How to Apply for OS-HELP to Fund Overseas Study as an Australian University Student

What is OS-HELP and what can you use it for?

OS-HELP is an Australian Government loan that helps eligible Commonwealth supported students meet expenses while completing part of their Australian course overseas.

The money is paid directly to you by your higher education provider on behalf of the Commonwealth. It can help with costs such as:

• airfares;
• accommodation;
• travel and settling expenses; and
• other costs associated with your overseas study.

Unlike HECS-HELP, OS-HELP is not primarily a loan for your Australian student contribution. If you need information about funding a Commonwealth supported place itself, see the Helpydo guide to applying for HECS-HELP.

Who can get an OS-HELP loan?

OS-HELP has several separate eligibility tests. Meeting only one or two is not enough; your higher education provider must confirm that you meet the applicable requirements and must select you for assistance.

You must:

• be enrolled in a Commonwealth supported place;
• meet an eligible citizenship or residency category;
• have completed the required prior Commonwealth supported study in Australia;
• undertake full-time overseas study that counts towards your Australian course;
• have enough of your Australian course left after the overseas study;
• meet TFN and USI requirements;
• remain within the lifetime and six-month OS-HELP limits; and
• be selected by your provider.

What citizenship or residency status is required?

Current OS-HELP eligibility includes:

• Australian citizens;
• permanent humanitarian visa holders;
• eligible former permanent humanitarian visa holders;
• Pacific Engagement Visa holders who satisfy the applicable requirement to be resident in Australia when applying; and
• certain New Zealand Special Category Visa holders and eligible former holders who meet the statutory long-term residency requirements.

Your provider may require evidence of your visa status before deciding your eligibility.

How much study must you complete before going overseas?

You must have completed units of study in Australia with a total value of at least 1.0 EFTSL, usually equivalent to one year of full-time study.

Those units must:

• count towards the course in which you are currently enrolled; and
• have been completed while you were a Commonwealth supported student.

Recognition of Prior Learning can count towards the 1.0 EFTSL requirement only where the previous study was undertaken in Australia in a CSP and your provider counts it towards your current course.

You must still have study left after you return

After completing the overseas component, you must still need to complete at least 0.125 EFTSL towards your Australian course. Study Assist describes this as usually one unit of study.

Recognition of Prior Learning cannot be used to satisfy this remaining 0.125 EFTSL requirement because the study must still be undertaken after the overseas component.

What overseas study qualifies?

The overseas study must be full-time, you must be outside Australia while undertaking it, and the study must count towards the requirements of the Australian course in which you are enrolled.

The legislation does not require the overseas study to take place at your provider's overseas campus or even necessarily at another overseas higher education institution. What matters is that the approved overseas activity satisfies the OS-HELP study requirements and counts towards your home course.

Your overseas study must occur within the relevant six-month OS-HELP period. Study Assist also states that you must undertake the overseas study within six months after your OS-HELP application is approved.

How much OS-HELP can you borrow in 2026?

For a six-month study period in 2026, the maximum is:

• $8,442 if you are not studying in Asia; or
• $10,130 if you are studying in Asia.

Your provider determines the amount you actually receive, taking into account matters such as the overseas destination and length of stay. You do not automatically receive the maximum amount.

The amount is a loan and becomes part of your HELP debt once your provider pays it to you.

Can you get the Asian language supplement?

If your OS-HELP assistance is for study in Asia, you may also qualify for a supplementary loan for intensive Asian language study undertaken in preparation for that overseas study.

In 2026, the maximum supplementary amount is $1,345.

To qualify, you must be selected for OS-HELP for study in Asia, undertake the language study in preparation for that overseas study, request the supplement through the OS-HELP process and be selected by your provider for it.

You cannot apply for the supplement after completing the relevant language study. The language study also cannot be part of a higher education award course for which you are Commonwealth supported or receiving FEE-HELP.

How many OS-HELP loans can you receive?

You can receive a maximum of two OS-HELP loans over your lifetime.

You cannot receive two OS-HELP loans for the same six-month period or for overlapping six-month periods. Before applying, you can check previous OS-HELP assistance through myHELPbalance using your USI and student number.

Meeting eligibility does not guarantee your university will select you

Your university or higher education provider runs its own OS-HELP application and selection process. The provider is responsible for deciding which eligible students receive assistance.

