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Go back a stepCommonwealth Assistance Notice
What do I need to know about Commonwealth Assistance Notices?
Students who are enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place, or those who access a loan via FEE-HELP, SA-HELP or OS-HELP will be issued with a Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN).
Your Commonwealth Assistance Notice is issued electronically. An email will be sent to your University email account to inform you when this is issued. You can access your Commonwealth Assistance Notice via my.unimelb using the 'Access my Student Invoice or Commonwealth Assistance Notice' link on the homepage, or on the Fees page in the Student admin tab. You will receive a separate CAN for every subject census date in which you are enrolled. All subjects with the same census date will be listed together on the one CAN.
A CAN is issued within 28 days after each census date for Commonwealth supported and FEE-HELP students and within 28 days of the debt incurral date for SA-HELP and OS-HELP.
The CAN is your official notification of your enrolment at the University. It contains information that will be reported to the Government and/or to the ATO notifying them of the financial assistance you have received, including:
- your HELP debt
- any up-front payments you have made, and
- any discounts you might have received.
The University does not normally re-issue CANs so please ensure that you retain a copy of your CAN for your own records.
To check your HELP debt, please refer to the Study Assist website.
If you require your CHESSN email your request to sa-can@unimelb.edu.au. Please include your name, student number and all relevant contact details.
If there is an error on your CAN
If you believe there is an error on your CAN, you must notify us in writing within 14 days of the date of issue of the CAN.
For example:
- If you believe you withdrew from a subject before the census date, please contact Stop 1.
Important - If you withdrew after the census date, you will remain financially liable for that subject. - If you paid your student contribution up-front by the census date but it is not recorded on your CAN.
Important - Up-front payments must be made by your subject census dates. If your payment was made after the subject census date it will not be recorded on your CAN.
Important information that is displayed on the CAN is outlined below:
| CHESSN | Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number |
| Census Date | The last day you can withdraw from a subject without being financially liable |
| EFTSL | The proportion of a full time enrolment load that a unit of study represents |
| Student Contribution Amount | The amount that you pay towards the cost of your course as a Commonwealth supported student |
| Upfront Payments | The amount that has been paid upfront to the University including any payments made by sponsors on your behalf |
| HECS-HELP Discount | The amount of HECS-HELP discount that eligible Commonwealth supported students receive for making an upfront payment |
| HECS-HELP Debt | The amount of HECS-HELP debt the University reports to the ATO |
| FEE-HELP Assistance | The amount of FEE-HELP liability incurred. You can borrow up to the amount of the tuition fee being charged for each subject. Over your lifetime you can only borrow up to the FEE-HELP limit. |
| FEE-HELP Loan Fee | A loan fee of 25% applies to FEE-HELP loans incurred by students enrolled in fee-paying places in undergraduate courses only. This is added to your FEE-HELP Assistance to form the total FEE-HELP debt reported to the ATO. The loan fee does not count towards your FEE-HELP limit. |
| Debt Incurral date | The date on which an SA-HELP loan is incurred |
| Loan Commencement Date | The commencement date of the period for which an OS-HELP loan has been granted. |
| OS-HELP Debt | The amount of OS-HELP debt the University reports to the ATO |
| SA-HELP Debt | The amount of SA-HELP debt the University reports to the ATO |
| Total EFTSL | Total amount of enrolled load for this Notice |
| Total FEE-HELP Debt | Total amount of FEE-HELP debt for this Notice |
| Withdrawal after Census Date | If you withdraw from a subject(s) after the Census Date you remain financially liable. Should your withdrawal be due to special circumstances, you may be eligible to apply for remission of your fee liability. For further information refer Remission of Fee Liability Procedure |
Please contact Student Administration from your student email account including your name, student number and payment details at sa-can@unimelb.edu.au, or by mail to;
Student Administration
The University of Melbourne, VIC 3010.
Further information regarding the CAN, please refer to the website at www.studyassist.gov.au.
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Last updated: Oct. 25, 2023, 2:37 p.m.