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SA-HELP is part of the Government’s HELP scheme and assists eligible students to defer all or part of their Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) through a loan.
Any amount deferred through SA-HELP becomes part of an accumulated HELP debt which you will be required to repay through the tax system once you meet a certain salary threshold.
To be eligible for SA-HELP you need to be an Australian citizen or a permanent humanitarian visa holder, or New Zealand Special Category visa holder who meets the long-term residency requirements.
Eligibility criteria and legislation around SA-HELP can change. See the Study Assist website for details.
If eligible, you can apply for SA-HELP through Sydney Student (go to ‘My finance’, ‘Your finances’, then 'Government forms’). You will need to apply on or before the SSAF payment due date (2 June for Semester 1, 2 November for Semester 2).
As part of the application you will need to:
You only need to apply for SA-HELP once per course. We will then assume you are using SA-HELP every time the SSAF is charged, unless you change your payment option.
Your SSAF loan amount will be deferred to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) incurral date (29 June or 12 December).
If you have not provided a TFN by the SSAF incurral date, you will not be eligible for SA-HELP and will be required to pay your fees up front.
If you don’t have a TFN at the time of filling out your form, before the incurral date you will need to:
Your SSAF Student Financial Statement will include whether you have chosen to defer payment through SA-HELP or if not.
Learn more about your HELP debt.
If you have applied for SA-HELP and would like to make an upfront payment, this will be deducted from the amount you are borrowing through the government scheme. Any fees remaining after the SSAF payment due date will then be deferred.
Find out how to make a partial payment.
Once you’ve applied for SA-HELP, if you decide you’d like to change your request and pay the SSAF up front, you can do this through Sydney Student (go to ‘My finance’, ‘Your finances’, then ‘Government forms’).
As a precaution, we’re currently closed for in-person enquiries.
Find out more about our service
1800 SYD UNI (1800 793 864)
or +61 2 8627 1444
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