Eligibility requirements for Commonwealth support
What is the Student Learning Entitlement?
Types of SLE
Will you have enough SLE?
Consuming SLE
Checking your SLE consumption
Eligibility requirements for Commonwealth support
You are eligible for Commonwealth support for a unit of study if you meet all the following conditions.
|
Condition |
Requirement |
| citizenship |
You must be :
- an Australian citizen
- a New Zealand citizen who will be resident in Australia for the duration of your unit of study, or
- the holder of a permanent visa who will be resident in Australia for the duration of your unit of study.
See also:
List of permanent visa sub-classes (20kb) PDF 
List of permanent visa sub-classes (157kb) RTF 
|
| enrolment |
You must:
- be notified by your provider that you are a Commonwealth supported student
- on or before the census date, complete your provider’s enrolment requirements for your units of study
- on or before the census date, complete, sign and submit a Request for Commonwealth support and HECS-HELP form.
See also: important dates - census dates
|
| unit of study |
You can only be Commonwealth supported in relation to a unit of study if:
- the unit contributes to your course of study
- you have enough Student Learning Entitlement to cover the equivalent full-time student load (EFTSL) value of the unit, unless the unit:
- wholly consists of work experience in industry (WEI), or
- forms part of an enabling course. Ask your provider.
See also:
|
| payment of student contribution amount |
- If you are eligible for HECS-HELP, then you must either:
- pay 80% of your student contribution up-front on or before the census date, or
- provide your Tax File Number (TFN) on your Request for Commonwealth support and HECS-HELP form on or before the census date.
- If you are not eligible for HECS-HELP, then you must pay 100% of your student contribution up-front on or before the census date
See also: Payment options & HECS-HELP
|
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What is the Student Learning Entitlement?
If you are an Australian citizen, New Zealand citizen or the holder of a permanent visa, you will receive a Student Learning Entitlement (SLE), providing you with access to seven years of equivalent full-time study in a Commonwealth supported place.
Example: If Jemima chooses to study at half the pace of a full-time student she can study for 14 years as a Commonwealth supported student. This is an equivalent full-time student load (EFTSL) of seven years of full-time study.
You will consume your SLE as you undertake units of study as a Commonwealth supported student.
In some cases, you may also be eligible for additional SLE for your course of study.
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Types of SLE
The following table describes the different types of SLE available.
|
SLE Type |
Description |
| Ordinary |
An equivalent of seven years of full-time study for all:
|
| Additional |
An extra entitlement to ensure you have enough SLE to complete at least one course of study as a Commonwealth supported student. Any additional SLE you are granted for a course of study can only be used for that particular course.
You will be allocated additional SLE for a Commonwealth supported course of study, if the course is:
- an undergraduate course longer than six years (equivalent full-time)
- an honours course
- a graduate entry bachelor degree, or
- a postgraduate course.
|
| Lifelong |
To update your qualifications or retrain, you will begin accruing lifelong SLE:
- in 2012, if you were 20 years or older on 1 January 2005, or
- on 1 January of the year of your 27th birthday if you were less than 20 years old on 1 January 2005.
Note: Lifelong SLE will accrue at the rate of 1 EFTSL on 1 January of the first year of accrual and 0.25 EFTSL on 1 January of every year thereafter.
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Will you have enough SLE?
You are not required to have enough of one type of SLE to cover a unit of study as long as your total available SLE (including ordinary SLE, additional SLE and lifelong SLE) is enough to cover the unit of study. Your SLE must be used in the following order:
- ordinary SLE must be consumed first
- all ordinary SLE must be completely consumed before any additional SLE can be used
- all additional SLE must be consumed before lifelong SLE can be used.
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Consuming SLE
SLE consumption occurs on the census date. Your SLE is reduced by the EFTSL value of the unit(s) of study in which you are enrolled as a Commonwealth supported student.
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Checking your SLE consumption
After the census date, your provider will send you a Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) for the units of study you are enrolled in as a Commonwealth supported student. The CAN will include details about your:
- student contribution amounts
- SLE usage
- HECS-HELP assistance.
The CAN will include any changes you have made to your study programme on or before the census date. If you think the information on the CAN is incorrect, you should contact your provider within 14 days.
From late 2005, you will be able to monitor and check your SLE usage through the private section that will be available on this website.
See also: Your Commonwealth Assistance notice
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