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Calculating tuition costs for Commonwealth supported students

After students enrol, they are sent an invoice for the exact amount they will need to pay for their program fees and other expenses. If you wish to work out what your fees will be ahead of time, the following information will assist you to do that.

What are Commonwealth supported students?

Anyone enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place is considered to be a Commonwealth supported student. A Commonwealth supported place is a higher education place to which the Commonwealth makes a financial contribution.

Commonwealth supported students are required to make a student contribution that partially covers the tuition costs of their enrolment.

Only students who are:

a) Australian citizens;
b) New Zealand citizens; or
c) holders of an Australian Permanent Resident Visa,

are eligible for a Commonwealth supported place.

Australian citizens or holders of a Permanent HumanitarianVisa may:

  • Defer their full student contribution amounts through the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
  • Make full up-front payments of 80% of the student contribution amount for all of their courses and receive a 20% discount (Subject to the passage of legislation, from 1 January 2012 the Australian Government will lower this discount from 20% to 10%, so a full up-front payment of 90% will be required)
  • Pay part of their student contribution amounts up-front to receive a 20% HECS-HELP discount for any payments totaling $500 or more, and obtain a loan for the remainder. (Subject to the passage of legislation, from 1 January 2012 the Australian Government will lower this discount from 20% to 10%)

Students who wish to defer fees must provide RMIT with their Tax File Number (TFN) before the census date in their first semester. Failure to provide a TFN will result in the student’s cancellation from their program for the entire semester unless a full upfront payment has been made.

New Zealand citizens and most permanent residents (except holders of a Permanent Humanitarian Visa) are not eligible to defer fees and must pay upfront without a discount. Payments are due on or before the census date in each semester.

How much can a Commonwealth supported student expect to pay?

The amount a Commonwealth supported student pays is based on the individual courses they study, not the overall program. Courses are divided into bands (see Tables 1 and 2 below) and the amount paid for each program depends on the band and the weight of the courses within a program. To determine the annual fee for a program, students will need to know which courses they will be undertaking as well as the band and weight of each course.

Table 1: Maximum student contribution amount by student contribution band - 2012

Student Contribution Band

Maximum student contribution amount for a place in 2012

Band PM: National Priorities—Mathematics and Statistics

$4,520

Band PS: National Priorities—Science

$4,520

Band 1: (humanities, behavioural science, social studies, education, clinical psychology, foreign languages, visual and performing arts, nursing)

$5,648

Band 2: (computing, built environment, other health, allied health, engineering surveying, agriculture)

$8,050

Band 3: (law, accounting, administration, economics, commerce, dentistry, medicine, veterinary science)

$9,425

Pre-2008 students: For pre-2008 students, the maximum annual student contribution amount that may be charged for Accounting, Administration, Economics and Commerce units is $8,050. This amount applies to Commonwealth supported students who commenced a course of study before 1 January 2008 and are covered by the savings provision in Schedule 7 of the Higher Education Legislation Amendment (2007 Budget Measures) Act 2007.

Pre-2009 students: For pre-2009 students, the maximum annual student contribution amount that may be charged for Mathematics, Statistics and Science units is $8,050 (Band 2).

Pre-2010 students: For pre-2010 students, the maximum annual student contribution amount that may be charged for Education and Nursing units is $4,520.

Table 2: Maximum student contribution amount by student contribution band - 2011

Student Contribution Band

Maximum student contribution amount for a place in 2011

Band PM: National Priorities—Mathematics and Statistics

$4,355

Band PS: National Priorities—Science

$4,355

Band 1: (humanities, behavioural science, social studies, education, clinical psychology, foreign languages, visual and performing arts, nursing)

$5,442

Band 2: (computing, built environment, other health, allied health, engineering surveying, agriculture)

$7,756

Band 3: (law, accounting, administration, economics, commerce, dentistry, medicine, veterinary science)

$9,080

Pre-2008 students: For pre-2008 students, the maximum annual student contribution amount that may be charged for Accounting, Administration, Economics and Commerce units is $7,756 (band 2). This amount applies to Commonwealth supported students who commenced a course of study before 1 January 2008 and are covered by the savings provision in Schedule 7 of the Higher Education Legislation Amendment (2007 Budget Measures) Act 2007.

Pre-2009 students: For pre-2009 students, the maximum annual student contribution amount that may be charged for Mathematics, Statistics and Science units is $7,756 (band 2).

