Commonwealth Supported Place
A Commonwealth Supported Place is a higher education place for which the Australian Government makes a contribution to your education provider towards the cost of your education. If you are enrolled in a unit as a Commonwealth supported student you will be required to contribute to the cost of your education through a student contribution.
For eligible students, student contribution amounts can be paid through HECS-HELP which allows for:
- HECS-HELP Loan - a loan for all or part of the student contribution amount to be repaid through the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). You must provide your Tax File Number to the University by the census date. Repayment will commence once your income is above the minimum threshold for compusory repayment. For 2008 the threshold is set at $39,825.
- HECS-HELP Discount - a payment of at least $500 towards a student contribution before the census date will receive a 20% discount on the amount paid.
Eligibility For Commonwealth Supported Place and HECS-HELP
Student Learning Entitlement (SLE)
Pre 2008 Status
How and When To Pay Fees & Charges
Eligibility
You are eligible to be Commonwealth supported for a unit of study if you:
- have received an offer of a Commonwealth Supported place for your course of study; and
- enrol in the unit on or before the census date and remain enrolled at the end of the census date; and
- submit a completed Request for Commonwealth Support and HECS-HELP form (CAF Form); and
- have a residency status of either
- an Australian Citizen or
- a New Zealand citizen who will be a resident in Australia for the duration of your unit; or
- the holder of a permanent visa who will be resident in Australia for the duration of your unit
- have sufficient Student Learning Entitlement to cover the unit in which you are enrolling.
You are eligible for HECS-HELP if you:
- are enrolled in a unit of study as a Commonwealth supported student; and
- meet the citizenship or residency requirements. That is, you must be
- an Australian citizen
- the holder of a permanent humanitarian visa who will be resident in Australia for the duration of the unit
- a New Zealand citizen or the holder of a permanent visa (other than a permanent humanitarian visa) who is a pre-2005 HECS student and who meets the citizenship eligibility requirements that were in place under HECS.
If you are not eligible for HECS-HELP, you must pay your student contribution in full by the census date.
Student Contribution
The University determines the amount you contribute for each unit of study (student contribution) within the ranges set by the Australian Government.
The student contribution for a unit of study depends on:
- the number of credit points of the unit;
- the band in which the unit is classified;
- the weight of the unit in your course of study [the equivalent full-time load (EFTSL) value of the unit];
- the year when you began a course of study for which you have not yet completed the requirements.
For Commonwealth supported students enrolled at Macquarie in 2008, there will be three rates of student contribution amounts:
- pre-1997 students;
- pre-2005 students AND students who commenced a course of study in 2005 or 2006;
- student who commenced a course in 2007 and new students commencing a course of study in 2008 – rates set at the maximum allowable by the Australian government.
Student Contribution Amount |
|||
| Band Of Study | Students Commencing |
New Students Commencing |
|
pre-1997 |
pre-2005 or |
2007/2008 |
|
| National Priorities Education, nursing |
$3061 |
$4077 |
$4077 |
| Band 1 Humanities, arts, behavioural science, social studies, foreign languages, visual and performing arts |
$3061 |
$4077 |
$5095 |
Band 2 |
$3061 |
$5807 |
$7260 |
| Band 3 Law, accounting, commerce, administration, economics, dentistry, medicine, veterinary science |
$3061 |
$6798 |
$8499 |
Calculation of the Student Contribution for an Undergraduate Unit Of Study
To calculate the student contribution for an undergraduate unit(s) of study:
- Go the 2008 Schedule of Undergraduate Units to find to find the unit of study and get its credit point value;
- Go the 2008 Student Contribution Bands to find the band for the unit;
- For further information on calculating student contribution please refer to the following webpage: http://www.mq.edu.au/reforms/
Pre-2005 Students
Application For Pre 2005 Status Form 
You are a "Pre-2005 Student" if you commenced a course of study as a HECS liable student prior to 2005 at Macquarie University or another university, and fall into one of the following categories:
- You are returning to Macquarie University in 2008 to the same course of study for which you had pre-2005 status, having not completed the requirements of that course;
- You are transferring to Macquarie University in 2008 to a course of study at the same level at which you were enrolled at and for which you had pre-2005 status, having not completed the requirements for that course;
- You are enrolling in an honours course in 2008 after having completed a related pass degree for which you had pre-2005 status either at Macquarie University or another university;
- You are enrolling as a cross-institutional student at Macquarie having a pre-2005 status at your home institution;
As a pre-2005 student, your student contribution rates for 2008 cannot exceed what the HECS rates would have been for those years had there been no changes to HECS.