This means you should ask your provider about:

• when applications open;
• its application deadline;
• its selection policy;
• how much OS-HELP it may approve;
• how your overseas program must be approved; and
• when successful students are normally paid.

The OS-HELP Guidelines require providers to follow the applicable selection principles and procedures. Eligibility under the legislation does not by itself guarantee selection.

You need a TFN and USI before the loan can be finalised

You must meet both the Tax File Number and Unique Student Identifier requirements.

Your OS-HELP eCAF requires your TFN, USI, name, date of birth and address. Your information must match the relevant ATO and USI records. A mismatch can prevent access to the loan until it is corrected.

If you do not yet have a USI, see the Helpydo procedure on creating a Unique Student Identifier.

If you have applied for a TFN but expect not to receive it in time, the 2026 OS-HELP terms instruct you to contact the ATO about a Certificate of Application for a TFN. An Australia Post lodgment receipt is not sufficient. Once the TFN is issued, you must give it to your provider within the required period.

How do you apply for OS-HELP?

You do not apply directly to the Department of Education or the ATO. Your home higher education provider manages the application.

You need a separate OS-HELP Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form, commonly referred to as the OS-HELP eCAF or debt confirmation form. It is separate from the CSP or HECS-HELP form you may already have completed.

Your provider may make the eCAF available through its student portal or send you instructions electronically.

1. Ask your provider how and when it accepts OS-HELP applications.
2. Confirm that the overseas study is approved for credit towards your course.
3. Check your eligibility and previous OS-HELP history.
4. Read the current OS-HELP Statement of Terms and Conditions.
5. Receive or request the OS-HELP eCAF from your provider.
6. Check the requested loan amount, overseas study period and duration shown on the form.
7. Enter or confirm your TFN, USI and personal information.
8. Submit the eCAF before the provider's deadline.

When is the OS-HELP application deadline?

There is no single national calendar date for every OS-HELP application. Your provider gives you instructions on how and when to apply and sets its OS-HELP application deadline.

The 2026 OS-HELP terms specifically instruct students to submit the completed eCAF before their provider's OS-HELP application deadline. Check this date early because exchange and overseas-study offices may run selection rounds well before departure.

You cannot become entitled to OS-HELP by applying after you have completed the overseas study for the relevant period.

What happens after your application is approved?

Your provider assesses your eligibility and selection. If approved, it must notify you in writing of the amount and then pays the OS-HELP loan directly to you on behalf of the Commonwealth.

Your OS-HELP debt is incurred when the provider makes that payment. Once payment has been made, the 2026 terms state that the OS-HELP loan cannot be cancelled.

Check your Commonwealth Assistance Notice

Your higher education provider must give you a Commonwealth Assistance Notice for OS-HELP no later than 28 days after the debt is incurred.

Check that the OS-HELP amount on the notice is correct. If you believe the CAN contains an error, Study Assist says you should ask the provider in writing to correct it within 14 days after the CAN was given to you.

How is OS-HELP repaid?

OS-HELP becomes part of your accumulated HELP debt. It is repaid through the Australian tax system when your repayment income reaches the applicable compulsory repayment level.

There is no application or loan fee for requesting OS-HELP. However, HELP debt is subject to the applicable indexation rules.

If you later live overseas, HELP repayment and worldwide-income obligations can still apply.

Common mistakes that can stop or delay OS-HELP

• Assuming any overseas trip qualifies. The overseas study must be full-time and count towards your Australian course.
• Applying before completing enough prior study. You generally need 1.0 EFTSL of qualifying Commonwealth supported study in Australia.
• Having nothing left to study after returning. At least 0.125 EFTSL must remain after the overseas component.
• Missing your university's deadline. Each provider sets its own OS-HELP application timetable.
• Using your ordinary HECS-HELP form instead of the OS-HELP eCAF. OS-HELP requires a separate form.
• Entering TFN or USI information that does not match official records. Mismatched details can prevent loan access.
• Assuming the maximum amount is automatic. Your provider determines the amount approved.
• Applying for a third OS-HELP loan. The lifetime limit is two.
• Applying for the Asian language supplement after completing the language study. The legislation prevents entitlement in that situation.
• Expecting the government to pay an overseas university directly. The OS-HELP amount is paid to you by your Australian provider.