Job-ready Graduates Package

The Job-ready Graduates Package – higher education reforms changes funding arrangements and student protections. The package delivers university funding arrangements, with a better integrated system, improved transparency, as well as more opportunities for regional, remote and Indigenous students.

We've compiled some of the most popular questions regarding the new reforms to help you better understand how the changes may impact you.

How do these changes impact students who access Commonwealth assistance (eg. have a Commonwealth supported place or use HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP)?

There are student protections in higher education designed to prevent students incurring debt for a course that they are not well suited to. When you accept a CSP or use Commonwealth assistance through HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP, there are requirements you need to be aware of. Not meeting these throughout your study will impact your eligibility for Commonwealth assistance.

• You must be assessed as being academically suited to your course, be a genuine student and actively engaging in your course.
• You have a limit of seven years to study in a Commonwealth supported place (or part-time equivalent), this is referred to as your Student Learning Entitlement (SLE).
• You must provide us with your Unique Student Identifier (USI), which is your Government education number for life.

What is a Commonwealth supported place?

A Commonwealth supported place (CSP) is a university place for which the Government pays a proportion of your tuition fees. Students enrolled in these places contribute to part of the cost of their course. This is referred to as a 'student contribution'. Sometimes you may hear it referred to as HECS or CSP. CSP students may also be eligible for HECS-HELP to help pay for their studies.