Eligibility Conditions for Commonwealth Assistance

Universities are required to assess students as ‘genuine’ as part of their eligibility for continued Commonwealth assistance. This is to prevent students from occupying a Commonwealth Supported Place that may be better utilised by genuine students and from taking on HELP debts for study that is not appropriate for them.

Factors that universities may use to determine whether you are a genuine student are:

• your engagement with your course
• whether you have been provided with information about the requirements for, and the cost and duration of your course
• whether you satisfy the course requirements and complete your assessments
• pattern of logins to your enrolled subject sites
• if you have provided up‑to‑date contact details that the government can use to confirm your enrolment
• any enrolments in other courses that may make it impossible or highly improbable for you to complete your course.

Students will be assessed for admission into more than one course whether at JCU or at another university in accordance with Clause 13 of the Admissions Procedure.

Students are also limited to the number of subject enrolments per teaching period in accordance with Clause 5 of the Coursework Enrolment Procedure.

SLE is used to measure the timeframe you could be enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place. This entitlement is 7 years full-time or the part-time equivalent.

The SLE requirement applies to all students in a CSP who are undertaking subjects with a census date from 1 January 2022 onwards (subjects undertaken before this date don't count towards the SLE).

If you run out of SLE, you are no longer eligible to study in a Commonwealth Supported place. If you are in this situation, you can:

1. be charged tuition fee paying rates and continue to pay for your study using a FEE-HELP loan (if you are eligible and up to the maximum of your HELP balance); or
2. pay your tuition fees up-front; or
3. resume studies when you accrue more SLE

You may be eligible for additional SLE. For more information refer to the government StudyAssist page.