Fees

Scale of coursework fees for domestic students in 2010

Details of fees for international students, and for students undertaking research essays, minor and major theses, and doctoral programs are available from the MCD website or from the UFT office.

Payment of fees
Students must pay their fees at the UFT Office at the time of enrolment, either by paying the fees upfront or by submitting an application for FEE-HELP. A student who is an Australian citizen, or holds a permanent humanitarian visa, may take out a FEE-HELP loan from the Federal Government to cover his or her fees. This loan is paid back through the taxation system when the student’s income reaches a certain level, or through voluntary repayments. FEE-HELP forms and information booklets are available from the UFT office (see below).

Students who elect to pay upfront fees must provide payment when they present their completed enrolment forms. Students should make cheques payable to ‘Melbourne College of Divinity’. Credit card payments can be accepted. Where a third party organisation is paying fees, a letter must be provided from that organisation along with the enrolment form. Where fees are unpaid, enrolment may be cancelled, library access withdrawn and examination results withheld.

Fee-HELP
Students in any MCD course who are Australian citizens, or hold a permanent humanitarian visa, can have their tuition fees met by a loan from the Commonwealth Government. The scheme – brought in under the Higher Education Support Act (HESA, 2003) – is called the Higher Education Loan Program: FEE-HELP for short.

To apply for a FEE-HELP loan, you must fill in the Government form and send it to the MCD office (the UFT office will forward this on your behalf). The form must be received by the census date (13 March for first semester, or 14 August for new application for second semester). Forms and FEE-HELP information are available from the UFT and MCD offices. Your fees will be paid to the MCD office by the Commonwealth, and the UFT will receive payment for your classes and library use. You need to fill in only one form once in your course for each degree or diploma.

Before you apply for a loan, please note carefully, the following:

• The Government requires that, before you sign the FEE-HELP form, you must read the FEE–HELP Information booklet so that you are aware of your obligations under the scheme. If you participate in FEE-HELP, your details will be listed in DEEWR’s Higher Education Information Management System (HEIMS), and you will receive a Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN), which remains unique to you for life.
• For undergraduate courses (BTheol, AdvDipMin, DipMin, AssocDipMin) the Government adds a 20% loan fee to your tax liability. For postgraduate courses (GradCert, GradDips, Masters, Doctorates) no further charge applies.
• You must provide your Tax File Number in order to apply for a FEE-HELP loan.
• Your loan is repaid through the tax system. When your income reaches a predetermined level (reviewed annually) you pay a proportion back with your tax. The higher your income, the higher the repayment proportion, starting at 4%. Voluntary early repayments over $500 receive a discount of 10%. Your FEE-HELP tax liability goes up by CPI on June 1st each year, but in ‘real dollar’ terms does not increase. If someone with a FEE-HELP debt dies, only the repayment due in that tax year is billed: the rest is cancelled.

For further information:
    •    Read the FEE-HELP Information booklet
    •    Visit the Going to Uni website at: www.goingtouni.gov.au
    •    Call the FEE-HELP enquiry line on 1800 020 108