Financial assistance for university

There are many options when it comes to getting help with your university expenses.

The Australian Government provides financial help to eligible students through payments administered by Services Australia.

You may be able to get one of these main fortnightly payments:

• Youth Allowance, a payment for people aged 16 to 24 who are studying full time or doing a full-time Australian Apprenticeship. Some job seekers aged 16 to 21 can also access these payments
• Austudy, a payment for people aged 25 or over who are studying full time or doing a full-time Australian Apprenticeship
• ABSTUDY, a group of payments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians studying or doing an Australian Apprenticeship. It can help with living costs, study costs and travel
• The Pensioner Education Supplement, a regular payment to help with study costs if students also get certain income support payments from Centrelink or the Department of Veterans’ Affairs.

If you’re moving for study, you may also be able to get:

• the Tertiary Access Payment, a one-off payment of up to $5,000 for people moving from a regional or remote area for tertiary study within the year directly after completing Year 12
• Relocation Scholarship, an annual payment to help students getting Youth Allowance or ABSTUDY who need to move to or from a regional or remote area for higher education study
• a Fares Allowance to help with the costs of travel for students who need to live away from their family home to study.

You may also be able to get extra help, including:

• the Student Start-up Loan, a voluntary loan students getting Youth Allowance, Austudy or ABSTUDY Living Allowance can get up to twice a year. You have to pay the loan back once you start earning a certain amount of income
• the Education Entry Payment to help with the costs of study or training if you’ve been on certain payments from Services Australia
• other concessions and allowances such as a Health Care Card and Rent Assistance.

You can claim most payments online 13 weeks before your course starts using your myGov account linked to Centrelink.

To find out more about payment eligibility and how to claim, visit the Services Australia website.

Equity Scholarships assist financially disadvantaged students with the costs associated with higher education. Find out more and apply online.

UAC's participating institutions offer a range of merit scholarships.

Find out more about what each institution offers.

The Australia Awards Scholarship (AAS) program is funded by the Australian Government and provides opportunities for people from selected developing countries to study in Australia. These scholarships are awarded either on merit or on nomination by home governments. There are a limited number of undergraduate scholarships available.

Institutions offer a range of scholarships designed to help international students fund the cost of their study. These scholarships may be country-specific or targeted to particular areas of study.

Find out more about what each institution offers.

Sponsored students are those who receive financial support for their study and/or other agreed educational expenses from sources other than from their own funds. To be recognised by an institution as a sponsored student, you must be funded under an agreement with a sponsoring authority recognised by the institution.

Find out more about each institution’s requirements.