Fees and costs at Sydney Uni

Students starting university for the first time in 2005 will be the first to be affected by recent Commonwealth changes to the higher education system. Unless they are up to date with all the new language, the changes may seem confusing.

HECS or fees: paying for a spell at uni

Central to the new system is that there are two types of undergraduate places available: Commonwealth supported places, and fee paying places.
Most of the students who study at the University of Sydney are Commonwealth supported. These students have most of the cost of their education paid by the government but must also contribute towards this cost themselves. Each student has a seven-year full-time period during which they can remain Commonwealth supported. This seven-year period is called their “learning entitlement”.
Some courses are more expensive to teach than others, so the amount students contribute depends on the courses and subjects students choose to study.
The table below outlines how much students enrolling for the first time at the University of Sydney in 2005 will have to contribute. In this table, areas of study have been split into four bands; the amount students pay depends on the banding of the subjects in which they enrol. Remember, in some degrees such as science, arts and economics the range of subjects offered can cross a number of bands, so the exact contribution will depend on the subjects chosen.
Commonwealth supported students who are Australian citizens or holders of a permanent humanitarian visa can choose to pay their contributions upfront or to obtain a HECS-HELP loan from the Commonwealth. A HECS-HELP loan is repaid through the tax system once the student is working and their income reaches a threshold (currently about $35,000). Students who choose to pay their student contribution upfront receive a 20 per cent discount. The student’s contribution is calculated twice a year (before each semester).

Students who do not receive an offer for a Commonwealth supported place in the course they are interested in, can apply for a fee paying place. UAI cut-offs tend to be slightly lower than for Commonwealth supported places. At the University of Sydney the minimum cut-off for fee-paying places in each course is up to five UAI points below the cut-off for Commonwealth supported places for that course.
The Commonwealth does not contribute towards the cost of the education of fee paying students, so the student has to pay more for a fee paying place than for a Commonwealth supported place. In 2005, annual fees will range from $15,120 for arts to $29,520 for veterinary science (fees are subject to adjustment annually). The annual cost for most courses is under $20,000. Students pay their fees twice a year at the beginning of each semester. A full list of fees is published in the UAC Guide and on our website at www.usyd.edu.au.
Fee paying students who are Australian citizens or holders of a permanent humanitarian visa can gain assistance in paying their fees through the Commonwealth Government’s FEE-HELP program. There is a $50,000 limit to the amount students can borrow and a 20 per cent loan fee on the amounts borrowed through FEE-HELP.
From 2005 the University of Sydney has greatly expanded the funds available to students through scholarships, loans, bursaries and financial assistance. The government has also increased scholarship funding through its Commonwealth Learning Scholarships. For students who are interested in taking an exchange opportunity, the Commonwealth has also set up a loan program to help out with expenses such as airfares and accommodation.

The information in this article applies to Australian citizens, New Zealand citizens and holders of a permanent visa. The University also takes applications from international students. Information for international students is available on the University’s website.

Higher Education Contribution Scheme categories

A0 These contributions are for full-time students for a full year. The maximum is indexed each year according to movements in the consumer price index.