Student contribution amounts
In a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP), the Australian Government covers part of your course cost, and you pay the remaining amount. The amount you pay depends on the subjects you study.
What is a student contribution amount?
If you’re offered a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) in an undergraduate or graduate course, the Australian Government pays part of the cost of your course, and you contribute the rest. Your student contribution amount is the portion of the course cost that you're responsible for paying.
This contribution is not a separate fee – it forms part of your overall course costs when studying in a CSP at the University of Melbourne.
Student contribution amounts are only applicable to domestic students in a Commonwealth Supported Place.
How is the amount calculated?
The student contribution amount you pay is based on the subjects you study each teaching period (semester), not on the degree you're enrolled in as a whole.
Each subject (also called a unit) belongs to a discipline, determined by its content, not the course. Disciplines are grouped together, and these groupings are sometimes referred to as funding clusters. Each has a maximum contribution amount set by the Australian Government for the calendar year. Therefore, the cost of each subject is determined by the funding cluster to which it is assigned and its study load.
Because of this, different subjects can have different contribution amounts. Your total student contribution may vary across your course if you study subjects from more than one discipline.
Most degrees include a mix of subjects, and it’s normal for contribution amounts to differ from year to year depending on your subject choices. Before enrolling, you can check which subjects are included in your course (refer to the Handbook) and see the student contribution amount for each subject.
2026 student contribution amounts
The table below shows the maximum student contribution amounts for 2026 by discipline. The student contribution amounts in the table below are for both undergraduate and graduate studies.
Your student contribution is charged by subject. Go to Understanding your fees to find fees for a specific subject.
| Discipline | Annual student contribution amount for 1 EFTSL (Equivalent Full-Time Student Load) = 100 credit points |
|---|---|
| Agriculture, Education, Postgraduate Clinical Psychology, English, Indigenous and Foreign Languages, Mathematics, Nursing, Statistics | $4,738 per 1 EFTSL or $592 per 12.5 pt unit |
| Allied Health, Architecture, Built Environment, Computing, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Other Health, Pathology, Professional Pathway Psychology, Professional Pathway Social Work, Science, Surveying, Visual and Performing Arts | $9,537 per 1 EFTSL or $1,192 per 12.5 pt unit |
| Dentistry, Medicine, Veterinary Science | $13,558 per 1 EFTSL or $1,694 per 12.5 pt unit |
| Accounting, Administration, Behavioural Science, Commerce, Communications, Law, Society and Culture, Economics | $17,399 per 1 EFTSL or $2,174 per 12.5 pt unit |
Find previous amounts at Previous years’ fees and student contribution amounts.
Students in a Commonwealth Supported Place also pay a Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF).
How to pay
As a CSP student, you have two ways to cover your student contribution amount:
- pay upfront, directly to the University, or
- if eligible, use a HECS-HELP loan, which allows you to defer payment until your income reaches the repayment threshold.
You’ll choose how you want to pay when you enrol, and you must finalise your payment or loan arrangements on or before the census date for each study period. Learn more at Paying your fees.