OS-HELP Loans

Loan amounts outside Asia

If you are studying outside of Asia in 2025, you can choose to apply for one of the following three loan amounts. 

Loan amounts in Asia 

If you are studying in Asia in 2025, you can choose one of the following loan amounts, in addition to an optional Asian language supplementary loan (conditions apply). 

Asian language training – supplementary OS-HELP loan

If you want to apply for a supplementary OS-HELP loan to cover the costs of a language training course before you begin your program, the following conditions apply:

• The language course must be taken in preparation for study in Asia (you may not apply if you have already finished your study overseas) 
• The language study may not be credited towards your current UTS degree 
• The language loans must be used in conjunction with regular OS-HELP loans 
• The language you wish to study must be spoken in your destination country (e.g. Mandarin or Cantonese would be acceptable for Hong Kong, but Thai would not be). 
• The language level must be suitable for your skills and experience

• You must be an Australian citizen, a permanent humanitarian visa holder, or New Zealand Special Category Visa holder (must reside in Australia at the time of application and meet the long-term residency requirements)
• You may not have received an OS-HELP loan on more than one other occasion. (You can apply for a maximum of two OS-HELP loans in a lifetime)
• If you are applying for a second OS-HELP loan, the commencement date of the program must be at least 6 months and 1 day apart from the commencement date of your first OS-HELP loan, and for New Zealand Special Category Visa Holder, you must be resident in Australia at the time of second OS-HELP loan application
• You are currently enrolled in an undergraduate or postgraduate degree at UTS as a Commonwealth supported student
• You have successfully completed 48 credit points of study towards your current UTS degree (also required for postgraduate students)
• You will have at least 6 credit points remaining to complete in your current UTS degree upon return from the overseas experience
• You will be undertaking full time study overseas, which will count towards the course requirements for the UTS program of study in which you are enrolled. For example, you may be eligible if you will undertake an In-Country Study experience, a Global Exchange session, a Global Short Program, or another overseas study experience, counting toward your degree. These loans are not available for virtual programs.
• You must have a valid tax file number
• You will need to provide your Unique Student Identifier (USI) when you submit a commonwealth assistance form.
• Students studying a Diploma in Languages are not eligible to apply 

Note: OS-HELP loans cannot be applied retroactively i.e. after you have returned from your study period overseas. You may apply for OS-HELP loans in addition to and irrespective of other scholarships and grants administered by UTS.

OS-HELP loan applications for Global Exchange and In-country Study

You must attend an OS-HELP loan application workshop in order to apply for an OS-HELP loan. A link to the online application form will be provided during the workshop. 

Workshops Dates for UTS Spring 2025 Global Exchange:

• Tuesday 15 April 2025
• Wednesday 30 April 2025

Applications will close by Friday 2 May 2025.

Students will be invited via email in to register and will be provided with the location.

Loan payments: If your application is approved you will be paid by the end of Autumn or Spring session.

For further enquiries contact the Exchange team.

OS-HELP applications for Global Short Programs

Students wanting to apply for an OS-HELP Loan for their short-term or faculty-led program must first register their expression of interest. After completing this you will receive instructions to submit your OS-HELP application online. You must carefully read the provided manual and ensure that you correctly submit your application in full.

Students must submit their OS-HELP Loan applications in full before the below deadlines:

• Autumn/Winter 2025 applications will close on 2 June 2025
• Spring/Summer 2025 applications will close on 1 December 2025

Loan payments: Please allow up to 6 weeks for assessment and processing of your loan application prior to departing for your program. Keep in mind that applications and payments will not be processed until 3 months before your program commencement date.

For further enquiries contact the Global Short Programs team.