Fees & Funding

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Fees

Without a doubt, higher education is a valuable investment in your future. But the subject of fees and funding can quickly get confusing. We’ve laid out some helpful sections so you can track down the answers to your questions.

The College is accredited as an Institute of Higher Education by the Commonwealth Government, allowing eligible domestic ACPE students to access FEE-HELP. The financial assistance packages available to assist students are detailed below. Full fee students are NOT eligible for HECS (the Higher Education Contribution Scheme).

FEE-HELP available to eligible domestic students

If you are an Australian citizen, on a New Zealand Special Category visa (SCV) or permanent humanitarian visa holder and meet the residency requirements, then you may be eligible to apply for FEE Help. Under this scheme, the Australian Government pays the amount of the loan directly to ACPE. You are able to repay your loan through the Australian taxation system once your income rises above the minimum threshold for compulsory repayment. Additional information about the FEE-HELP loan scheme is available from the Government website. Specific information about FEE-HELP and its administration at ACPE is available from the Policies and Procedures section of the ACPE website. 

ACPE Payment option

If you do not want to use the FEE HELP scheme to fund your studies, you may elect to pay the College directly.  You are able to pay your tuition fees in full single payment or by instalments. Tuition fees for any semester have to be paid by the first Friday following the census date of that semester.

Am I eligble for Centrelink payments while I am studying?

Local students may qualify for Centrelink support payments while studying at ACPE. Students are normally required to be Australian residents and enrolled in at least 75% of the normal full-time study load. Further information about Centrelink support payments while studying can be obtained from Centrelink or by phoning the Centrelink national telephone number for enquiries on 13 24 90.

Tuition Fee Information and List of Units

Tuition assurance – what is it?

Tuition assurance protects students in the event that an institution defaults, that is, ceases to deliver their course, or closes a campus on which it is offered, or closes the institution entirely after the students have commenced a course but before they complete it. From January 2021, domestic up-front fee-paying students studying higher education with private education providers are eligible for tuition protection assistance if the course has not commenced, or ceases after commencement but before completion, and the student has not previously withdrawn.   

As an approved Institute of Higher Education under the Higher Education Support Act 2003, ACPE LIMITED ABN: 28107480848 ACN: 107480848 must meet the tuition assurance requirements or be exempt from those requirements.

Tuition assurance for international and domestic students is provided through the Australian Government’s Tuition Protection Service (TPS). ACPE is a member of this service.

You can read the ACPE Limited Tuition Assurance Statement here

Additional information

Refund of Tuition Fees  – view the ACPE Terms & Conditions

FEE-HELP FAQs

Any student can choose Direct Payment method. Only students who meet the government’s eligibility requirements can access FEE-HELP.

  • Domestic students who are Australian citizens, or holders of humanitarian permanent resident visas, or New Zealand special category visa holders, may opt for FEE-HELP or direct payment.
  • Domestic students who hold Australian permanent resident visas are not eligible for FEE-HELP.
  • International students on an Australian student visa or on a visa which allows onshore study in Australia, are not eligible for FEE-HELP.

If you are an Australian citizen, your payment method will be recorded as FEE-HELP. To change to Direct Payment, send an email to registry@acpe.edu.au.

If you are a New Zealand citizen, your payment method will be initially recorded as Direct Payment. You may be eligible for FEE-HELP if you are a New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holder and meet all the government’s long term residency requirements . You will be required to study your entire course in Australia. To change to FEE-HELP, send an email to registry@acpe.edu.au with proof of your Special Category Visa and your movement record for assessment.

As a permanent resident, you are not eligible to access a HELP loan. You will be required to pay your fees directly to the College by the due date on your invoice. If you gain Australian citizenship while enrolled in your ACPE course,  you may be able to access FEE-HELP for your remaining studies. Send an email to registry@acpe.edu.au with proof of your Australian citizenship and complete the eCAF on or before the census date of the semester when you become an Australian citizen.

The census date is the date by which your enrolment and fees must be finalised for each teaching period. It is the last day that you can withdraw from a unit without incurring academic or financial liability and the last day to submit your complete eCAF. The census date marks the point when you become financially liable for your unit enrolments (i.e. become responsible for the tuition fee payment of your units). If you deferred your tuition fee payment through a FEE-HELP loan, once census date has passed, your tuition fee debt will be transferred to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for future payment collection.

An eCAF is an Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form required to be completed if you are eligible for FEE-HELP and wish to access a FEE-HELP loan for the payment of your tuition fees while studying at ACPE. The eCAF must be submitted by your unit’s census date. The eCAF will require your Unique Student Identifier (USI) and Tax File Number.

Check your Paradigm record. If the funding type (payment method) is “FEE-HELP” and you have enrolled in your units, check your ACPE email for the Commonwealth Government’s invitation to complete an eCAF. Allow at least two working days from the day you enrolled in your units to locate this email. Then follow the steps in the ACPE Guide to Complete your eCAF.

You must provide your Tax File Number (TFN) to fully complete your application for FEE-HELP.  If you do not have a TFN, you must apply for a TFN and upload proof of your TFN application in your eCAF submission.  To apply for a TFN, please visit the Australian Taxation Office site. Follow the steps below:

  1. Complete the online application form
  2. Print the summary, which will include your application reference number.
  • Attend an interview at a participating Australia Post outlet within 30 days of completing your online form. You’ll need to take your printed summary and proof of identity documents to the interview.
  1. Australia Post will send your details electronically to the ATO and issue you with a receipt.
  2. Upload your Certificate of application document to the online eCAF.
  3. Once your TFN arrives by post, you must advise the College immediately of your new TFN, via email to registry@acpe.edu.au You must provide ACPE with your TFN by census date.

Your funding type will be changed to “Direct Payment”. You will receive an invoice for payment of your tuition fees by the Friday following the census date.

If your complete eCAF is received after the census date, you will still be required to pay the tuition fee charges directly to the College by the due date on the invoice. FEE-HELP access can apply starting from your next semester of enrolment.

You must submit your withdrawal in writing. You will not incur tuition fee charges for your withdrawn units if you submit the Unit Enrolment Variation Form to the College on or before the census date of the units.

If you submit your withdrawal after the census date, you remain responsible for payment of the tuition fees for all units in which you are enrolled as at census date.

Once you have undertaken 4 or more units in a  sub-bachelor level course (Diploma or Associate Degree) or 8 units in a Bachelor or higher level course, you must have passed at least 50 per cent of your total attempted units in order to remain eligible for FEE-HELP. Check the “Pass Rate Requirements” section in https://www.studyassist.gov.au/help-loans/fee-help

If you remain enrolled in the same course for which have FEE-HELP loan access, you do not need to submit an eCAF when you re-enrol each semester. If you transfer or transition to a different course or proceed to a new course after completing your initial course, you will need to submit a new eCAF to be able to use your remaining HELP loan balance for the payment of the tuition fees of the new course.

Your available HELP balance is your available borrowing capacity for FEE-HELP, HECS-HELP, VET FEE-HELP and VET Student Loans. You can view your available HELP balance through the myHELPbalance website. You will need your USI or CHESSN , (Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number),  student ID number and personal details to login to the website.

You can check how much you currently owe on your HELP debt through the Australian Tax Office (ATO) or through your myGov account. For more information, check the Study Assist section on paying back your loan or the Australian Taxation Office information Study support loans.