Domestic fees and costs

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Domestic fees and costs

Domestic tuition fees

Domestic tuition fees at UC

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Most domestic undergraduate students, and some postgraduate coursework students, are eligible for a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP). If you receive a CSP, you’re regarded as a Commonwealth Supported Student (CSS) – this means the Australian Government will subsidise some of your fees.

If you don’t meet the criteria for a CSP, you may still be eligible for assistance in paying your fees through an Australian Government HELP loan.

It’s worth noting that even though permanent residents are classified as domestic students, they’re not eligible for HELP loan schemes.

Commonwealth Supported Students

Commonwealth Supported Students

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The Australian Government allocates a certain number of Commonwealth Supported Places to the University of Canberra each year, which we then distribute to students based on merit.

If you're a Commonwealth Supported Student (CSS), you'll only need to pay a portion of your tuition fees. This is known as the student contribution amount – the balance once the government subsidy is applied. This means your costs are much lower.

Most domestic students who have been admitted to an undergraduate degree are offered a CSP. Limited spaces are also offered to students enrolled in selected postgraduate courses.

Your student contribution amount is:

  • calculated per unit you're enrolled in
  • dependent on the study areas they relate to
  • reviewed and adjusted each year.

How CSP unit costs add up

How CSP unit costs add up

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Your student contribution amount depends on the units you study and some units cost more than others. Each unit belongs to a student contribution band based on the area of study it relates to, so if you study units across multiple disciplines, your overall tuition fees won't be the same as the annual amount below.

Units also vary in terms of credit points and how they contribute to your overall study load – known as the Equivalent Full-Time Study Load (EFTSL). Establishing the EFTSL a particular unit contributes towards your degree helps to determine its cost.

2025 student contribution amounts

Discipline area Band Unit amount* Annual amount**
Education, Nursing, Postgraduate Clinical Psychology, English, Mathematics or Statistics, Indigenous and Foreign Languages, Agriculture Band 1 $578 $4,627
Engineering, Surveying, Built Environment, Computing, Environmental Studies or Science, Professional Pathway Psychology or Professional Pathway Social Work, Pathology, Allied Health, Other Health, Visual and Performing Arts Band 2 $1,164 $9,314
Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science Band 3 $1,655 $13,241
Law, Accounting, Administration, Economics, Commerce, Communications, Society and Culture Band 4 $2,124 $16,992
Download the CSP unit costs for 2025 Pre 2021
Download the CSP unit costs for 2025 Post 2021

2024 student contribution amounts

Discipline area Band Unit amount* Annual amount**
Education, Nursing, Postgraduate Clinical Psychology, English, Mathematics or Statistics, Indigenous and Foreign Languages, Agriculture Band 1 $555 $4,445
Engineering, Surveying, Built Environment, Computing, Environmental Studies or Science, Professional Pathway Psychology or Professional Pathway Social Work, Pathology, Allied Health, Other Health, Visual and Performing Arts Band 2 $1,118 $8,948
Medicine, Dentistry or Veterinary Science Band 3 $1,590 $12,720
Law, Accounting, Administration, Economics, Commerce, Communications, Society and Culture Band 4 $2,040 $16,323

*Based on a standard 3 credit point unit in this discipline
**Based on standard full-time study of 24 credit points

Download the CSP unit costs for 2024 Pre 2021
Download the CSP unit costs for 2024 Post 2021

Eligibility

Eligibility

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To be eligible for a CSP, you need to meet certain citizenship and residency requirements. You must be either:

  • an Australian citizen
  • a New Zealand citizen*
  • the holder of a permanent visa.

All eligible students also need to reside in Australia for the duration of the unit.

If you are a New Zealand Special Category Visa holder who wishes to apply for HECS-HELP and/or SA-HELP and meets the additional eligibility requirements please email student.centre@canberra.edu.au before the census date of the relevant teaching period with a copy of your travel records issued by the Department of Home Affairs.

Once you accept your offer to study, you’ll need to enrol in a unit before the census date and remain enrolled in that unit until after the census date. You’ll also need to complete the required government forms and provide your USI before census date.

Visit Study Assist to learn more about Commonwealth Supported Places

Domestic students paying full fees

Domestic students paying full fees

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If you're studying a postgraduate 'by coursework' degree, a non-award unit or are enrolled in cross-institutional studies, you may need to cover the total cost of your fees.

