Contributions payable under the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) are reviewed annually by the Australian Government. The university's fees are also periodically reviewed. Students enrolling in fee-paying undergraduate or postgraduate courses as a fee-paying international student or as a single unit non-award student are exempt from HECS.
The
scheme was introduced by the Australian Government in 1989 and requires
contributions to be made by students towards the cost of their higher education
studies. The amount to be contributed depends on the study load (units)
undertaken each semester, and is payable whether or not a pass in each unit is
achieved.
Most undergraduate students, some postgraduate students, and
cross-institutional students who are not enrolled as fee-paying students in the
award course being undertaken at their home institution are liable for payment
under the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS). HECS contributions
will not be required from:
Comprehensive HECS information will be provided with offer letters to students offered a Government-funded course place. You may select either the deferred payment option (in which case payment is deferred until your taxable income reaches an annually indexed threshold), including partial upfront payment or the full upfront payment option (in which case a 25 per cent discount may apply). Payment of a contribution under the upfront payment option will be required on a semester basis. HECS guidelines are updated annually and it is the student's responsibility to read and understand them.
If
withdrawal from a unit or course occurs by 31 March in the first semester,
or 31 August in the second semester, the unit or course will not attract a
HECS liability for the semester. These are referred to as 'census dates' as
they are the dates at which the Government calculates HECS liability. Where
summer-semester units are offered, the census date is the date on which the
student begins a course of study (where the study period is less than six weeks
long), or 14 days after course commencement (where the summer-semester period
is greater than six weeks).
More detailed information will be provided with offer letters, but may also be
obtained from the Student Admissions and Records Branch (SARB) at the Gippsland
campus. Read 'HECS: Your Questions Answered 2001' for all information regarding
HECS.
The standard annual contribution for 2001 had not been determined at the time of printing this book. University fees are also reviewed periodically - see course information. As a guide, the 2000 HECS annual course contribution for a standard full-time study load for a year was set by the Australian Government in three study discipline bands:
All 'differential HECS rate' units of study are allocated a band, and total HECS payable is determined by each student's particular study program for each year. The Australian Government also sets a pre-1997 'old HECS' rate that applies in certain circumstances.
Amenities fees for 2001 had not been finalised at the time of publication. However, the following categories may apply. For the purpose of calculating amenities fees:
Most new distance education students enrol as part-time students for the whole year. As a guide, students in this category may expect the amenities fee to be at least $131 (including GST) for the year.
1. A
single-semester amenities fee is not applicable if a student is enrolled for
both semesters, regardless of the mix of internal and distance education units
across the year.
2. Students who are only enrolled at Monash University as
cross-institutional studies students, with results to be credited to an award
course at another institution, may produce evidence of payment of fees at their
home institution as an alternative to payment of the amenities fee at Monash
University.
Where unit/tuition fees are applicable to an undergraduate or postgraduate course, the fees payable will be described under the appropriate course heading within this handbook. Some courses may have both HECS and fee-paying places available. Amenities fees are payable for fee-paying postgraduate courses unless stated otherwise in your offer letter.
Up-front
HECS payments and single-unit fees are refundable until 31 March for first
semester, and 31 August for second semester.
Amenities fees are normally fully refundable for the first two weeks of each
semester. Some postgraduate course/unit fees and single unit course fees may
include a non-refundable component, or a separate non-refundable administration
fee.
Full details will be included in the 2001 Student Resource Guide
(available on the internet at http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/handbooks/).
The provision of an education course is generally GST-free. In particular, all recognised and government-accredited tertiary courses are GST-free. GST may, however, apply to a number of activities, services and courses that Monash University supplies to students. When the details regarding these activities that are subject to GST become available, they will be located at http://www.monash.edu.au/students/
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