What is the census date?
Importance of the census date
Provider sets census dates
Census date - your responsibility
Census date and your enrolment
Census date and your HECS-HELP debt
What is the census date?
The census date is the date on which all your enrolment requirements must be finalised.
Importance of the census date
The census date is important because it is the deadline for all the following:
- finalising your enrolment with your higher education provider
- completing and submitting your Request for Commonwealth support and HECS-HELP form
- paying part or all of your student contribution up-front, if you wish to pay up-front
- providing your Tax File Number, if you request a HECS-HELP loan.
If you remain enrolled in a Commonwealth supported unit at the end of the census date you will:
- consume student learning entitlement (SLE)
- be liable to pay your student contribution
- incur a HECS-HELP debt, if you have requested a loan for your student contribution.
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Provider sets census dates
Your provider will set the census date for each unit of study. Your provider is required to publish census dates by 1 April for units with a census date in the same year between 1 July and 31 December and by 1 October for units with a census date in the following year between 1 January and 30 June of that year. You should check the census date for your units with your provider.
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Census date - your responsibility
You are responsible for meeting your provider’s census date deadline. You must be aware of:
- your provider’s census dates
- any specific arrangements for enrolment required by your provider.
You must check that all your enrolment and payment details are correct on or before the census date.
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Census date and your enrolment
The following table outlines the impact of missing the census date.
|
If, by the census date, you fail to … |
Then… |
| complete your enrolment requirements |
your provider may cancel your enrolment. |
| complete your Request for Commonwealth support and HECS-HELP form |
your provider will cancel your enrolment as a Commonwealth supported student. |
|
|
your provider will cancel your enrolment as a Commonwealth supported student. |
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Census date and your HECS-HELP debt
If you have requested a HECS-HELP loan for your student contribution then will you incur a debt on the census date.
You will not incur a HECS-HELP debt if you formally withdraw on or before the census date.
See also: Withdrawing, failing non-completion
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