Tuition fees

All universities charge course fees, known as tuition fees. How much a student will be charged depends on the:

• course they take,
• university they attend, and
• their residency status.

Every university lists its current tuition fees on its website, or will send out fee information by post.

Domestic students

To be classed as a domestic student, your son or daughter must be:

• an Australian or New Zealand citizen (including joint citizenship), or
• an Australian permanent resident.

Commonwealth supported place (CSP)

If your son or daughter is a citizen or permanent resident of Australia or a citizen of New Zealand, they can study at undergraduate level in a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) at university.

On a CSP, the federal government pays part of the tuition fees and the student pays the rest. The part paid by the student is known as the student contribution.

Paying fees

Most students with CSP can defer payment of their student contribution using the Government higher education loan programme (HELP), HECS-HELP.

If your son or daughter is not eligible for HECS-HELP, they are required to pay the full student contributions as an upfront payment.

Find out more about HECS-HELP

International students

If your son or daughter is classed as an international student, their tuition fees will be higher as they will not be eligible for Government support.

Before your son or daughter applies to university it is important to check their residency status. If your children were born in Australia they will have taken the residency status you had at the time of their birth.

You can check your son or daughter's residency status through the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship:
http://www.immi.gov.au (opens an external site)