Higher Education Legislation Amendment (Student Services and Amenities) Act 2011 (130 of 2011)

Schedule 1   Student services and amenities

Higher Education Support Act 2003

10   At the end of Chapter 3

Add:

Part 3-5 - SA-HELP assistance

Division 125 - Introduction

125-1 What this Part is about

A student may be entitled to SA-HELP assistance for a student services and amenities fee imposed on him or her by a higher education provider, if certain requirements are met.

The amount of the assistance is the amount of the fee, less any amounts of the fee paid on or before the day the fee is payable (except any SA-HELP assistance paid under this Part). The assistance is paid to the provider to discharge the student's liability to pay the fee.

Note: Amounts of assistance under this Part may form part of a person's HELP debts that the Commonwealth recovers under Part 4-2.

Division 126 - Who is entitled to SA-HELP assistance?

126-1 Entitlement to SA-HELP assistance

(1) A student is entitled to *SA-HELP assistance for a *student services and amenities fee imposed on the student for a period by a higher education provider if:

(a) the student meets the citizenship or residency requirements under section 126-5; and

(b) the student is enrolled with the provider in a *course of study or a *bridging course for overseas-trained professionals on the day on which the fee is payable; and

(c) the student *meets the tax file number requirements (see section 187-1); and

(d) the student has, on or before the day on which the fee is payable, completed, signed and given to an *appropriate officer of the provider a *request for Commonwealth assistance in relation to the fee.

(2) A request for Commonwealth assistance , in relation to a *student services and amenities fee imposed for a period on a person who is enrolled with a higher education provider in a *course of study or a *bridging course for overseas-trained professionals, means a document:

(a) in which the person requests the Commonwealth to provide assistance under this Act in relation to the fee for the period (and any student services and amenities fee imposed for a later period during which the person is enrolled in the course or bridging course); and

(b) that is in the form approved by the Minister.

126-5 Citizenship or residency requirements

(1) A student meets the citizenship or residency requirements under this section in relation to a *student services and amenities fee imposed on the student by a higher education provider if the student is, on the day the fee is payable:

(a) an Australian citizen; or

(b) a *permanent humanitarian visa holder resident in Australia.

(2) Despite subsection (1), a *permanent humanitarian visa holder does not meet the citizenship or residency requirements in relation to a *student services and amenities fee imposed on the visa holder by a higher education provider if the provider reasonably expects that the visa holder will not undertake in Australia any *units of study with the provider.

Division 127 - How are amounts of SA-HELP assistance worked out?

127-1 The amount of SA-HELP assistance for a student services and amenities fee

The amount of *SA-HELP assistance to which a student is entitled for a *student services and amenities fee is the difference (if any) between:

(a) the fee; and

(b) the sum of any payments of the fee (other than a payment of SA-HELP assistance under this Part) made on or before the day on which the fee is payable.

Division 128 - How are amounts of SA-HELP assistance paid?

Note: Part 5-1 deals generally with payments by the Commonwealth under this Act.

128-1 Payments to higher education providers of loans to students

If a student is entitled to an amount of *SA-HELP assistance for a *student services and amenities fee imposed by a higher education provider, the Commonwealth must:

(a) as a benefit to the student, lend to the student the amount of SA-HELP assistance; and

(b) pay to the provider the amount lent in discharge of the student's liability to pay the fee.

128-5 Repayment by higher education provider if student does not have tax file number

A higher education provider must repay the Commonwealth an amount paid to the provider under section 128-1 in discharge of a person's liability to pay a *student services and amenities fee if subsection 193-15(1) applies to the person.

Note 1: Subsection 193-15(1) applies to a person who does not have a tax file number.

Note 2: The person's SA-HELP debt will be remitted if the higher education provider must repay the amount under this section: see subsection 137-16(4).