On a formal exchange you keep paying your Australian university's fees as usual, and the host university cannot charge you tuition on top. If you hold a Commonwealth supported place, that means your normal student contribution, which you can defer as HECS-HELP. The extra cost is the trip: flights, a visa, insurance, accommodation and living costs in your host city. An OS-HELP loan can cover up to $8,745 of that for six months outside Asia, or $10,494 in Asia, in 2027.
What is a uni exchange program?
A formal exchange runs under an agreement between your university and an overseas university to swap students over time. The Department of Education's guidance says you stay enrolled with your Australian university in units for the overseas study, and that study must count towards your degree. Study abroad without such an agreement falls under the host country's fees.
The choice is wide. UNSW lists more than 300 exchange partners, where you can study for half or a full academic year and earn units of credit towards your program. The University of Sydney lists more than 250 partner institutions in over 40 countries. Both also run short programs. UNSW's tip is to save your electives and general education courses for exchange, which gives you more room to choose subjects overseas.
The BSoc piece this guide grew from was direct: most degrees offer it, and if you can make it work, go, whether that is a full semester, a short program or a winter course.
How much does it cost to go on exchange?
Tuition
The Department of Education's guidance says students on a formal exchange can use HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP on the same terms as at home, and a Commonwealth supported student must not be charged tuition fees by either their Australian university or the host. Your tuition for the semester is your usual student contribution. Our guide to census date shows how that amount is worked out.
Everything else
The rest depends on the city and how long you stay. The University of Sydney's funding page lists program costs and fees, living, travel and other expenses while overseas. UNSW's pre-departure steps add:
- a passport valid for at least six months
- any visa you need, applied for well in advance
- travel insurance (UNSW covers its students once they submit its travel preparation quiz, and says to arrange your own if that cover does not meet your needs)
- health insurance at host universities that make their own cover compulsory
- a GP health check and any vaccinations your GP recommends.
The University of Sydney publishes program fees and the cost of living on each partner's brochure page. Start there, or with your own university's partner pages, before you choose a destination.
What is OS-HELP, and how much can you borrow?
OS-HELP is an Australian Government loan for students in a Commonwealth supported place who study part of their course overseas. It is paid to you, for airfares, accommodation and other travel or study costs, and added to your HELP debt.
| Maximum for a six-month study period | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Studying outside Asia | $8,442 | $8,745 |
| Studying in Asia | $10,130 | $10,494 |
| Extra for Asian language study before you go to Asia | $1,345 | $1,393 |
Your university decides how much you get, based on your destination and length of stay. At UNSW you must ask for at least $1,000, and the amount also depends on how much OS-HELP funding UNSW has. You can have two OS-HELP loans in your lifetime, never two in the same six-month period, and you must start studying overseas within six months of approval. UNSW says the Asian language amount does not count towards the two-loan limit.
Plan bookings around the payment date. UNSW says that if you apply for more than the current year's maximum for a trip next year, the money is not paid until after 1 January.
Who can get OS-HELP?
StudyAssist says you must:
- be selected by your university for an OS-HELP loan
- be an Australian citizen, a permanent humanitarian visa holder, a Pacific Engagement Visa holder or an eligible New Zealand Special Category Visa holder, or an eligible former holder of one of those humanitarian or New Zealand visas
- be in a Commonwealth supported place
- have completed one EFTSL of your course, usually a year of full-time study
- study full time overseas, in study that counts towards your Australian course
- have at least 0.125 EFTSL of your course left when you return, usually one unit
- not have had OS-HELP more than once before
- submit an OS-HELP debt confirmation form, read the OS-HELP terms and conditions booklet, and have a tax file number and a Unique Student Identifier.
At UNSW that means 48 units of credit done and at least 6 left after you return. The Department of Education adds that overseas students at an Australian university cannot use HELP for an exchange to a third country.
How do you pay back OS-HELP?
Through the tax system, like the rest of your HELP debt. StudyAssist says compulsory repayments start once your income passes the minimum repayment income, which is $69,528 in 2026-27, and the Australian Taxation Office works out the amount when you lodge your tax return. You can also make voluntary repayments at any time. Your debt is indexed on 1 June each year on the part older than 11 months, so it grows with the cost of living until you repay it.
The BSoc piece's view is that this is about as cheap as an international experience will ever be: nothing paid upfront from your savings, and repayments only once you earn above the threshold.
What scholarships and grants are there?
Scholarships are set by each university. The University of Sydney's own, as listed by its Sydney Abroad office on 8 October 2026:
- Vice Chancellor's Global Mobility Scholarship: students applying for a semester exchange or an eligible short program are considered automatically, at $3,000 for Super Exchange Partners, up to $2,000 for academic merit and up to $1,500 for targeted programs.
