Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP): 2026 Costs Explained

A Commonwealth supported place (CSP) is a university place subsidised by the Australian Government. You pay only the student contribution amount, which in 2026 is capped at between $4,738 and $17,399 per full-time year depending on the field, and eligible students can defer it with a HECS-HELP loan instead of paying upfront.

The figures and rules below are current at 24 October 2026 and come from StudyAssist, the Department of Education (Australia)'s official student loans site, along with the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and published university fee schedules. Your own provider sets the exact charge for each unit, so check your enrolment statement or ask your university.

What is a Commonwealth supported place?

A CSP is a funding arrangement, not a loan. StudyAssist describes it as a place where the Australian Government pays part of the cost of your study and you pay the rest as a student contribution amount. The Government's part is called the Commonwealth contribution amount, and it goes directly to your university. You never repay it. In legal terms, a student in a CSP is a "Commonwealth supported student", the term defined in section 36-5 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003.

Government share vs student contribution

Every CSP unit has two parts: the Government's subsidy and your student contribution. The split depends on the field of study. The Job-ready Graduates changes, which took effect from 1 January 2021, reset both, raising the student contribution in some fields and lowering it in others; the grandfathered rates further down show which fields went up. This guide does not quote Government contribution amounts, because they are paid to the university and do not change what you owe.

Who sets your amount

Your provider sets the student contribution for each unit, up to the maximum the Government fixes for that unit's field. StudyAssist is clear that a provider may charge less than the maximum. That is why a single national price list is not possible. Treat any table, including ours, as the ceiling.

CSP vs HECS-HELP: the place vs the loan

People often use the two terms interchangeably. They are different things. The CSP is the subsidised place and decides how much you are charged. HECS-HELP is the loan and decides when you pay: now, by the census date, or later through the tax system once your income reaches the repayment threshold, collected by the Australian Taxation Office. StudyAssist stresses that CSP eligibility and HELP eligibility are different tests. You can have a CSP and still have to pay upfront.

Who is eligible for a CSP

Most CSPs are in undergraduate courses. StudyAssist notes that only some postgraduate coursework places are Commonwealth supported, that there are no CSPs for higher degrees by research, and that medicine is the only field where the Government allocates a set number of CSPs to each university. Within those limits, citizenship and residency decide who can hold one.

Citizens, permanent visa holders and NZ citizens

According to ANU's student contributions page, these groups can be eligible:

• Australian citizens who study at least one unit of the course while living in Australia;
• permanent visa holders who study the entire course while living in Australia;
• New Zealand citizens who study the entire course while living in Australia.

International students on temporary visas are not eligible and pay full international fees.

Who can also defer with HECS-HELP

The loan list is narrower. Australian citizens, permanent humanitarian visa holders, Pacific Engagement Visa holders and some New Zealand citizens who meet a long-term residency test can defer their student contribution with HECS-HELP. Other permanent residents must pay upfront by the census date. We cover every visa category, and the NZ residency test, in our guide to HECS-HELP for permanent residents and NZ citizens.

2026 student contribution bands and maximum amounts

Universities usually describe the price levels as "Band 1" to "Band 4". StudyAssist groups fields by funding cluster instead, and the band numbers do not line up neatly with the clusters, so the table below uses dollar levels and official field names. A unit's field is set by its field of education code, so two units in the same degree can sit in different groups.

Source: StudyAssist student contribution amounts (2026 and 2027 tables). The per-unit column matches Western Sydney University's 2026 schedule for a 10-credit-point unit. The "often called" labels are common university shorthand, and individual universities may file some disciplines differently, so check your own unit codes. All figures are maximums.

Once you know which group your units fall into, you can estimate your HECS repayments and see how a full degree translates into compulsory repayments after you graduate.

