Services and amenities - Higher Education Loan Program

On 3 November 2011, The Higher Education Legislation Amendment (Student Services and Amenities) Act 2011(the Act) received royal assent. This amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to allow higher education providers to charge a compulsory student services and amenities fee. The fee will be up to $263 in 2012, and thereafter indexed annually.

The Act also establishes a new component of the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP): Services and Amenities-HELP (SA-HELP), which will provide eligible students with an option to access a loan for the fee through SA-HELP if they wish.

In addition, the Act also requires higher education providers that receive funding for student places under the Commonwealth Grant Scheme to:

• comply with new benchmarks from 2011 onwards, for the provision of information on and access to basic student support services of a non-academic nature
• meet requirements to ensure the provision of student representation and advocacy.

Media release

Refer to the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations media release Implementing the Student Services and Amenities Fee.

Legislation and supporting material

For more information, refer to the Higher Education Legislation Amendment (Student Services and Amenities) Act 2011 and the Explanatory Memorandum which received royal assent on 23 November 2011.

More information For more information on the Higher Education Loan Program and SA-HELP, see Higher education loan schemes essentials.