Element E558 - HELP loan amount
Description
The HELP loan amount for a unit of study or SA-HELP loan
Input Packets
Packets/Groups it appears in:
Showing 0 of 4.
Validations
Showing 0 of 33.
Format
| Code category | Element (E) |
|---|---|
| Element # | 558 |
| Element Type: | Decimal |
| Width: | 7(2) |
| Version Revision Date: | |
| Version: | 7.00 |
| Years version active: | 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025 |
Allowable Values
NILIf a student has no HELP loan for a unit of study then the value for element 558 (HELP Debt) must be "0". This includes exempt and overseas students.
If a student has a HELP loan for the unit of study then the value for element 558 (HELP Debt) must equal element 384 (Total Amount Charged) minus element 381 (Amount Paid Upfront).
For FEE‐HELP undergraduate courses and VET courses this must exclude the loan fee which is reported separately in element 529 (Loan fee).
Calculating the HECS‐HELP loan for a unit of study prior to 1 January 2017
The HECS‐HELP discount was discontinued from 1 January 2017. For information on how to calculate element 558 for a pre‐2017 Commonwealth supported student please refer to the glossary - Calculating pre-2017 HECS-HELP debts.
TCSI Support Change History
| Revision Data | Change Details | Change Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-11-25 | Updated coding notes |
VET Student Loans Secretary Notice update July 2025 |
| 2023-12-21 | Updated coding notes |
For clarification on reporting of HELP debt amount |
| 2022-12-19 | Updated coding notes |
For clarification on reporting of HELP debt amount |
| 2022-12-16 | Updated coding notes |
For clarification on reporting of HELP debt amount |
| 2021-11-19 | Updated coding notes |
For clarification on reporting of HELP debt amount |
| 2020-06-30 | Updated coding notes |
For clarification on reporting of HELP debt amount |
| 2019-10-18 | Updated coding notes |
For clarification on reporting of HELP debt amount |
| 2019-09-24 | Updated coding notes |
For clarification on reporting of HELP debt amount |
| 2017-09-18 | Updated coding notes |
For clarification on reporting of HELP debt amount |
Summary
Element 558 was included in the Higher Education Student data collection under the new policy and program initiatives introduced under the Opens in a new window: Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) which was implemented in 2005. The element was included in the VET FEE‑HELP data collection in 2009. There have been updates to coding notes to include SA‑HELP and reflect the change of upfront payments. In 2012 additional set of criteria for SA‑HELP was added to create a generic term for all HELP debts.
Table 1. Change control information with links to relevant versions 1
| First year version applied | Last year version applied | Version | Change | Reason for change | Notice date | Issue date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Current | 7.10 | Update to coding notes | VET Student Loans Secretary Notice update July 2025 | 8 July 2025 | 8 July 2025 |
| 2021 | 2025 | 7.00 | Incremental version number applied. | A new version number is applied to mark the transition from the Higher Education Information Management System (HEIMS) to the Tertiary Collection of Information (TCSI). | 3 Jul 2020 | 3 Jul 2020 |
| 2018 | 2020 | 6.00 | Updated coding notes | For clarification on reporting of HELP debt amount | 18 Sep 2017 | 18 Sep 2017 |
| 2015 | 2017 | 5.00 | Re‑format document to conform with the department's application upgrade | Ministerial Notice document system upgrade | 22 May 2014 | 22 May 2014 |
| 2013 | 2014 | 4.00 | Modification of coding notes | Clarification | 14 Feb 2012 | 18 Dec 2012 |
| 2012 | 2012 | 3.30 | Renamed the post 2012 calculation section to "Calculating the HELP debt on or after 1 January 2012" and added an additional set of criteria for SA‑HELP. | To make "HELP DEBT" generic to accommodate all types of HELP debts | 14 Feb 2012 | 18 Dec 2012 |
| 2012 | 2012 | 3.20 | Updated coding notes to reflect change of upfront payment discount from 20% to 10% used in calculating the total Help debt amount. | Legislative change | 11 Mar 2011 | 14 Feb 2012 |
| 2012 | 2012 | 3.10 | Updated coding notes to include SA‑HELP. | New reporting requirement for SA‑HELP | 11 Mar 2011 | 07 Dec 2011 |
| 2012 | 2012 | 3.00 | New versioning applied to data elements | No change in requirements - Implementation of new document management system. | 11 Mar 2011 | 11 Mar 2011 |
| 2009 | 2011 | 1.10 | Addition of coding notes of VET input files; and change to element description and code meanings to accommodate use by VET providers | Introduction of VET FEE‑HELP | 05 Dec 2008 | 05 Dec 2008 |
| 2005 | 2008 | 1.00 | Coding and code meanings modified to support the policy and program initiatives under HESA 2003 | Implementation of new policy and initiatives under HESA 2003; required for accurate reporting of HELP debt at unit of study level. | 09 Dec 2004 | 09 Dec 2004 |
| Pre‑HESA: There is no earlier version of this element. | ||||||
Note 1: A version of an element can be associated with one or more reporting years. Where there are multiple versions applicable to a reporting year, only a link to the latest version is provided.