How your per-unit charge is worked out

EFTSL and credit points

Charges are calculated per unit, not per degree. Each unit carries an EFTSL (equivalent full-time student load) value, the fraction of a full-time year it represents. A unit's student contribution is its EFTSL value multiplied by the annual amount for its field. StudyAssist's own example is an English unit worth 0.125 EFTSL: 0.125 × $4,738 = $592, rounded down. Universities express EFTSL in their own credit-point systems. At Western Sydney University, for example, a 10-credit-point unit is charged at 0.125 EFTSL, one eighth of a full-time year. Your enrolment statement or fee schedule shows the EFTSL value of each unit.

Illustration: one full-time year mixing two groups

This is an illustration using 2026 maximums, not a quote. Imagine a student in a combined computing and commerce degree who takes eight 0.125 EFTSL units in 2026: four computing units and four commerce units.

The same student taking eight commerce units would pay up to $17,392 (8 × $2,174), while eight computing units would cost up to $9,536. Electives from a lower-cost group cost less, but let the course rules and your interests drive the choice; every unit is priced on its own code. If the student is eligible for HECS-HELP, the $13,464 becomes HELP debt at each census date and is later indexed and repaid through the tax system.

Grandfathered rates if you started before 2021

When the Job-ready Graduates changes began on 1 January 2021, students already enrolled were protected from the increases. StudyAssist states that continuing students who commenced before 1 January 2021 pay what they would have paid had the reforms not been implemented, for units whose amount would otherwise have gone up. Where the new amount was lower, the lower amount applies. According to ANU, the protection depends on staying in the same course.

Source: StudyAssist student contribution amounts. StudyAssist does not give an end date for these arrangements, so if you have been studying part-time since before 2021, confirm with your provider that your record still shows you as a grandfathered student before your next census date.

CSP vs full-fee place

If you do not get a CSP, you are offered a full-fee paying place and pay the university's full tuition fee. Depending on your eligibility, FEE-HELP may be available to defer it. The differences go beyond price.

Sources: StudyAssist CSP and borrowing-limit pages; ANU on the Student Learning Entitlement. The HELP loan limit rises to $134,558 (and $193,259 for the higher category) in 2027. HECS-HELP has counted toward the combined cap since 1 January 2020, which our HELP loan limit guide explains. For a side-by-side view of the two loans, see FEE-HELP vs HECS-HELP.

Keeping your CSP: census date and the Student Learning Entitlement

Two rules decide whether your CSP keeps working for you. The first is the census date. Your liability for a unit, and your HECS-HELP request, are fixed at that date. Withdraw before it and you are generally not charged; stay enrolled past it and the unit is charged. Our page on census date rules covers withdrawals and special circumstances.

The second is the Student Learning Entitlement. Since 1 January 2022, each student has an SLE of 7 EFTSL, about seven years of full-time Commonwealth supported study, and CSP units with a census date on or after that day reduce it. According to ANU, when your SLE is used up you are transferred to a full-fee place. Most single-degree students never get close, but double degrees, course changes and long part-time study can add up. Our Student Learning Entitlement explainer covers additional SLE and how to check your balance.

How to tell whether your place is a CSP

Your offer and enrolment paperwork should say so, but the wording varies between universities. Look for phrases such as "Commonwealth supported", "CSP" or "student contribution" on your offer letter and enrolment statement. A full-fee place usually shows a "tuition fee" instead, often at a much higher rate per unit. Your eCAF is also a clue: a request for HECS-HELP only makes sense for a Commonwealth supported unit, while a request for FEE-HELP points to a full-fee unit.

If the paperwork is unclear, ask your student centre three direct questions: is each unit Commonwealth supported, what is the student contribution for each unit this study period, and which field of education code sets that amount? The answers let you check the charge against the maximums in this guide and spot a misclassified unit before the census date fixes your liability.

A practical routine each study period: confirm that your units show as Commonwealth supported, check the census date, make sure your eCAF (electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form) is lodged if you are deferring, and check your enrolment statement against the maximums above. If a figure looks wrong, raise it with your provider before the census date, while it can still be fixed.

This article is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are approximate and change over time — always verify with a qualified professional or the official source before making a decision.

Written and reviewed by the HECS Debt Calculator editorial team. Facts checked against primary sources; see the reference above.

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