OS-HELP

If you are planning to study overseas you may be eligible to apply for an OS-HELP loan to help pay travel expenses, such as airfares and accommodation.

OS-HELP loans are offered by the Department of Education and administered by Deakin.

OS-HELP is designed to assist eligible Commonwealth supported students based in Australia to undertake some of their study overseas. New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holders may be eligible to access OS-HELP loans provided they came to Australia as a dependent child and meet the relevant residency criteria. Higher degree by research or other full fee-paying students cannot apply.

You will incur your OS-HELP debt on the day the OS-HELP loan amount is paid into your bank account. The amount you borrow will be added to your accumulated HELP debt (if you have one) and repayable under the same conditions. Please refer to the OS-HELP Statement of terms and conditions booklet (PDF, 387.3KB) for up-to-date information.

OS-HELP loan applications for 2024 will close at 5pm on Friday 6 December. Applications for OS-HELP loans will open again in mid-January 2025 when funding is approved by the Government.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible you must:

be an Australian citizen or the holder of a permanent humanitarian visa
be enrolled in an undergraduate or postgraduate course of study at Deakin in a Commonwealth supported place (eligible for HECS-HELP)
be enrolled in your unit of study in a Commonwealth supported place (eligible for HECS-HELP)
have already successfully completed at least 8 credit points (1 EFTSL) in the same course of study as the one in which the overseas study is being undertaken (credit for prior learning will count towards this total if obtained from a Commonwealth supported place enrolment)
have at least 1 credit point (0.125 EFTSL) of study remaining to complete in your course in Australia after your overseas study is finished. If you are enrolled in the same period as you are scheduled to complete your degree please contact Student Central for advice on eligibility
be enrolled full time in an approved overseas study program outside Australia (1 credit point per 2-4 weeks of overseas study or a minimum of 3 credit points for Deakin Abroad and Exchange programs)
have your overseas study count as credit towards your enrolled Deakin course
have not received OS-HELP for overseas study on more than one other occasion from any university (not including supplementary amounts for Asian language study)
have not received OS-HELP for study which commenced within six months of the study commencement date of the next overseas study period
have an overseas study commencement date no more than six months in advance
have an Australian home address
have not completed the overseas study before making an application for an OS-HELP loan.

How much can I borrow?

In 2024, the maximum you can borrow in a six-month period is:

$7921 (for study outside Asia)
$9504 (for study within Asia in one of 26 eligible countries) with an additional $1263 if you will be undertaking Asian language study in preparation for study in Asia.

In 2025, the maximum you can borrow in a six-month period is:

$8245 (for study outside Asia)
$9893 (for study within Asia in one of 26 eligible countries) with an additional $1314 if you will be undertaking Asian language study in preparation for study in Asia.

How to apply for OS-HELP

Your application cannot be assessed until your overseas units appear on StudentConnect (overseas units have an X-OS unit class type).

Please ensure enrolment is finalised and all eligibility requirements are met prior to submitting your application.

Application form for Asia

Application form for other countries

OS-HELP is an application/offer process. Approval is not an automatic process and some applications may not meet the selection criteria. You should consider this before you make a financial commitment to your overseas study.

Selection criteria

Annual funding from the Department of Education is limited. If we receive more applications than we have funding for, loans will be awarded on the following basis:

students who are undertaking study in the current academic year
students who can demonstrate financial hardship and/or educational disadvantage
academic merit using the students' weighted average marks in their current course.

More information

Please read the Deakin University OS-HELP guidelines (PDF, 536.8KB).

For HELP repayment or eligibility information, visit the StudyAssist website.

If you need help completing your form, contact Student Central.