Commonwealth supported places

Calculating Commonwealth supported fees

Anyone enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place is considered to be a Commonwealth supported student. A Commonwealth supported place is a higher education place to which the Commonwealth makes a financial contribution.

Commonwealth supported students are required to make a student contribution that partially covers the tuition costs of their enrolment.

Only students who are:

a) Australian citizens;
b) New Zealand citizens; or
c) holders of an Australian Permanent Resident Visa,

are eligible for a Commonwealth supported place.

Australian citizens or holders of a Permanent Humanitarian Visa may:

  • Defer their full student contribution amounts through the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
  • Make full up-front payments of 90% of the student contribution amount for all of their courses and receive a 10% discount
  • Pay part of their student contribution amounts up-front to receive a 10% HECS-HELP discount for any payments totaling $500 or more, and obtain a loan for the remainder.

Students who wish to defer fees must provide RMIT with their Tax File Number (TFN) before the census date in their first semester. Failure to provide a TFN will result in the student’s cancellation from their program for the entire semester unless a full upfront payment has been made.

New Zealand citizens and most permanent residents (except holders of a Permanent Humanitarian Visa) are not eligible to defer fees and must pay upfront without a discount. Payments are due on or before the census date in each semester.