- Vice Chancellor's Global Mobility Award: $5,000 for an in-person semester exchange, or up to $2,500 for an eligible short program, for students who entered through one of Sydney's named entry schemes, such as the Educational Access Scheme or the Gadigal Program, or are the first in their immediate family at university. It can be held alongside OS-HELP.
- Dalyell Global Mobility Scholarship: up to $3,000, once, for Dalyell Scholars.
Sydney also says to check the host university for its own scholarships. UNSW lists exchange scholarships in its scholarship search, and says Youth Allowance can usually continue while you are overseas as long as you tell Centrelink before you leave.
The New Colombo Plan, run by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, funds Australian universities to send undergraduates to the Indo-Pacific. Its Mobility Program covers credit-bearing experiences of 4 to 9 weeks and its Semester Program covers one or two semesters. DFAT does not take applications from students, so ask your university's study abroad office.
How do you apply for exchange?
- Check the criteria. The University of Sydney says some opportunities, overseas study among them, carry a minimum WAM, so read the application criteria.
- Choose partners and get academic approval, so the units you take overseas count towards your degree. Sydney calls this an important part of the process.
- Apply through your university's exchange office.
- Apply for OS-HELP. At UNSW that means an OS-HELP Academic Credit Approval form signed by the Learning Abroad and Student Exchange office and your School or Faculty, then an online OS-HELP Debt Confirmation form in myUNSW. UNSW confirms it has your application within five business days.
- Prepare to leave. UNSW's steps include a compulsory pre-departure tutorial, your passport, visas, travel insurance and a GP health check.
Is exchange worth it for your career?
The BSoc piece argued that employers value exchange because it shows you can handle unfamiliar environments, work things out on your own and plan your life more than 12 months ahead. Those are the same qualities a behavioural interview tries to assess, so an exchange gives you stories for questions about adapting and solving problems. Our guide to the STAR method shows how to tell them, and our guide to internships covers the applications they feed into.
It also made a practical point. Once you work full time and hold a rental lease, a month overseas to learn and meet people is much harder to justify.
Common questions about exchange
Do you pay the host university's tuition?
On a formal exchange as a Commonwealth supported student you do not. You pay your usual student contribution to your Australian university.
Can international students get OS-HELP?
No. OS-HELP is for Australian citizens and the visa holders listed above.
Do exchange marks count towards your WAM?
At the University of Sydney, units completed on exchange or study abroad are left out of WAM. Check your own university's rules.
Sources
- StudyAssist, OS-HELP and overseas study (what OS-HELP is and what it pays for, eligibility, 2027 maximums, two loans in a lifetime, six months to start study, indexation, repayment through the ATO, last updated 4 September 2026, read 8 October 2026)
- StudyAssist, Loan repayments (minimum repayment income of $69,528 in 2026-27, compulsory and voluntary repayments, last updated 25 May 2026, read 8 October 2026)
- Department of Education, Higher Education Administrative Information for Providers, 15. Exchange and study abroad students (what a formal exchange is, HECS-HELP on exchange, no tuition from the home or host university, study abroad under the host country's fees, overseas students and HELP, read 8 October 2026)
- UNSW, What is OS-HELP? (2026 and 2027 maximums, the $1,000 minimum, UNSW's funding, payment after 1 January, the Asian language amount and the two-loan limit, 48 and 6 units of credit, how to apply, five business days, read 8 October 2026)
- UNSW, Study overseas (300+ exchange partners, half or full academic year, units of credit, saving electives, short programs, read 8 October 2026)
- UNSW, Preparing for learning abroad (pre-departure tutorial, travel preparation quiz and UNSW travel insurance, passport, visas, host health insurance, GP check, read 8 October 2026)
- UNSW, Financial support for students (Youth Allowance overseas, exchange scholarships, read 8 October 2026)
- University of Sydney, Study overseas (250+ partner institutions in more than 40 countries, semester, year-long and short programs, academic approval, last updated 2 June 2026, read 8 October 2026)
- University of Sydney, Sydney Abroad Scholarships and Funding (costs to plan for, partner brochure pages, the three scholarships and their amounts, host university scholarships, read 8 October 2026)
- University of Sydney, Weighted Average Mark (WAM) (minimum WAM for overseas study, exchange units left out of WAM, last updated 2 June 2026, read 8 October 2026)
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Colombo Plan Mobility Program (4 to 9 week credit-bearing experiences, funding through universities, no direct student applications, read 8 October 2026)
- Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, New Colombo Plan Semester Program (one or two semester experiences, read 8 October 2026)
- BSoc Bulletin, Go on exchange (16 September 2026) (go if you can make it work, OS-HELP as the cheapest time to go, what employers see in exchange, the practical case for going during your degree, read 8 October 2026)
First ran in the BSoc Bulletin
Spotted an error? Correct something.
