Arrange your fees

Southern Cross University offers both Commonwealth Supported and Australian Fee Paying places. The type of place you have been offered is detailed in your offer email. The ways that you can pay your fees depends on your citizenship and residency status.

How to arrange your fees

1. Apply for a Tax File Number (if you don't have one)

A Tax File Number (TFN) is required for applications to defer your fees via HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP or SA-HELP loans. Apply for a Tax File Number at any Australia Post branch or online at the Australia Tax Office website.

2. Apply for Unique Student Identifier (USI) number (if you don't have one)

Visit the Unique Student Identifier website to get your USI. You can also find your USI online.

Learn more: All students studying in Australia will be required to provide Southern Cross University with a Unique Student Identifier (USI). Your USI is free, stays with you for life, and tracks your qualifications and study completed in Australia.

  • Make sure your USI is submitted exactly as it has been provided to you by the USI registry
  • Ensure the personal details (“First Given name/Given name”, “Last/Family Name” and “Date of Birth”) you have provided to us and the USI registry match

Visit our Unique Student Identifier page for more information.

3. Tell us how to manage your fees

Within My Enrolment, select the Commonwealth Assistance tab and select “Add New” next to your newly admitted course. You will be presented with 3 different forms with your offer determining what forms to complete.

  • Commonwealth Supported: Complete the ‘Request for a Commonwealth supported place and a HECS-HELP loan’ form and it is also recommended to complete the ‘Request for a SA-HELP loan’.
  • Australian Fee Paying: It is recommended that you complete a ‘Request for a FEE-HELP loan’ and a ‘Request for a SA-HELP loan’. Even if intend to pay upfront, by completing these forms it will allow your fees to defer and prevent any enrolment implications based missing payment.

Please note any information entered on these forms must be your legal details and match those listed with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

Learn more

4. Viewing and paying your fees

There are a few options depending on your eligibility:

  • Upfront payment: once you have enrolled into your units (Step 3), you will see the relevant fees displayed within the Finances tab of My Enrolment. Click on Make a Payment if you wish to pay immediately, or you can access your statement of account from this tab that will detail all open fees listed in the order of the date due at anytime.
  • Deferred payment: as long as you have successfully completed the relevant HECS-HELP, SA-HELP or FEE-HELP forms in the previous steps and nominated to defer your fees, no further action is required from you.
  • Partial Payment: you will still need to have successfully completed the relevant HECS-HELP, SA-HELP or FEE-HELP in which you have nominated to defer you fees, however you will need to make payment by the due date as listed in the instructions above for upfront payment. The remaining unpaid amount will defer in line with your approved HELP forms.

Note: all students are supplied with an emailed invoice. If all fees are deferrable, no upfront payment is required.

All of the above payment methods still require you to provide us with your Unique Student Identifier (USI). If you don't submit it with your Commonwealth Assistance form, then please use the USI eForm via myEnrolment.

5. Student Services and Amenities Fees (SSAF)

Students who are eligible should complete a ‘Request for a SA-HELP loan’ form to defer the SSAF to the SA-HELP loan scheme prior to enrolling. As with all fees, you can still choose to pay your SSAF each session by the due date which will prevent the fee from deferring to your SA-HELP loan.

Learn more: Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) is a compulsory fee which covers essential non-academic amenities and services that enrich the student experience. A number of preparatory courses are exempt from the SSAF. Students who are incarcerated and International students studying at SCU Melbourne, Sydney, Perth or offshore are also exempt.

SSAF is charged in in all sessions and study periods and must be paid each session by the due date. The amount is the same regardless of enrolment mode or location and charged per unit based on the unit’s credit point value.

You can choose to pay your SSAF each session by the due date, or eligible students should apply to defer the SSAF to the SA-HELP loan scheme. Full payment, or approval of an SA-HELP application, must occur before the due date to avoid fee sanctions which can include withholding of transcripts and final grades.

Other fee-related matters

Students born outside of Australia

Before any HELP form can be approved, it is a Commonwealth requirement that your Visa or Residency status is confirmed. Please still submit the relevant HELP forms, however you will need to email proof of your Visa or Residency status with supporting documentation to enrol@scu.edu.au. The Enrolments team will then confirm the documentation before approving the submitted HELP forms. If you have completed a HECS-HELP form, you will not be able to enrol until this manual approval has been completed.

Making payments

The due dates for fees are listed in the Finance tab of My Enrolment and also on any emailed invoice you receive. Payment options include the SCU Payment Portal (recommended), BPay or Post Billpay. Detailed instructions for the Payment Portal can be found on our Technology Services Self-Help page.

What's next?

Follow these steps to enrol in your units (subjects).

3. Select your units

Learn more about Commonwealth Assistance

Commonwealth Supported

A Commonwealth Supported Place means that the government subsidises the cost of your units and you pay the balance. The balance is called the Student Contribution Amount.

Commonwealth Supported students can pay the Student Contribution up front. Australian citizens can access the HECS-HELP loan scheme to defer payment until earning an income specified by the government.

Not all Commonwealth Supported Students are eligible for HECS-HELP. If you are a Permanent Resident of Australia or a New Zealand citizen who did not arrive in Australia as a dependent child, you must pay your Student Contribution up front and in full.

All Commonwealth Supported Students must complete a HECS-HELP form regardless of whether they choose to pay fees up front or defer them to a HECS-HELP loan. Students who are eligible to defer must also complete a SA-HELP form if they also want to defer the SSAF. New HECS-HELP forms are required each time you begin a new course. Find the HECS-HELP and SA-HELP forms under the Commonwealth Assistance tab in My Enrolment.

You can also download a PDF guide on How to Submit HECS-HELP Form

Once your form is approved you will be able to enrol in units for your course (Step 3).

Australian Fee Paying

Fee Paying students pay up front or if eligible, can apply for FEE-HELP by completing the form found under the Commonwealth Assistance tab in My Enrolment. As a fee paying student you should first enrol in units for your course (Step 3) and then choose your payment method (Step 2).

Domestic fee-paying students may be eligible for FEE-HELP, a loan to cover all or part of their fees. You begin to make repayments when you earn an income specified by the government.

There is a FEE-HELP limit on the amount you can choose to defer. FEE-HELP loans are interest free, however a loan fee will apply to undergraduate students.

FEE-HELP is available to Australian citizens and holders of Permanent Humanitarian visas. It is not available to New Zealand citizens who did not arrive in Australia as a dependent child, or Permanent Residents of Australia, unless undertaking bridging study for overseas trained professionals.