Pre-2010 students: For pre-2010 students, the maximum annual student contribution amount that may be charged for Education and Nursing units is $4,355.

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Calculating the student contribution for a program

Students who don't require an exact figure for their student contribution amount can estimate their contribution by assuming that all courses in their program will be from the same band and using the maximum student contribution for that band as their estimate, e.g. if a student is enrolled in an Economics or Administration degree their approximate annual student contribution will be $9,425 in 2012. If a student is commencing a Science degree their approximate annual student contribution will be $4,520 in 2012. If a student is enrolled in a Performing Arts degree their approximate annual student contribution will be $5,648 in 2012. The actual fee may be more or less than this amount depending on the courses chosen, but this figure can be used as a guide.

Students who want to calculate an exact fee will need to know the courses they will be undertaking. Knowing the courses and the band they are allocated to allows students to calculate the student contribution they will be required to pay for each course using its band and weight. The weight of each course can be expressed in EFTSL (Effective Full Time Student Load) and / or credit points. Adding the amount for each course together will then provide your total for the year.

You can find the structure of your program (the courses you will need to enrol in) linked from individual program pages (use the search on the Study at RMIT page)

Student contribution is calculated by multiplying the EFTSL value of the course by the maximum student contribution for the band that the course has been allocated to.

Example 1: student contribution for one course

A 12 credit point computing course has an EFTSL of 0.125 and is in Band 3. The student contribution for this course will be $1,178.00 (rounded to the nearest dollar).

$9,425

x

0.125

=

$1,178.00

Example 2: student contribution for one full-time year

A student commences a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) in 2012. In her first year, she enrols in eight courses of equal weighting (8 x 12 credit point courses) which comprise a standard full-time load (96 credit points). She enrols in five accounting courses and three arts courses. Her student contribution for 2012 would be calculated as follows:

Course band

EFTSL

Number of courses

Maximum student contribution amount per band

Student contribution per band

1

0.125

x

3

x

$5,648

=

$2,118.00

3

0.125

x

5

x

$9,425

=

$5,890.63

Total

$8,008.00*

* The total student contribution amount is rounded down to the nearest dollar.

Don’t forget to include other fees such as material fees and administrative fees to determine the overall costs. Other fees such as material fees and administrative fees must be paid upfront and cannot be deferred.

Please note:Some programs (e.g. Double Degrees) may require students to enrol in more than 96 credit points in some or all years of the program. The annual student contribution can still be determined by adding together the cost for each course undertaken in that year.

End of pre-2005 HECS arrangements

All pre-2005 student arrangements end on 31 December 2008 regardless of whether you have completed your course. The current pre-2005 arrangements apply only to units that end on or before 31 December 2008. There are no exceptions or extensions of these arrangements beyond 31 December 2008.

As a student who was provided with pre-2005 transition arrangements, from 1 January 2009:

  • You will be subject to the same student contribution ranges established on 1 January 2005
  • You will only be eligible for a HELP loan if you are an Australian citizen or the holder of a Permanent Humanitarian Visa
  • If you are a permanent visa holder (non humanitarian) or a New Zealand citizen, you must pay your student contribution up-front, in full, on or before the census date – you will not receive a discount for up-front payments.

You are not required to do anything further. However, if you are a New Zealand citizen or a Permanent Resident of Australia, obtaining Australian citizenship prior to 2009 will mean that you will be eligible to receive the up-front payment discount or defer your student contribution to the Australian Tax Office.

Background

Under the Our Universities: Backing Australia’s Future reforms in 2005, the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) was introduced incorporating HECS-HELP (formerly HECS) and two new loan schemes FEE-HELP and OS-HELP. As part of the reforms, the Australian Government put in place transitional arrangements for HECS students who were continuing with a course of study they began before 2005.

Am I a pre-2005 HECS student?

You are a pre-2005 HECS student if you commenced your course of study as a HECS student before 1 January 2005 and have not discontinued your enrolment or completed the requirements of the course.

If you discontinue your enrolment, for example, by formally withdrawing from your course or allowing your enrolment to lapse without formal authorisation from your higher education provider, you will no longer be considered a pre-2005 HECS student.

For further information, please consult Appendix E of Commonwealth support and HECS-HELP available from DEEWR’s Going to Uni website.

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