Student Services and Amenities Fee

What is the SSAF?

The student services and amenities fee (SSAF) helps fund your non-academic services and amenities, including services such as:

• Student advocacy
• Campus amenities
• National clubs and societies

A full list of how we reinvest the SSAF back to you is available on this page.

How much is it?

2026 SSAF Schedule

Full-time students: $186 per half year ($372 annually)

Part-time students: $139 per half year ($278 annually)

ACU Online students enrolled in 10 credit points or less: $69 flat rate per study period

ACU Online students enrolled in more than 10 credit points: $93 flat rate per study period

2025 SSAF Schedule

Full-time students: $182 per half year ($364 annually)

Part-time students: $136 per half year ($272 annually)

ACU Online students enrolled in 10 credit points or less: $68 flat rate per study period

ACU Online students enrolled in more than 10 credit points: $91 flat rate per study period

How do I pay it?

Your SSAF is listed separately on your fee invoice, along with the payment due date.

You can either:

• Pay upfront through Student Connect, or
• Defer your SSAF through SA-HELP (if you're eligible)

When is it due?

Your SSAF is due on the payment due date for the relevant study period, as shown on your invoice. You become liable for the fee on this date.

Key dates are available on the Enrolment and Fee dates page.

If you don't pay or defer your SSAF, a financial hold may be applied to your account.

How can I defer the SSAF?

You may be able to defer your SSAF through a SA-HELP loan, which is separate from HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP.

You're generally eligible if you're an Australian citizen or hold a permanent humanitarian visa and are enrolled in an award course.

Check the Study Assist website to confirm your eligibility.

To defer your SSAF, you need to log into Student Connect and complete the SA-HELP form by:

• 30 April - Semester 1
• 30 September - Semester 2
• Census date - all other study periods

What if I'm an international student?

If you're an overseas student paying a full international tuition fee, the SSAF will be included in your fees.

Do other universities charge the SSAF?

All Australian universities are able to charge a student services fee to help cover the costs of non-academic services and facilities.

We distribute the SSAF according to guidelines set by the Commonwealth Government.

Investing the SSAF in you

How we invest the SSAF

We charge and administer the SSAF according to the Commonwealth Government's legislation and guidelines.

To read more about these guidelines, visit the Department of Education and Training's SSAF website.

How your voice is heard

It's important to us that we consult our students on priorities for SSAF expenditure and its budget, and to be as transparent as we can.

This is done annually through a student survey, as well as elected student representatives from the ACU National Student Association. We welcome feedback from other student groups too.

Keep an eye out for an announcement for the next student survey in your student email. You can also reach out to your local student association representative.

Visit our student associations page for contact details

Track how your money is spent

We post recent survey results in the Student Portal for current students to read and provide feedback.

We also provide cost breakdowns below of how we are investing the SSAF back into our students, as well as details about funded facilities, services and activities.

What we can spend the SSAF on

Under Government guidelines, SSAF funds may be spent on activities of a non-academic nature, such as:

• providing food or drink to students on a campus of the higher education provider;
• supporting a sporting or other recreational activity by students;
• supporting the administration of a club most of whose members are students;
• caring for children of students;
• providing legal services to students;
• promoting the health or welfare of students;
• helping students secure accommodation;
• helping students obtain employment or advice on careers;
• helping students with their financial affairs;
• helping students obtain insurance against personal accidents;
• supporting debating by students;
• providing libraries and reading rooms (other than those provided for academic purposes) for students;
• supporting an artistic activity by students;
• supporting the production and dissemination to students of media whose content is provided by students;
• helping students develop skills for study, by means other than undertaking *courses of study in which they are enrolled;
• advising on matters arising under the higher education provider's rules (however described);
• advocating students' interests in matters arising under the higher education provider's rules (however described);
• giving students information to help them in their orientation;
• helping meet the specific needs of *overseas students relating to their welfare, accommodation and employment.

Prioritising SSAF funds

SSAF 2024 Allocation Report (PDF, 356KB)

Estimated SSAF 2026

The estimated SSAF to be collected in 2026 is:

$10,500,000

*Note: this estimated amount is subject to change pending actual student enrolments.

2026 Priorities

The top 5 priority areas for students in 2026 are:

• Providing food or drink to students on campus
• Medical services/GP practice on campus
• Counselling services
• Recreational activities and events
• Libraries and reading rooms

SSAF budget allocation