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Domestic students fee information
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Commonwealth-Supported Students
Commonwealth supported students are eligible to receive financial subsidy for their study from the Australian Government. The vast majority of students who pay Commonwealth-Supported fees are eligible domestic students who are studying:
- a diploma (that is not accredited as a vocational education and training (VET) award);
- an advanced diploma (that is not accredited as a VET award);
- an associate degree;
- a bachelor degree; or
- an honours program.
Some postgraduate courses may be Commonwealth Supported. Please check our Course Options.
The Australian Government contributes substantially to the cost of a Commonwealth-supported student’s education. The remaining fee amount is called the Student Contribution Amount (SCA). This is the amount for which you will be liable. You are charged the SCA for every unit in which you are enrolled as a Commonwealth supported student. The fee is charged upon enrolment in the unit of study and incurred on census date.
For further information select from the links below:
Commonwealth Assistance Notices
Student Administration Services will email you a Commonwealth Assistance Notice after the Census date which includes important information about your enrolment, any HELP debt incurred for that particular teaching period and/or any student contribution amounts which have been paid upfront, including any loan fees incurred.
Under the Higher Education Support Act 2003, students are responsible for checking that all details contained on the Commonwealth Assistance Notice are correct. If an error has been made, students will need to write to the Director, Student Administration Services via fees@scu.edu.au within 14 days of the date on the Commonwealth Assistance Notice and explain the error which has been made.
Students will need to check the status on the Commonwealth Assistance Notice — if studying under HECS-HELP, check the status is correctly recorded for each unit on this notice. Check whether the University has calculated your student liability as 2010-2020 or pre-2010 student contribution amount. If an error has been made, please contact the Fees Team via fees@scu.edu.au
The HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, OS-HELP and SA-HELP amounts which are listed on a students’ Commonwealth Assistance Notice is the debt that is reported to the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Further information on HELP loans go to Study Assist.
If a partial or full upfront payment has been noted on the Commonwealth Assistance Notice, it is the responsibility of the student to check that the amounts noted are correct.
Student contribution amounts are calculated by multiplying the relevant annual contribution by the equivalent full-time study load (EFTSL) of enrolled units. At Southern Cross University, a standard unit is worth 12 credit points or 0.125 EFTSL. There are some exceptions, for example some units are double-weighted (24 credit points or 0.250 EFTSL). Further information on this can be found at Student Contribution Amounts.
For information on the contents covered in a Commonwealth Assistance Notice, please visit Study Assist.
It is important to note that due to current government reporting schedules, your debt may take up to 12 months to be reported through to the ATO.
You are able to view your HELP debt with your myGOV account that is linked to the ATO. Your myGov account will show you how much you owe and any repayments you have made.
You can however access all your Commonwealth Assistance Notices which detail the amounts deferred to the ATO on your behalf (prior to indexation being applied) within My Enrolment > Finance > Commonwealth Assistance Notice > Select Year and teaching period.
2020 Loan Limit Changes
From 2020 the Australian Government introduced the HELP Loan Limit which is a cap on the amount that you borrow from the Australian Government to cover the costs of your tuition fees. Further information on the HELP Loan Limit can be found on the Study Assist website. The myHELP balance portal enables students and providers to view the available borrowing balance under the combined Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) loan limit.
Fee Paying Students (or Non Commonwealth-Supported Students)
A fee-paying student (or a non Commonwealth-supported student) includes any domestic student who is paying the full (unsubsidised) tuition fee for a unit of study. This includes all students undertaking a single unit of study, most postgraduate students and a small handful of undergraduate students. To check whether your course is fee-paying or Commonwealth-Supported visit our Course Options.
A postgraduate student is someone studying a:
- Graduate Certificate;
- Graduate Diploma;
- Masters degree; or
- Doctoral degree.
A student can enrol in a single unit of study for personal interest or professional development. The unit/s of study undertaken does not contribute to a course of study and no award will be conferred upon completion. Study for single units may be undertaken in any teaching period (subject to availability) including Summer Term or Session 3.
For further information select from the links below:
For non-award or single unit study fees
See the relevant undergraduate or postgraduate fee page.
For information on assistance available to fee-paying students (i.e. FEE-HELP), visit