10. Commonwealth Assistance Notice

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All students who are Commonwealth supported, and/or who request HELP, must receive a Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) [HESA subsection 169-5(1) and Administration Guidelines chapter 4.3]. OUA must provide a CAN to students seeking FEE‑HELP for units offered through OUA.

10.1 - What information must the CAN contain?

The CAN must contain the information set out in the Administration Guidelines for each higher education unit of study. The Administration Guidelines only require information to be provided in the CAN as applicable to a student’s enrolment. A provider may include other information in the CAN as necessary.

10.2 - When must the CAN be given?

A provider must give students the CAN within 28 days of the earliest census date indicated in the CAN. A provider may issue separate CANs for units of study with different census dates.

Where the CAN applies only to SA-HELP, the CAN must be issued no later than 28 days after the date that the SA-HELP debt was incurred. If the CAN is being issued for units of study that fall within the same half-year period (1 January – 30 June or 1 July – 31 December) as the date the SA-HELP debt was incurred, then SA-HELP debt can be included on the same CAN.

Where the CAN applies only to OS-HELP, the CAN must be issued no later than 28 days after the date the OS‑HELP debt is incurred [part 32.23].

10.3 - Electronic issue of the CAN

A provider may issue the CAN electronically, in line with Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (ETA), HESA and chapter 8 of the Administration Guidelines [part 41.1].

10.4 - Incorrect CANs

Amending incorrect CANs

There are times when a student’s circumstances will change after their CAN has been issued, for example, if they have a debt remitted. A provider is responsible for ensuring that the information provided in CANs is correct. Therefore, if information provided in issued CANs is incorrect, or ceases to be correct, the provider must issue affected students with new CANs containing the correct information. 

Student request for correction of CAN

When a student believes the information on the CAN is incorrect, the student may, within 14 days of the CAN being given, or longer if the provider allows, ask in writing for the CAN to be corrected [HESA subsections 169-10(2) and (3)]. This request may be made electronically, in line with chapter 8 of the Administration Guidelines.

The student’s request should specify which information the student considers is incorrect and the reasons why they consider it to be incorrect. Making the request does not affect the student’s liability to pay the tuition fee, or the student’s HELP eligibility.

The provider should consider the request as soon as possible, and notify the student, in writing, of its decision. If the provider finds the information on the original CAN was incorrect, or has ceased to be correct, the provider must issue a new CAN to the student with the correct information. The provider should also correct its records and revise data in the Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI) system as soon as possible [part 36.1].