janicebks

Hi there,

I'm wondering, do PR-holders obtain some sort of discount if we study at Australian unis? I tried checking it but too much technical jargon scrambled my brain. Not sure if it's only applicable for citizens. Anyone tried?

Janice

GinaUK

Not sure what you mean by "discount"?

As a PR you pay domestic fees, i.e. same as citizens (you don't pay international student fees).

You can't get HECS though as a PR holder (need to be a citizen for that), which means you can't get the discount on fees paid up-front.

Gina

janicebks

Thanks, Gina. So the course pricing is three tiered? I thought there were only two different prices. That really clears things up.

GinaUK

There are domestic and international fees. Domestic fees is then split into those who qualify for HECS and those that don't.

As a PR visa holder, you'll be a domestic non-Hecs (sounds like something that requries the wearing of a pointy hat ...).

Your chosen university will then have it's own payment procedures. And you may find if you can pay say a whole year's fees upfront, your particular university may give you a discount for that.

So, it would be worthwhile phoning your uni and ask what their payment schedules are for a domestic non-HECS student doing course xxxx.

Gina

NickyC

Here in NSW some Uni course fees are 3-tiered.

Most Uni courses (not those at Private Unis) offer commonwealth-supported places which are subsidised by the government and are a fixed price. Teaching/Nursing courses are cheapest, followed by Arts-type courses (cost a bit more), followed by Science (cost a bit more again), followed by Medicine, Vet Science, Law etc (cost the most). You have to reach a pre-set cutoff (Year 12 marks-wise) to get offered one of these places. Anyone - PR or Citizen can qualify for these.

SOME courses at some Unis are also offered as Domestic Fee-paying. These cost much more than CSP (Commonwealth-supported) places but have a lower Year 12 mark cut-off. So you can 'buy' your way into these courses if you don't have high enough marks to get a CSP . It's a way for the Unis to make money and PRs and citizens qualify for these places, too.

Then you get International fee-paying places which are for overseas students. These fees are extortionate but PRs and citizens don't have to pay them.