As a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) student, the Australian Government subsidises the cost of your education. The Government pays an amount directly to Melbourne Institute of Technology (MIT), and you pay the student contribution amount. To be eligible for a CSP, you must be one of the following:
As well as the above living and citizenship requirements, to be eligible for a CSP, you must:
You must pay your student contribution amount (i.e. what you owe for your studies), by the census date.
Some students are eligible for a HECS-HELP loan to pay their student contribution amount.
Other students will need to organise to pay this amount upfront.
Student contribution amounts are calculated by units, which is the equivalent of a 'unit of study' in Government publications. Each unit is classified in a student contribution band, depending on its study area. Each band has a maximum student contribution amount set by the Government each year. MIT then sets the student contribution amount for the band within the range.
The final student contribution is calculated based on the band and load of each individual unit. The load is the equivalent full-time study load (EFTSL) value. The formula for calculating your contribution amount for a course is:
(Student contribution set by provider) x (EFTSL value of the unit) = the amount the student will have to pay.
At MIT, we have waived the student contribution amount for our CSP funded places. Therefore, CSP eligible students will not need to pay for CSP funded courses at MIT.
MIT's CSP funded courses are as follows
2021 new student contribution amounts
| Student contribution band | Disciplines in each band | Maximum Student Contribution (per EFTSL) at any other CSP funded Institute/ University | Student Contribution (per EFTSL) at MIT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band 2 | Computing, Built Environment, Other Health, Allied Health, Engineering, Surveying, Agriculture, Mathematics, Statistics, Science | $7,950 | $0 |
MIT must set a census date for each unit of study it provides or proposes to provide during a year. The MIT census dates are published at the following link:
A USI is a government-issued reference code which uniquely identifies you as someone who has undertaken education or training in Australia.
Your USI stays with you for life, and gives you access to an online record of your nationally recognised training in the form of USI Transcript. For more information, see the USI website.
New higher education students (domestic and onshore international) who are not applying for financial assistance are encouraged to apply for and obtain a USI prior to enrolment. It is important to note that from 1 January 2023 all students must have a USI to receive their higher education award, unless an exemption applies.
New amendments made in June 2020 to the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) mean that it is now compulsory for new students commencing study from 1 January 2021 to apply for and obtain a USI, in order to be eligible for a Commonwealth supported place and Commonwealth financial assistance (HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, and OS-HELP).
Extending the USI to higher education will create a single government identifier for your entire tertiary education journey. This will help simplify information management for students and providers, and strengthen the integrity and richness of data available to improve education policy, programs and pathways.
For more information, visit www.studyassist.gov.au/help-loans.
Applying for a USI is fast and free, and you keep the same USI for life. You can apply for a USI in as little as five minutes at usi.gov.au.
If you have studied a VET course in the last five years, including while at secondary school, you might already have a USI. Locate it easily at www.usi.gov.au/students/find-your-usi.
If you applied for Commonwealth financial assistance after 2005 you will have a Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN). The CHESSN will be gradually decommissioned as the USI becomes the primary government identifier across higher education.
You can find your CHESSN on a past Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) issued to you by your provider for that course. You can also call your past provider(s) and ask them for your CHESSN.
From 2021, once a student has provided a USI it will become their primary identifier and replace the functionality of the CHESSN. More information about the CHESSN can be found here www.studyassist.gov.au/help-loans/your-chessn.
The Department of Education Science and Technology (DEST) allocates a CHESSN to all commonwealth supported students through MIT or tertiary admissions centre. CHESSN enables the monitoring of students’ use of commonwealth assistance.
A students CHESSN is unique and will enable the student to access information on their FEE-HELP balance from the Study Assist website.