The SLE system will be abolished from 1 January 2012. The Higher Education Support Amendment (Demand Driven Funding System and Other Measures) Bill 2011 was passed by the Parliament in September 2011.

Under the provisions of the Bill, eligible students will no longer have a limit placed on how much study they can undertake as a Commonwealth supported student. Students who have used up their allocation of SLE will now be able to re-enrol from 1 January 2012 to complete their studies as a Commonwealth supported student (or undertake further study in a Commonwealth supported place).  Those students who used up their SLE and have paid tuition fees for a fee paying place and/or received a FEE-HELP loan are not able to receive a remittance of those fees or a reduction in their FEE-HELP debt.

Additional information about the SLE changes is available from the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) website at http://www.goingtouni.gov.au/.