Guide
HECS vs HELP: what's the difference?
HECS (Higher Education Contribution Scheme) is the older name for the Australian government's university loan scheme, introduced in 1989. HELP (Higher Education Loan Program) is the umbrella term the government now uses for all its study loan schemes: HECS-HELP (for Commonwealth-supported university places), FEE-HELP, VET Student Loans and others.
In everyday use, 'HECS' and 'HELP' are interchangeable. When someone says 'my HECS debt', they almost always mean a HECS-HELP loan, the loan for Commonwealth-supported students. The ATO now calls the repayment system the 'study and training support loans' scheme.
Do HECS and HELP have the same repayment rules?
Yes for HECS-HELP: all HELP loans share the same repayment thresholds and rates. The 2026-27 minimum repayment threshold is $69,528, with marginal rates of 15 cents per dollar over the threshold, rising to a 10% cap on high incomes. HELP, VET Student Loan, SFSS, Student Start-up Loan, ABSTUDY SSL and the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan all share one set of thresholds, applied in a set order.
Is HECS-HELP the same as FEE-HELP?
No. HECS-HELP covers Commonwealth-supported places (CSP): the government subsidises your fees and you repay the loan through the tax system. FEE-HELP covers full-fee places, typically at private universities or for postgraduate study, where no government subsidy applies. See the full HECS-HELP vs FEE-HELP comparison for how the two repay side by side.
FAQ
Q: Is HECS and HELP the same thing? A: In everyday use, yes. HECS is the original 1989 name and HELP is the umbrella term the government uses now. A "HECS debt" is almost always a HECS-HELP loan, which is one loan type inside the HELP family. The ATO calls the whole system study and training support loans.
Q: Is a HECS debt the same as a HELP debt? A: For repayment purposes they are identical. Every HELP loan shares one set of thresholds and rates, and the ATO combines them into a single accumulated debt figure before working out your compulsory repayment.
Q: What is HECS called now? A: HECS-HELP. The scheme was folded into the Higher Education Loan Program in 2005, so the current name for the loan that covers a Commonwealth supported place is HECS-HELP.
Q: What does HECS stand for? A: Higher Education Contribution Scheme. HELP stands for Higher Education Loan Program.
The other loans under the HELP umbrella
HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP are the two most familiar, but the HELP family is wider. FEE-HELP covers full-fee places; VET Student Loans cover approved vocational courses; OS-HELP assists with overseas study costs; and SA-HELP covers the student services and amenities fee. Each is a separate loan type with its own eligibility rules.
Two older debts sit alongside HELP rather than inside it: the Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS), closed to new borrowers in 2003, and the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan. These share the same repayment thresholds, but the ATO applies compulsory repayments to HELP debts first and to SFSS afterwards.
For repayment purposes the distinction rarely matters. All of these are combined into a single accumulated debt figure, one compulsory repayment is calculated from your repayment income, and the ATO allocates it across the loans in its set order. What differs between them is how you incurred the debt, not how you repay it.