Students > Careers & Opportunities > Study abroad > Costs and funding > OS-HELP Loans

OS-HELP Loans

Planning to study overseas as part of your La Trobe degree? An OS-HELP loan can help cover travel, accommodation, and other costs.

OS-HELP is a government loan scheme administered by La Trobe for eligible Commonwealth-supported students.

The loan is paid into your bank account. The amount you borrow is added to your HELP debt (if you have one), which you repay through the tax system once your income reaches the repayment threshold.

Am I Eligible?

To be eligible for an OS-HELP loan, you must:

  • Be enrolled in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) at La Trobe (eligible for HECS-HELP).
  • Be an Australian citizen, permanent humanitarian visa holder, former permanent humanitarian visa holder, Pacific Engagement Visa (PEV) holder, a New Zealand Special Category Visa (SCV) holder or eligible former SCV holder who meets the long-term residency requirements and will be resident in Australia at the time of applying.
  • Have completed at least 120 La Trobe credit points (1.0 EFTSL) in your current course. (Credit for prior learning will count towards this total if obtained from a Commonwealth supported place enrolment.)
  • Have at least 15 credit points (0.125 EFTSL) remaining after your overseas study. If you are enrolled in the same period as you are scheduled to complete your degree please submit an ASK La Trobe enquiry for advice on eligibility.
  • Be undertaking full-time overseas study, according to the OS-HELP definition of full-time. See below.
  • Have your overseas study count as credit towards your enrolled La Trobe course.
  • Have not received OS-HELP on more than one other occasion and not within the same six-month period by La Trobe or any other provider.
  • Have not completed your overseas study before applying for the OS-HELP loan.

Where eligibility requirements change, the Australian Government's criteria take priority over the information provided on this page.

Semester exchange:
For OS-HELP purposes, full-time status for a semester exchange is defined as a minimum of 45 La Trobe credit points for the semester.

Overseas short programs (study tours, international placements and overseas short study programs):
Full-time status is calculated using a formula set by the Australian Government. This formula considers both the credit points you’ll earn and the length of your overseas study. Travel days are not included in the calculation.

For OS-HELP purposes, the following are generally regarded as full-time study loads:

  • 45 or 60 credit points taken over no more than 12 weeks of overseas study.
  • 30 credit points taken over no more than 8 weeks of overseas study.
  • 15 credit points taken over no more than 4 weeks of overseas study.

If your program does not meet these requirements, you may not be eligible for OS-HELP. Submit an Ask La Trobe enquiry if you’re unsure.

How Much Can I Borrow?

For 2026:

  • Minimum: $1,000
  • Maximum:
    • $8,442 for study outside Asia
    • $10,130 for study in Asia

Amounts are indexed annually. See StudyAssist for details.

If you’re studying an Asian language to prepare for your overseas program, you may be eligible for a supplementary loan of $1,314 (2026 amount).

Key points:

  • The language course can be a short program at a language school, TAFE, or other institution where you pay upfront.
  • It cannot be part of your La Trobe degree or taken in a Commonwealth Supported Place.
  • Your language study must occur before overseas program.
  • You must not have completed the Asian language study before applying for the supplementary amount.
  • You apply for this supplementary loan as part of your OS-HELP application.
  • You will need to provide evidence of enrolment in the Asian language course.

How to Apply

Submit your OS-HELP Loan application no more than six months before your overseas program start date.

Once you have all required documents, apply as soon as possible within this timeframe to allow time for processing. La Trobe will assess your application and notify you within 20 business days.

Your application must include:

  • Evidence your overseas program is approved for credit or is a course requirement.
  • Host acceptance letter.
  • La Trobe Learning Abroad acceptance notification.

Apply for OS-HELP

Submitting an OS-HELP application does not guarantee approval. Consider this before making any financial commitments for your overseas study.

La Trobe assesses applications for eligibility in accordance with the Australian Government’s criteria.

The Government allocates an annual budget for OS-HELP loans to La Trobe each year.

If we receive more applications than we have funding to provide, preference may be given to students who:

  • Have a higher Weighted Average Mark (WAM) at the time the application is submitted
  • Are participating in a semester-length overseas study program
  • Have not previously received OS-HELP
  • Can demonstrate financial hardship and/or educational disadvantage.

What Happens Next?

If you’re eligible, La Trobe will email you with:

  • The approved OS-HELP loan amount.
  • Important information about your rights and obligations.
  • Instructions for completing the Acceptance Forms and the OS-HELP Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) online.

If you are not eligible, you will also be notified by email.

To accept your OS-HELP loan, you must follow the instructions in the approval email and complete the Acceptance Forms and eCAF within 10 working days from the date of the approval email.

Payments are processed to your nominated bank accounts within 10 days of all required documentation being received.

Note: La Trobe may withdraw the offer of OS-HELP before the loan has been paid into your bank account if:

  • your circumstances change and no longer meet the OS-HELP eligibility criteria
  • you provided false or misleading information in their application for OS-HELP
  • you will not be undertaking the overseas study.

FAQs

Yes. You are still able to apply on the condition that you pass all your subjects and achieve a total of at least 120 credits by the time you start your overseas program.

Final approval and payments won’t be processed until subjects have been passed and the 120 credit points achieved.

OS-HELP applications normally take up to 20 business days to process once all documents are submitted. If your payment deadline falls within this timeframe, contact your program host to request an extension.

In exceptional circumstances, fast-tracking may be possible – contact ASK La Trobe as early as possible to discuss your situation.

If your participation depends on OS-HELP, avoid making any financial commitments until you have received your OS-HELP approval.

If the loan has already been paid to you and your circumstances change so you’re no longer eligible or able to study overseas, the debt still applies. You will need to repay the loan through the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).

OS-HELP is based on a six-month study period, so if you are studying overseas for a year you can apply for two consecutive six-month periods of overseas study at the same time. However, the second loan approval and payment will be conditional on you remaining eligible at the start of the second period.

You are only eligible to access up to two loans from any Australian higher education provider in your lifetime.

If you’re undertaking two separate overseas short programs, you can only apply for a second OS-HELP loan if the start date of the second program is more than six months after the start date of the first program.

A second loan application must be completed, and La Trobe will confirm your eligibility again.

Each application must list the specific dates for each overseas study program.

You can only access up to two OS-HELP loans in your lifetime from any Australian higher education provider.