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HELP Balance

What is my HELP balance?

The amount of HELP loan you are able to borrow has a limit set by the government.

Your HELP balance is the amount of HELP you are still able to borrow. This is equal to the maximum loan amount set by the government minus the amount of HELP loan used for any current or previous studies at any higher education provider in Australia.

Combined HELP limit

From 1 January 2020 onwards, any borrowing under HECS-HELP will count towards your HELP limit. The HELP limit is the maximum amount that you can borrow under HELP over your lifetime.

Any previous HECS-HELP debts will not count towards your HELP limit. Previous FEE-HELP and VET FEE-HELP debts, however, will count towards your HELP limit.

Detailed information about the combined HELP limit is available from the Study Assist website.

As noted on Study Assist website the higher FEE-HELP limit is only available to students while enrolled in the following courses:

        Doctor of Medicine
        Doctor of Dental Surgery
        Doctor of Veterinary Medicine

The lower FEE-HELP limit specified is applicable to students enrolled in ALL other courses.

A Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) is sent to you after each census date, which will indicate the amount of FEE-HELP used. Please retain these as a record of your FEE-HELP usage.

To obtain an estimate of your current HELP balance you will need to log into myHELPbalance using your CHESSN or USI (listed on your Commonwealth Assistance Notice).