Reduction of Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts for health practitioners in rural, remote and very remote areas

Waiver of indexation

Indexation is applied to outstanding HELP debts by the Australian Taxation Office on 1 June each year. Eligible doctors and nurse practitioners may be eligible to have indexation waived on their HELP debt for the period of time they live and work in a rural, remote or very remote location of Australia.

Further information and examples on how waivers of indexation are applied is available on the FAQ page.

Reduction of accumulated HELP debt

Under the program, eligible doctors and nurse practitioners may receive a reduction to their HELP debt.

The value of the reduction is calculated using the lesser of the following values:

the total HELP debt you incurred for your eligible medical or nurse practitioner qualification
the amount of HELP debt you had outstanding at the time you started eligible work in a rural, remote or very remote location (on or after 1 January 2022).

Where you live and work, and the length of your study, will determine the years of service required to be eligible for either a 50% or 100% reduction.

Further information and examples of HELP debt reduction calculations are available on the FAQ page.

The Program commenced on 1 January 2022 and is a joint initiative of the Department of Education and the Department of Health, Disability and Aging.

The Program operates under Division 144 – Special measures for location-preferred HELP debtors-health practitioners in Part 4-1 of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) and the HELP Debtor Guidelines (Health Practitioners) 2023 (the Guidelines).

Eligibility

To receive a waiver of indexation on your outstanding HELP debt or a reduction to your accumulated HELP debt, you have to meet a series of eligibility criteria.

Eligibility Criteria for Nurse Practitioners

To be eligible you must:

have completed an eligible course of study as a nurse practitioner and received the required qualifications
have a HECS-HELP debt or a FEE-HELP debt in relation to the course of study
be an endorsed and registered Nurse Practitioner with Ahpra
have lived and worked in a rural, remote or very remote location based on the Modified Monash Model classification.

Eligibility Criteria for Doctors

To be eligible you must:

have completed an eligible course of study in medicine and received the required qualifications
have a HECS-HELP debt or a FEE-HELP debt in relation to the course of study
hold a registration as a medical practitioner with Ahpra
have completed at least 36 months service following initial registration with Ahpra
have lived and worked in a rural, remote or very remote location based on the Modified Monash Model classification.
have worked at least 24 hours per week within a general practice.

Eligibility Criteria – ‘Live and work’

To be eligible for the Program, you must both live and work in a rural, remote or very remote area of Australia.

To meet the eligibility requirements to ‘live in a rural, remote or very remote area’, where you live must be your usual place of residence. You will not meet the eligibility criteria if you live in a rural, remote or very remote area on a temporary basis and have your permanent residence elsewhere.

In addition, to receive a HELP debt reduction, you must have lived and worked in a rural, remote or very remote location for the minimum service period.

The required minimum service period varies depending on the location and the length of your degree as outlined below.

Modified Monash Model

Rural, remote and very remote locations in Australia are classified using the Modified Monash Model (MMM). The MMM rates remoteness and population size from MM 1 to MM 7. MM 1 stands for major cities, while MM 7 indicates very remote communities. These classifications are used to identify areas with limited access to medical services. They also help guide workforce planning and incentive programs.

MM3-5 (Rural) required minimum service period

Length of eligible degree	Required years to live and work in the location to receive 50% HELP Debt Reduction	Required years to live and work in the location to receive 100% Help Debt Reduction
6 years	3 years	6 years
4 years	2 years	4 years
2 years	1 years	2 years

MM 6-7 (Remote / Very Remote) required minimum service period

Length of eligible degree	Required years to live and work in the location to receive 50% HELP Debt Reduction	Required years to live and work in the location to receive 100% Help Debt Reduction
6 years	1.5 years	3 years
4 years	1 year	2 years
2 years	6 months	1 year

Applying to the program

When to apply

Eligibility for assistance is assessed retrospectively and can’t be ‘future dated’.

You can apply for a waiver of indexation every year. You can apply for a HELP debt reduction when you meet the minimum service thresholds.

You can apply while living and working in an eligible location or you can apply after finishing work in an eligible location.

