher education, the Commonwealth Government provides loans, subsidies, and/or social security welfare payments & benefits to relieve the cost of tertiary education. These benefits are not available to international students. Some domestic students are supported by the government and are required to pay only part of the cost of tuition, called the "student contribution", and the government pays the balance. Some government supported students can defer payment of their contribution as a HECS-HELP loan. Other domestic students are full fee-paying (non-Commonwealth supported) and do not receive direct government contribution to the cost of their education. Some domestic students in full fee courses can obtain a FEE-HELP loan from the Australian government up to a lifetime limit of $150,000 for medicine, dentistry and veterinary science programs and $104,440 for all other programs. Student fees for vocational education vary between jurisdictions, with some states implementing fee-free courses in some fields and all offering some form of government subsidised training. Funding responsibilities for student fee subsidies are agreed between state and territory governments and the Commonwealth under the National Skills Agreement which commenced at the start of 2024. Australian citizens (and in some cases overseas professionals completing bridging studies in order to be accredited permanent residents) are able to obtain loans from the government under the Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) which replaced the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS). As of April 2016, the amount of money owed to the Australian government under the HECS scheme was AUD$60 billion and is expected to increase to $180 billion by 2026. HELP is jointly administered by the Australian Department of Education, Skills and Employment and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). In addition, qualified students may be entitled to Youth Allowance or Austudy Payment to assist them financially while they are studying. These support payments are means and assets tested. Further assistance is available in the form of scholarships. Overseas students are charged fees for the full cost of their education and are ineligible for HELP loans, but may apply for international scholarships.
History In 1940, the Curtin Labor government dramatically increased the number of scholarships to increase the number of university graduates and allowed women avail these scholarships as they were previously exclusive to men. In the 1960s, the Menzies Liberal government rapidly established new universities, mostly in outlying suburbs, and offered special research scholarships to encourage students to undertake postgraduate research studies. Many of these universities are members of Innovative Research Universities Australia. In 1967, the government created a category of Commonwealth-funded non-university tertiary institutions, called College of Advanced Education (CAE), to provide cheaper and easier access to the equivalent of bachelor's degrees. In 1974, the Whitlam Labor government abolished university fees to make tertiary education in Australia more accessible to working and middle class Australians. In 1989, the Hawke Labor government began gradually re-introducing fees for university study and setup the Higher Education Contributions Scheme (HECS).
Present status In 1996, the Howard Coalition government, introduced tiers in the HECS fee structure (now called HECS-HELP). Fees are charged on the basis of the perceived value of courses. Courses considered to have most likelihood of generating higher income for students in the future (e.g. Law and Medicine) are the most expensive; those least likely to generate higher income (e.g. Nursing and Arts) are the least expensive. Since 2007, HECS places are known as Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP). A student in a CSP is only entitled to study for a maximum of 7 years full-time (16 years part-time) at CSP rates after 2022. This is known as a Student Learning Entitlement (SLE). After that period the student has to take either a FEE-HELP loan (if available) or study at full-fee rates. If a student receives a HECS-HELP loan, the Commonwealth government pays the loan amount directly to the higher education provider on behalf of the student. An alternative option is FEE-HELP which provides eligible fee-paying students with a loan to cover their tertiary education fees.
Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) & Student Contribution (SC)
The Commonwealth government determines the number and allocation of undergraduate "Commonwealth Supported Places" (CSP) with each public higher education provider each year, through the Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS). A CSP is a higher education place for which the Commonwealth government makes a contribution to the higher education provider towards the cost of a student's education. The student makes a contribution towards the cost of education, known as the "Student Contribution" (SC). Commonwealth supported places are available to citizens of Australia, New Zealand and Australian permanent residents. The majority of CSPs are managed through the Tertiary Admissions Centre (TACs) in each state or territory, although universities make the selections, deciding which students they will make offers to. The allocation is usually based on secondary school results (through the ATAR scores), TAFE qualifications and previous university results. The student contribution varies between courses, and is based on the expected earnings following a students' graduation, not the cost of providing the course. Higher education providers can set the student contribution level for each unit of study, up to a maximum level set by the government. It is said that, due to government underfunding of universities, universities almost always charge the highest level allowable.
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