Commonwealth Supported Students
The Commonwealth Government determines the number and allocation of Commonwealth supported undergraduate places with each public higher education providers each year through the Commonwealth Grant Scheme (CGS). A Commonwealth supported place is a higher education place for which the Commonwealth Government makes a contribution to the higher education provider towards the cost of a student's education. The student only makes a contribution towards the cost of education, known as the student contribution. Commonwealth supported places are available to citizens of Australia and New Zealand and Australian permanent residents.
Commonwealth supported places are allocated to students by the tertiary admissions centre in each state or territory:
- Universities Admissions Centre (UAC) in NSW and ACT
- Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre
- South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre in South Australia and the Northern Territory
- University of Tasmania in Tasmania
- Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) in Victoria
- Tertiary Institutions Service Centre in Western Australia.
The allocation is usually based on secondary school results (through the UAI, ENTER, TER or OP scores), TAFE qualifications and previous university results.
The student contribution varies between courses. It is based upon the expected earnings following a students' graduation, not the cost of providing the course. Higher education providers can set the student contribution level for each unit of study, up to a maximum level set by the Government. It is said that, due to government underfunding of universities, universities almost always charge the highest level allowable.
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Student Contribution |
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| Band | Curriculum Areas | Post- 1 Jan 2010 CSP students | Pre- 1 Jan 2010 CSP students | Pre- 1 Jan 2005 HECS students | |
| 2010 Maximum Contribution per EFTSL |
Post-1 Jan 2005 | Post-1 Jan 1997 | Pre-1 Jan 1997 | ||
| National Priority | Mathematicsª, Statisticsª, Scienceª, | $0 – $4,429 | $0 – $4,162 | $0 – $4,077 | $0 – $3,061 |
| Band 1 | Education^, Nursing^, Humanities, Behavioural science, Social studies, Foreign languages, Visual and Performing arts, Nursingª, Educationª, Clinical Psychology | $0 – $5,310 | $0 – $5,201 | ||
| Band 2 | Computing, Built Environment, Health Sciences, Engineering, Surveying, Agriculture | $0 – $7,567 | $0 – $7,412 | $0 – $5,807 | |
| Band 3 | Law, Dentistry, Medicine, Veterinary science, Accounting, Administration, Economics, Commerce | $0 – $8,859 | $0 – $8,677 | $0 – $6,798 | |
| Notes: ^ removed 2010 reform, ª Added 2010 reform, numbers or figures - Deprecated | |||||
An eligible student can either pay the entire student contribution and receive a 10% in-kind contribution (~9.1% discount) (was 20% in-kind (17% discount) prior to 2012) or defer payment of the contribution through a HECS-HELP loan. It is possible to defer payment of some of the contribution and pay part upfront. In cases of part payment, a 10% bonus (was 20% prior to 2012) is received on the amount paid. Only Australian citizens and permanent humanitarian visa holders are eligible for HECS-HELP loans or the up-front 10% bonus on the payment amount. Students who are New Zealand citizens or Australian permanent residents must pay the entire contribution upfront and receive no HECS discount.
Read more about this topic: Tertiary Education Fees In Australia
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