SSAF is a mandatory charge for all student and enrolment types as listed below.
Please use the table below to determine if you will pay SSAF, what courses are SSAF-applicable, and whether you are eligible to defer your payment or required to pay up front.
| Student and enrolment type |
Charged SSAF for internal courses | Charged SSAF for external/online courses | Eligible to defer payment through SA-HELP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian citizens, some New Zealand citizens (Special Category Visa (SCV) holders), or permanent humanitarian visa holders resident in Australia | |||
|
Enrolled in an award program |
Yes | Yes 50% from 2018 | Yes |
|
Enrolled in Foundation Studies or a Diploma at UniSA College |
Yes | Yes 50% from 2018 | Yes |
|
Enrolled in a non-award, audit, or cross institutional course |
Yes | Yes 50% from 2018 | No |
|
Enrolled in a research program |
No | No | N/A |
|
Enrolled through Open Universities Australia (OUA) |
No | Yes 50% from 2018 excluding Open Access Units | Yes for commonweath supported, not cross instituitional units |
|
Enrolled through SAIBT or CELUSA |
No | No | N/A |
|
Enrolled in a Short Program |
No | No | No |
| New Zealand citizens (not SCV holders) or permanent residents residing in Australia | |||
|
Enrolled in an award program |
Yes | Yes 50% from 2018 | No |
|
Enrolled in Foundation Studies or a Diploma at UniSA College |
Yes | Yes 50% from 2018 | No |
|
Enrolled in a non-award, audit, or cross institutional course |
Yes | Yes 50% from 2018 | No |
|
Enrolled in a research program |
No | No | N/A |
|
Enrolled through Open Universities Australia (OUA) |
No | Yes 50% from 2018 excluding Open Access Units | N/A |
|
Enrolled through SAIBT or CELUSA |
No | No | N/A |
|
Enrolled in a Short Program |
No | No | No |
| International student | |||
|
Incoming exchange |
Yes, from Study Period 2 2014 | Yes 50% from 2018 | No |
|
Enrolled through SAIBT or CELUSA |
No | No | N/A |
|
All other enrolment types |
International students pay an equivalent fee, which is a component of their tuition fees | No | |
| Offshore student | |||
|
All enrolment types |
No | No | N/A |
In 2025 UniSA SSAF-applicable courses are charged at $10.14 per unit, up to the maximum of $365. This is based on the Equivalent Full Time Student Load1 of 36 units per year. The maximum amount will be indexed each year using the Higher Education Grants Index.
SSAF is calculated for each study period you have course enrolments in, and needs to be paid in that study period. The amount is calculated based on the unit value of the SSAF-applicable course(s) you are enrolled in for the study period. To check if your courses are SSAF-applicable, please see Who pays the SSAF.
To calculate your SSAF, add up the unit value for all of your SSAF-applicable courses for the study period, and multiply it by 10.14.
Example
If you are enrolled in 4 SSAF-applicable courses for Study Period 2 2025, and each course has a unit value of 4.5, your fee would be calculated as:
Step 1 - add up the unit value of all applicable courses for the study period
4.5 + 4.5 + 4.5 + 4.5 = 18 units
Step 2 - multiply the total unit value by 10.14
18 x 10.14 = $182.52 fee for Study Period 2 2025
If you need assistance calculating your SSAF, please contact Campus Central. Please note that your SSAF amount will be calculated by the University and will appear on your invoice with your other fees and charges.
|
Year |
Fee Per Unit |
Fee per 4.5 unit course |
Maximum yearly charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $10.14 | $45.63 | $365 |
| 2024 | $9.75 | $43.88 | $351 |
| 2023 | $9.06 | $40.77 | $326 |
| 2022 | $8.75 | $39.38 | $315 |
| 2021 | $8.69 | $39.10 | $313 |
| 2020 | $8.56 | $38.52 | $308 |
Australian citizens, permanent humanitarian visa holders and some NZ citizens who are enrolled in an award program will be eligible to apply to defer the payment through the new Student and Amenities Higher Education Loan Program (SA-HELP). The loan is repaid through the taxation system, similar to HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP.
Permanent residents and most New Zealand citizens are not eligible for SA-HELP and are required to pay their SSAF in full by the due date.
If you are eligible to apply for SA-HELP, you can fill in a Request for SA-HELP assistance form either electronically, via the SSAF CAF in your myEnrolment checklist, or via hard copy, which you can attain from Campus Central. NZ citizens who meet the eligibility criteria must contact StudentFinance.Enrolment@unisa.edu.au to obtain a hard copy. You must complete and sign a Request for SA-HELP assistance form before the Study Period census date to be eligible to defer payment of the Fee for that period. To find the census date of each study period, please see the Academic Year Calendar. Completion of the form requires your Tax File Number (TFN) and the Fee cannot be deferred without it.
When SSAF was introduced in 2012, a majority of our service delivery models were designed for face-to-face delivery only, making these services largely inaccessible to our external students. With the growing use of technology in delivering student support services over the last two years and the transformation of our service delivery models, a range of support services are now available to students enrolled externally, including (but not limited to):
Students studying externally can also access traditional face-to-face services, meaning that student support services are available to all students, regardless of their location and time of access.
SSAF is calculated for each study period you have course enrolments in, and needs to be paid in that study period. The due date for payment of the SSAF is the study period census date. To find census dates for each study period, please see the Academic Year Calendar.
If you are eligible and wish to defer your payment with SA-HELP, you must complete and sign a Request for SA-HELP assistanceform before the census date to defer payment of the fee for that period.
Campus Central does not accept payments for SSAF.
Your SSAF amount will be included on your invoice with your other fees. Instructions on how and where to pay your fees can be found on the bottom of the invoice.
For details on each of the payment options, select the icons below.
After the payment due date (census date) of each study period, no refunds will be offered for SSAF. There is no capacity under HESA (Higher Education Support Act 2003) for a provider to remit a SA-HELP debt incurred by a student, therefore any SA-HELP debt incurred at the census date will remain.
1The EFTSL (Equivalent Full Time Student Load) value is a measure of the study load for a course, as a measure of the total required study load for a full year in undertaking your program on a full-time basis.