Here we cover all things eCAF (Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form), including what you’ll need to be able to submit your application and which HELP loan types you can access.
What is an eCAF?
eCAF stands for Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form – an online Government application that lets us know that you’d like to defer your tuition fees via a HELP loan.
Is eCAF the same as HECS?
Not quite. A HECS-HELP loan is one of the five HELP loan options offered by the Government. When you study at SAE, you’ll submit an eCAF to secure a FEE-HELP loan instead of a HECS-HELP loan.
Which fees are covered by FEE-HELP?
FEE-HELP covers part or all of your SAE tuition fees for the entire duration of your studies. FEE-HELP doesn’t cover additional costs like accommodation or equipment such as laptops or iPads.
Separate from your tuition fees, each trimester you’ll also need to pay your Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF). The SSAF is a government fee charged by many higher education providers to cover a portion of student services such as counselling, career advice, IT, orientation, health and wellbeing, and more.
While FEE-HELP doesn’t cover the SSAF, you can submit an additional eCAF for SA-HELP. This means if you’d like to defer your tuition fees AND your Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) to pay them after you’ve completed your studies, you’ll need to submit one eCAF for FEE-HELP and a second eCAF for SA-HELP.
For both FEE-HELP and SA-HELP loans, you only need to apply once – these loans will cover your fees for the duration of your studies at SAE.
How do I apply for an eCAF?
To complete your eCAF(s), you’ll need to have some items ready:
- Tax File Number (TFN)
- Unique Student Identifier (USI)
- Your Request for FEE-HELP loan form and Request for SA-HELP loan form.
eCAF forms can only be provided by education providers like SAE. The forms you need will be emailed to you once your enrolment process is complete and all eligibility documents have been provided.
eCAF forms can only be provided by education providers like SAE. The forms you need will be emailed to you once your enrolment process is complete and all eligibility documents have been provided.
Once you have your USI and TFN ready, you can fill out your Request Forms and start your eCAF applications!
Your eCAFs will need to be submitted by the Census Date deadline, which is the Friday of Week 3 each trimester.
If you have any questions along the way, please contact our friendly Course Advisors for assistance on 1800 723 338 or email our team at [email protected].
