OS-HELP Loans
OS-HELP guidelines for the University of Melbourne
The University offers significant financial assistance to its students for travel overseas as exchange students or for study abroad. This includes the Melbourne Global Mobility Scholarship and Financial Assistance, Universitas 21 Bonuses, University Mobility in Asia and the Pacific (UMAP) funding, as well as additional Faculty funding and information about other funding available. For further information see the funding and scholarships webpage.
In the event that you require further funding, the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) provides loans to assist Australian students undertake some of their study towards their undergraduate degree overseas. The scheme is known as OS-HELP.
Eligibility criteria
You are entitled to apply for an OS-HELP loan in relation to a six month study period overseas if you:
- are an Australian citizen or the holder of a permanent humanitarian visa;
- have not received OS-HELP assistance on more than one other occasion;
- are enrolled in an undergraduate course of study at the University of Melbourne;
- have already completed at least one year of study (100 credit points) in Australia as a Commonwealth Supported Student (ie as a HECS student) that counts towards your course of study at the University of Melbourne;
- will be enrolled full-time (that is that you will receive at least 37.5 points of credit for a semester or 75 points of credit for a year) with an approved overseas higher education institution and will be undertaking that study outside Australia as part of an exchange program or as a study abroad student (study must commence after 1 January 2005);
- have your overseas study count as credit for the course in which you are enrolled at the University of Melbourne;
- will still have at least one semester (50 credit points) to complete in your course on return from overseas study; and
- have not been granted OS-HELP assistance by another university for an overlapping six month period.
Note:
- if you are completing a 3 year degree, as an exchange or study abroad student you may only apply for, receive and travel with an OS-HELP loan in the second semester of your second year and/or the first semester of your third year;
- concurrent diplomas are considered separate to a single 3-year degree or a combined degree. Diploma credits, therefore, cannot be included when calculating the completed 100 credit points necessary before you can apply for OS-HELP or the 50 credit points required to be completed when you return to Melbourne; and
- postgraduate entry degrees such as the Bachelor of Architecture (following the Bachelor of Planning and Design) or the Bachelor of Social Work (following the Bachelor of Arts) are considered separate to the original bachelor degree and cannot be included when calculating the completed 100 credit points necessary before you can apply for OS-HELP or the 50 credit points required to be completed when you return to Melbourne.
Loan details
You may borrow up to $5,523 in 2010. As a result of a recent change in legislation, debts incurred after 1 January 2010 you will no longer incur a charge of 20 per cent of the amount of
the loan. The loan will, however, continue to be treated in the same way as your existing HECS debt, will be subject to
indexation, and will have the same repayment conditions as a HECS debt.
Second Loans
If you are studying overseas for two six month periods (that is two semesters) you may apply for a second loan of up to $5,500.
You can do this at the time you apply for the first loan or in a later round. This second loan can only be paid, however, when
it is confirmed not more than six weeks prior to the beginning of your second semester that you are still eligible to receive
this second OS-HELP loan.
To apply
To apply you must complete an OS-HELP Loan Application Form. You can obtain this from the Melbourne Global Mobility offices or download the OS-HELP loan application form (53kb pdf). This form must be completed and submitted to the Melbourne Scholarships Office.
Selection criteria
Where there are more applications than funding available, loans will be allocated on the basis of academic merit. Students with the highest weighted averages over the most recent 100 points of study will be allocated their requested funding first, although preference may be given to certain institutions of study. This will be advertised at the time of application.
Payment of loan
To receive your OS-HELP loan you must:
- accept the offer of a loan and provide your banking details;
- have been accepted by an approved overseas institution;
- have an approved overseas study plan with credit worth at least 37.5 University of Melbourne points;
- be currently enrolled as a Commonwealth Supported Student at the University of Melbourne ; and
- complete an OS-HELP Debt Confirmation Form
You are determined to have incurred an OS-HELP debt on the day that you receive
the money. The money will be paid by electronic transfer of funds into an Australian bank account you nominate after a two
week cooling-off period and within a month of the above information being confirmed.
Withdrawing your loan
Before being paid ...
If you are selected for an OS-HELP loan and your circumstances change so that you no longer meet the eligibility criteria or
it is determined that you have provided false or misleading information but have not been paid the loan, the University is
obliged to withdraw the offer of a loan.
After being paid ...
If the loan has already been paid to you and your circumstances change so that you are no longer eligible or able to study
overseas, the debt has already been incurred and you can only repay the debt through the Australian Taxation Office.
If it is discovered or there is reason to believe that you provided false or misleading information as part of the application process and you have already incurred an OS-HELP debt, the University must notify DEEWR immediately of the suspected offence.
Further information
Further information is available on the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations OS-HELP guidelines webpage or contact Melbourne Global Mobility.