FEE-HELP is available to eligible Domestic Students. FEE-HELP must be processed before the census date for the semester/s you want the loan to cover. To request a FEE-HELP loan for your course, you need to complete an eCAF first. Once you submit your eCAF for your course, all units you enrol into throughout the duration of your course are covered under FEE-HELP (unless you decide to change funding types later on).
Follow the steps below to apply for FEE-HELP.
Step 1. Let us know if you intend to apply for FEE-HELP
When you first enrolled at CMI, you were prompted to tell us if you want to pay for your course using FEE-HELP. If you selected FEE-HELP in your course acceptance, you do not need to tell us again.
If you are currently paying upfront, but you want to change to FEE-HELP. see: Change fee payment type
It’s important that you tell us you want to pay for your course via FEE-HELP as you need to complete an eCAF application to have your FEE-HELP loan approved. See: Is my FEE-HELP Approved?
Step 2. Receive your eCAF to your email and Log in to the government portal
Students receive their eCAF by the end of the first week of semester.
Once your intention to pay via FEE-HELP is received, you will receive an email from the Department of Education to complete your eCAF via the Govenment eCAF system. It will be sent to your CMI student email (check junk/spam folders).
Carefully follow the email instructions to access the government’s eCAF portal for your application.
You will need your TFN (see also: TFN and FEE-HELP) and your USI (see also: Unique Student Identifier (USI)) to complete the eCAF application. Without a validated TFN or USI, your FEE-HELP loan won’t be approved. You’ll need to pay Cairnmillar your tuition fees in full by the due date.
Step 3. Submit your application via the government’s eCAF portal
Remember to submit your application before your first census date of the semester you want to fund.
Important: There are no provisions to backdate your loan application if you submit after your census date.
If you fail to complete your eCAF before the census date, you’ll need to pay Cairnmillar your tuition fees in full by the due date.
See here: Is my FEE-HELP Approved?
Important: Submission of the electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) is mandatory for eligible domestic students in Australia seeking government assistance for tuition fees, acknowledging their intent for applying for a FEE-HELP loan. Completion of the eCAF facilitates FEE-HELP loan applications for full fee-paying domestic students and must be done once per degree, requiring accurate information including the Unique Student Identifier (USI) and Tax File Number (TFN). Failure to submit an eCAF by the Census Date will require the student to pay all fees upfront, placing them fully responsible for covering the tuition costs of the relevant semester. Any errors in the submitted eCAF must be reported within six weeks after the census date, and changes in eligibility or courses necessitate a new eCAF submission as FEE-HELP loan applications do not carry over between courses or other education providers. Please note that international students are excluded from this.
If you have not yet received your eCAF invitation to apply for FEE-HELP please email education@cairnmillar.edu.au from your student email account immediately. If an eCAF is not submitted before the relevant census date, there is nothing that can be done to backdate it.
Please make sure that you have read the most recent FEE-HELP Booklet before completing an eCAF to request a FEE-HELP loan. For more information about FEE-HELP see the Study Assist Website