OS-HELP is a loan programme that will provide financial assistance to eligible Commonwealth Supported students wishing to undertake part of their study overseas. Eligible students may borrow up to $5,824 (maximum OS-HELP amount in 2012) per study period for one or two study periods of overseas study.

Students must have consumed at least one EFTSL of their Student Learning Entitlement (SLE) before they are eligible to apply for OS-HELP. Students must also have at least one EFTSL of their SLE left at the time that they apply for OS-HELP, (i.e. students can not apply for OS-HELP if they are going on Exchange in the first or last year of their course of study). For most undergraduate students, this means that you can only apply for OS-HELP if you are applying to go on Student Exchange in the second year of a three year Bachelors Degree.

Eligibility for OS-HELP:

To be eligible for OS-HELP students must:

• Be an Australian citizen or the holder of a permanent humanitarian visa;
• Not have received an OS-HELP Loan on more than one other occasion; and
• Have their overseas study count as credit for the course that they are enrolled in.

Further Information:

More about OS-Study here.

More about Study Abroad here.