Domestic students paying full fees are charged a domestic course rate. Tuition fees schedules are developed each year, based on students enrolled in full-time study loads. As the tuition fees are charged by unit, you'll only pay for what you're studying each semester. For example, if you choose to enrol in a part-time study load, you'll only pay costs related to the units you study.

How unit costs add up

How unit costs add up

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As each unit’s credit point value varies in terms of what it contributes to your degree, so too does its cost. Units with higher credit point values equate to a higher percentage of your overall study load, amounting to higher tuition fees.

Follow this step-by-step guide to work out the approximate costs of individual units.

Step 1: Search for the course you want to study to view the domestic annual tuition fee.

Step 2: Search for the unit you want to study, taking note of the EFTSL. You can also find units relevant to a particular course by looking at the study pattern on the course details page.

Step 3: Calculate the approximate unit cost by multiplying the EFTSL by the course’s annual tuition fee – for example, 0.125 x $8,400 AUD = $1,050 AUD. This is the approximate cost of the unit.

Search for your course to confirm its length of study and unit credit points

Cross-institutional and non-award study

Cross-institutional and non-award study

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If you study a unit at UC but aren’t enrolled in a CSP degree at any institution – as could be the case with non-award or cross-institutional study – you'll need to pay your fees upfront and in full.

Follow this step-by-step guide to work out the approximate costs of individual units as a non-award student.

Step 1: Search for the unit you want to study, taking note of the EFTSL.

Step 2: Calculate the approximate unit cost by multiplying the EFTSL by the annual domestic non-award fee – for example, 0.125 x $17,000 AUD = $2,125 AUD.

Our non-award and cross-institutional annual rate for 2025 is $19,900.

Search for your unit to find the course length of study and unit credit points

Paying course fees or student contributions

Paying course fees or student contributions

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There are a few ways you can pay your course fees or student contributions. You can elect to pay upfront at the beginning of each semester or defer your fees via an Australian Government HELP loan if you're eligible.

Most domestic students are eligible for assistance through HELP loans, which can assist in paying your course fees, your Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) or overseas study opportunities.

HECS-HELP

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HECS-HELP is a loan the Australian Government provides to domestic students enrolled in a CSP to help them pay the student contribution amount of their course fees. Having a HECS-HELP loan means you can defer your student contribution payments until you start earning a taxable income.

To be eligible for a HECS-HELP loan you must:

  • be a Commonwealth Supported Student (CSS)
  • be an Australian citizen
  • be a New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holder or hold a permanent humanitarian visa
  • have a Tax File Number
  • have an available HELP balance
  • have provided a Unique Student Identifier (USI).

You also need to be enrolled in a unit and have submitted the required forms after accepting your offer to study. New Zealand citizens and permanent visa holders (except those listed above) who hold a CSP are not eligible for HECS-HELP loans.

Visit Study Assist to learn more about HECS-HELP loans.

FEE-HELP

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FEE-HELP is a loan the Australian Government provides to domestic postgraduate students to help them pay their course fees.

To be eligible for a FEE-HELP loan you must:

  • be undertaking postgraduate study
  • be enrolled at an eligible higher education provider (such as UC)
  • be an Australian citizen or hold a permanent humanitarian visa
  • not be Commonwealth-supported in relation to that unit
  • have a current Tax File Number
  • not have exceeded the FEE-HELP limit
  • have provided a Unique Student Identifier (USI).

You also need to be enrolled in a unit and have submitted the required forms after accepting your offer to study.

Visit Study Assist to learn more about FEE-HELP loans.

SA-HELP

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SA-HELP is a loan the Australian Government provides to domestic students to help them pay for all or part of their SSAF.

To be eligible for a SA-HELP loan you must:

  • be an Australian citizen
  • be a New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holder or hold a permanent humanitarian visa
  • be enrolled in a course that leads to a higher education award, enabling course or bridging course
  • have a current Tax File Number
  • have provided a Unique Student Identifier (USI).

If you're a non-award student, you're not eligible for SA-HELP unless you're enrolled in an enabling program.

Visit Study Assist to learn more about SA-HELP loans.

OS-HELP

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OS-HELP is a loan the Australian Government provides to domestic students in a CSP who want to study part of their degree overseas.

An OS-HELP loan can help offset some of the costs associated with accommodation and travel when taking part in our student exchange or study abroad programs.

Visit Study Assist to learn more about OS-HELP loans.

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