Thinking about uni, TAFE, or further training but stressing over the cost? Don’t panic, in Australia, the government has a range of HELP loans designed to let you study now and pay later. That means you can focus on learning and building your future without needing all the money upfront.
Here’s a breakdown of the study loans available, explained simply.
What Are HELP Loans?
HELP stands for Higher Education Loan Program. These are loans from the Australian Government that cover different kinds of study costs. You don’t pay them back straight away — only once you’re earning over a certain amount (currently about $54,000 a year). Repayments are automatically taken out through the tax system, just like normal tax.
Types of HELP Loans
- HECS-HELP (For uni students in a Commonwealth Supported Place)
- Covers: Your student contribution fees.
- Who it’s for: Students in subsidised places at public universities.
- Example: If your Arts degree costs $4,000 a year, you can put that on HECS-HELP and pay nothing upfront.
- FEE-HELP (For full-fee-paying uni or private college students)
- Covers: Tuition fees (not extras like accommodation, laptops, or textbooks).
- Who it’s for: Students who don’t have a subsidised place and are paying full fees.
- Loan limit: There’s a cap (around $121,000 for most courses, higher for medicine/dentistry/vet).
- SA-HELP (For student services fees)
- Covers: The Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) charged by unis.
- Usually only a few hundred dollars a year.
- Handy if you’re tight on cash and don’t want to pay this fee upfront.
- OS-HELP (For overseas study as part of your course)
- Covers: Costs like airfares, accommodation, and travel insurance.
- Who it’s for: Uni students who want to do part of their course overseas.
- Can borrow up to around $8,800 depending on where you go.
- VET Student Loans (For TAFE and vocational training)
- Covers: Diploma level and above courses at approved providers.
- Who it’s for: Students studying vocational qualifications (think trades, community services, IT, etc.).
- Important: Not all courses are covered — check the approved course list first.
How Do You Repay?
You don’t repay anything until you earn over the threshold (around $54k per year). Compulsory repayment rates start small (about 1% of your income) and increase as you earn more. If you see STSL on your payslip, that’s the amount of your pay that is going towards your ‘study and training support loan.’ You can make also make voluntary repayments to pay off your loan faster, these payments are on top of compulsory payments.
Your HELP loan balance doesn’t reduce after each pay cycle. Your compulsory repayment is only applied as a lump sum once a year after you’ve lodged your tax return.
How can I check my HECS-HELP debt balance?
You can check how much you have left to pay by logging into your ATO online services this opens in a new window account. From the menu select Tax > Accounts > Loan accounts.
What is indexation?
Hearing things like indexation or inflation, but don’t actually understand what it means? Let us break it down. Indexation is when your HELP debt is adjusted to reflect the changes in the cost of living. This means even though your loan doesn’t accumulate interest, your HELP debt is likely to grow year on year.
Indexation is applied to any HECS-HELP debt older than 11 months, once a year on 1 June. The indexation rate can change each year by adjusting it in line with changes to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or Wage Price Index (WPI) – whichever is lower (In 2025 the indexation rate was 3.2%). The only way to completely avoid indexation is to make sure your HELP loan account balance is $0 by 1 June. At the end of the day it’s your decision on how much or if you make voluntary repayments to your loan.
Key Things to Remember
- HELP loans are about access — they make study possible without the upfront stress.
- It’s still real debt. It can affect things like applying for a mortgage later, because banks count HELP debt as part of your liabilities.
- Your employer won’t automatically stop taking STSL amounts out of your pay when you’ve paid off your HECS-HELP debt. You need to tell them! If you do overpay you’ll get refunded when you lodge your tax return.
Don’t let the cost of study stop you from chasing your career goals. Whether it’s uni, TAFE, or an overseas exchange, there’s likely a HELP loan to get you there. The key is to know what’s available, plan ahead, and use the system wisely.
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