Course-related costs
The Student Loan is made up of three parts. When you apply for a loan, you choose the parts you want to apply for depending on what you need and what you qualify for. The course-related costs part of a Student Loan helps with costs related to your study. For example, stationery, books, computer equipment, travel or (from 1 January 2012) Student Association fees.
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How much you can borrow for course-related costs
You can borrow up to $1,000 per Student Loan account (usually a 52 week period) for course-related costs.
You no longer need to use a paper form to apply for course related costs. You can apply for your course-related costs online using MyStudyLink.
You don't have to claim all your costs at once, just specify when you apply how much you need - you may need to provide evidence of your costs. You can claim the balance at any time up until your course finishes.
Remember: only borrow as much as you need!
Situations where you can't borrow for course-related costs
If you're studying part-time
To receive course-related costs your course must be full-time (or limited full-time with our approval) or part-time and 32 weeks or longer. Part-time part year students are not entitled to course-related costs.
If your course starts on or after 1 January 2012, and you are studying part-time, you can only get the compulsory fees part of the Student Loan.
To get the living costs or course-related costs parts of the Student Loan, you must be studying full-time or limited full-time with our approval.
If you're aged 55 years and over
From 1 January 2013, people aged 55 years and over will no longer be eligible for living costs or course-related costs. They will only be eligible for the compulsory fees component of the Student Loan.
Students who are over 55 as at 19 May 2011, or are 55 and over as at 1 January 2013, will continue to be eligible for all components of the Student Loan for the qualification they were enrolled in on 19 May 2011, until they complete this qualification or until 1 January 2015, whichever is earlier.
How and when payment is made
Course-related costs are paid directly to your bank account. The earliest we can do this is 14 days before your course starts.
Remember, you must be fully enrolled in your course for us to be able to pay any part of your Student Loan.
How to apply
You can apply for your course-related costs online using your MyStudyLink account. Using MyStudyLink you're able to:
- apply for course-related costs
- view the status of your course-related costs applications including payment date.
You need to apply for your Student Loan first before you can apply for the course-related costs component.
How to apply for Student Loan course-related costs on MyStudyLink.
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How much you can get for course-related costs if you get a Training Allowance
The amount you can get for course-related costs goes down by the amount of Training Incentive Allowance you get (not including the Training Incentive Allowance you get for childcare, transport and disability-related costs).