For full information and application procedure you should refer to Application For Pre 2005 Status Form . Please ensure you lodge the application form with the supporting documentation specified.
Pre-2008 Students
Application for Pre-2008 Status Form
You are a pre-2008 student if:
- You are returning to Macquarie University in 2008 to the same course of study for which you commenced your course from 2005, having not completed the requirements of that course;
- You are transferring to Macquarie University in 2008 to a course of study at the same level at which you were enrolled at another university that you commenced from 2005 onwards, having not completed the requirements for that course;
- You are enrolling in an honours course in 2008 after having completed a related pass degree for which you commenced from 2005, either at Macquarie University or another institution;
- You are enrolling as a cross-institutional student at Macquarie having commenced studies at your home institution from 2005 onwards;
As a pre-2008 student, your student contribution rates for 2008 cannot exceed what the HECS rates would have been for those years had there been no changes to HECS-HELP.
For full information and application procedure you should refer to Application For Pre 2008 Status Form . Please ensure you lodge the application form with the supporting documentation specified.
Student Learning Entitlement (SLE)
All Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens and holders of a permanent visa are allocated a Student Learning Entitlement (SLE). To be Commonwealth supported for a unit, you must have enough SLE to cover the equivalent full-time student load (EFTSL) value of that unit.
Your total Student Learning Entitlement is made up of:
- Ordinary SLE - All eligible students are allocated 'ordinary' SLE to the value of 7 ETFSL and;
- Additional SLE - You will be allocated additional SLE if
your course is
- an undergraduate course that will take longer than 6 years of full-time study or
- an honours course, graduate entry bachelor degree or postgraduate course and;
- Lifelong SLE - You will be allocated 1 ETFSL when you begin accruing and 0.25 EFTSL every 1 January thereafter. You will begin accruing lifelong SLE:
- in 2012 if you were aged 20 years or older on 1 January 2005 or
- on 1 January of the year of your 27th birthday if you were aged less than 20 years on 1 January 2005.
If you have been a Commonwealth Supported Student previously, you will be able to use your CHESSN to access your Student Learning Entitlement Balance on the myUniAssist website (operated by Department of Education, Science and Training).
Census Date
The census dates for 2008 are:
- for First-Half Year Units - 31 March
- for Full-Year Units Units - 30 April
- for Second-Half Year Units - 31 August.
For the exact census date of your unit please Click Here.
As a Commonwealth Supported Student, on the Census Date you will
- consume your Student Learning Entitlement for each unit of study in which you are enrolled on that date
- you become liable for your student contribution amount for those units
- you incur a HECS-HELP debt for those units if you have taken out a HECS-HELP Loan
For HECS-HELP students if you have not paid your student contribution in full for the unit(s) in which you are enrolled by the census date, and if you haven't not provided your Tax File Number (TFN), your enrolment in the unit(s) will be cancelled.
For 100% Upfront payers if you have not paid your student contribution in full for the unit(s) in which you are enrolled by the census date, your enrolment in the unit(s) will be cancelled.
Further Information
For more information regarding HECS-HELP and Commonwealth Supported Places please refer to the Commonwealth Supported Students booklet published by the Department of Education, Science and Training.
For more information regarding the fees and charges for Macquarie University please refer to our Fee and Census Date Information 2008.
For more information on how and when to pay fees and charges please refer to the Office of Financial Services Website.