HECS, or the "Higher Education Contribution Scheme", is a tertiary education funding scheme introduced in 1989 by the Australian Commonwealth Government. The Commonwealth subsidises the cost of tertiary education for Australian and New Zealand citizens and Australian permanent residents. The amount you pay for your tertiary education is your "HECS".

Table of contents
1 Lowering financial barriers to education
2 Cost of HECS to the student
3 Who administers HECS?
4 Related Schemes
5 History
6 Sources and external links

Lowering financial barriers to education

Perhaps most importantly, you can "defer" the cost of your studies, and only start paying back the subsidised cost of your degree (HECS) once you reach a certain income level (AU$24,365 for financial year 2002-3). This helps lessen the financial barrier to participating in tertiary education.

Cost of HECS to the student

If you pay your HECS upfront, or make voluntary repayment to your HECS debt, you pay 25% less. While you don't pay interest on your HECS, it is indexed to the CPI.

When first introduced, your HECS was roughly AU$2000 per year of full-time study, irrespective of course or institution. This was intended to represent about 25% of the cost of your course. Changes in government policy have meant that in 2003, the amount of HECS you pay varies according to course. Courses are "banded" according to expected earning power. There are three bands, with a year of full-time study costing:

  • Band 1 (Arts, Education, Nursing etc): AU$3680
  • Band 2 (Maths, Computing, Agriculture etc): AU$5242
  • Band 3 (Medicine, Law, Dentistry etc): AU$6136.

Who administers HECS?

The Higher Education Contributions Scheme is jointly administered by the Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)

Related Schemes

Related to HECS are:
  • BOTPLS, or Bridging for Overseas-Trained Professionals Loan Scheme
  • OLDPS, Open Learning Deferred Payment Scheme
  • PELS, or Postgraduate Education Loan Scheme

History

In the 1970s, Labor Prime Minister
Gough Whitlam abolished fees for tertiary education in Australia.

Sources and external links