Before you apply – prepare your supporting documents

You need to provide a number of supporting documents when you submit your application. If you do not provide the relevant supporting documentation, your application may be rejected.

Before you apply you should make sure you have the following information and supporting documents.

Find your Ahpra number

Look yourself up on the Register of Practitioners to find your AHPRA number.

Find your CHESSN or USI

Your Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN) was your unique reference number for applying for Commonwealth assistance such as HELP loans.

Find your CHESSN on your Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN).Your CAN would have been provided to you by your higher education provider each semester.

The Unique Student Identifier (USI) was introduced on 1 January 2021 and replaced the CHESSN as the primary higher education student support reference number. You may not have a USI. It is useful but not compulsory to share it with us. Learn to find your USI.

Statement of Service from your employer

A statement of service or letter from employer is required as evidence of your work in rural, remote of very remote areas of Australia. The statement of service or letter from your employer must be on official letterhead and confirm things like the duration, location and duties of your employment.

Specifically, the statement of service or letter from employer should include:

your full name and position title
description of your role & activities performed
date of your commencement
duration of your employment
the location of your duties - where you are working in multiple locations, a list of locations must be provided.
number of hours worked each week – where you are working in multiple locations, a breakdown of hours worked at each location.
periods of unpaid leave.

Proof of residency information

To be eligible you must provide documents which confirm that you have also resided in a rural, remote or very remote area of Australia while employed there.

The documentation needs to provide evidence of location and also demonstrate continued residence over time. For example, you may provide an electricity bill from when you first started to reside in the location and then provide quarterly bills demonstrating your continued residence.

If you are staying in private accommodation / accommodation sourced by you, examples of suitable evidence include:

Internet provider invoice - utility bills should be provided that cover the entire period at a particular address.
Gas provider invoice - utility bills should be provided that cover the entire period at a particular address.
Electricity provider invoice - utility bills should be provided that cover the entire period at a particular address.
Lease agreement – the agreement should clearly display the length / dates of the rental agreement.
Rental ledger - the ledger should clearly display the duration of the stay in the rented accommodation.
Home contents insurance certificate of currency / insurance invoice (must include contents insurance).

If you are staying in employer provided accommodation examples of suitable evidence include:

Letter from employer on employer letterhead confirming location and duration of stay at accommodation.

Use of a statutory declaration

If you are unable to provide the necessary documents detailed above, a Commonwealth statutory declaration will be accepted.

In the statutory declaration you must detail the residential address, how long you lived there and provide a brief explanation as to why you are unable to provide alternative documents.

Suggested wording for the statutory declaration is detailed below:

For the purposes of my application for the Health Practitioner HELP initiative, I would like to declare that I resided at ADDRESS between START DATE and END DATE. I was unable to provide other documentary evidence such as a utility bill, lease agreement, tenancy agreement, or rental ledger because STATE BRIEF EXPLANATION.

Proof of Qualification

You must provide a copy of your degree and official academic transcript. The official academic transcript should be following the conclusion of your degree and detail all units studied.

This document must confirm the date course requirements were completed or date conferred.

If you are nurse practitioner you should provide an endorsement from NMBA.

Australian Taxation Office (ATO) HELP Debt Statement

To determine your outstanding HELP debt balance, you need to provide an ATO HELP debt statement.

The ATO HELP debt statement can be downloaded from ATO online services in your MyGov account.

The ATO HELP debt statement must show your name and TFN.

Help to download your ATO HELP debt statement is available on the ATO website. 

How to apply

You can apply for reduction of accumulated HELP debts, indexation waivers and waiver extensions online using our myHELP reduction applicant portal.

A portal user guide for the portal is available to assist you.

A Privacy Statement and Terms & Conditions are available.

You can also apply for reduction of accumulated HELP debts, indexation waivers and waiver extensions by downloading the application form.

Further information

A series of FAQs has been developed to explain the program, the eligibility criteria and the application process. The FAQs also provide example calculations of waivers of indexation and HELP debt reductions.

If you have further questions please contact us at HealthPractitionerHELP@education.gov.au.