If you enrol in a domestic full-fee place, you are considered to be a full-fee paying student.

This means that your tuition fees are not subsidised by the Australian Government. You will need to pay the full amount for all units you are enrolled in before the relevant census date for each study period.

Calculating your fees

Course pages display all of the units that make up your course, including core, professional and elective units.

The amount you pay for your course is the sum of the full-fee amount for the units you are enrolled in.

Higher education students unit fees

Use the following fee schedules to calculate the cost of your studies:

How unit costs are calculated

Different study areas are grouped into several bands by the Government for full-fee paying students. The bands set the maximum amount that can be charged for units on a full-time study load.

When calculating your student contribution, the amount you pay will depend on the:

  • band that each unit fits into (as they are not always the same, such as when enrolling in electives)
  • weight of the unit (EFTSL)
  • year (since the band amounts are indexed (increased) annually).

EFTSL stands for "Equivalent Full-Time Student Load" and is a measure of the study load for one year of a student undertaking a course on a full-time basis. A single unit normally has 12 credit points which is equivalent to 0.125.

Your tuition fee for a unit of study is calculated as:

EFTSL value x band range = tuition fee for that unit rounded down to the nearest dollar.

Example (using 2019 fees):

Type of place

Unit

Credit points

EFTSL

Fee band per EFTSL

Tuition fee

Full Fee EPM5500 – Fundamentals of project management 12 0.125 3 - $25,200 $3,150

TAFE students

Find your course fees and other fees you may incur as part of your enrolment.

10% discount for Alumni

VU Alumni are eligible for a 10% discount on tuition fees for eligible full fee courses and units.

Getting HELP with your fees

Eligible students enrolled in a full-fee paying place may be able to get help paying their fees through the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP), administered by the Government.

There are HELP loans available to assist you with the cost of your course.

FEE-HELP

FEE-HELP is a loan scheme to help eligible domestic full-fee paying students pay for all or part of their tuition fees. It cannot be used for additional study costs such as accommodation or text books.

VU Polytechnic students should see our information on VET Students Loans.

Borrowing limits

The total amount of FEE-HELP a person can use is set by the combined HELP loan limit, which from 1 January 2020 will indicate the cap on the amount a student can borrow from the Australian Government. It combines the debt for HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, VET FEE-HELP and VET Student Loans.

For 2023, eligible students can borrow up to the combined HELP loan limit to pay their tuition fees.

The combined HELP loan limits are as follows: 

  • medicine, dentistry and veterinary science courses $162,336
  • all other students $113,028.

Available HELP balance

Once you start using FEE‑HELP, the amount of HELP you have left to use is known as your ‘HELP balance’, which you can check on your Commonwealth Assistance Notice.

HELP loans are renewable. The available HELP balance is calculated as your HELP loan limit of that year, minus your HECS-HELP, FEE HELP, VET FEE-HELP and VET Student Loans borrowing. This means that making a repayment will increase your available HELP balance up to the HELP loan limit, and taking out a loan will reduce your available HELP balance.   

Read more about the combined HELP loan limit, renewable HELP balance and Fee-HELP on the Study Assist website.

Further assistance & advice

There are many ways we can help if you need support paying your fees, including with a fee extension, student loan or scholarship.

We also provide free and confidential advice if you experience personal, financial or study-related difficulties.

Contact us

Ask questions & find answers through Ask VU.

Phone: +61 3 9919 6100
Visit: Student Service Centre