The Australian Government established Startup Year to support students’ participation in startup courses at Australian higher education providers, to encourage innovation and support Australia’s startup community, including social innovation and community-based entrepreneurship.
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About the program
Startup Year courses (also known as accelerator program courses) enhance and develop student skills, capabilities, and networks, and will foster greater levels of entrepreneurialism and talent within the Australian innovation ecosystem.
To support students to participate in Startup Year courses, the Government established a new income contingent loan program for recent graduates, postgraduate and final year undergraduate students through the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) called STARTUP-HELP.
Pilot
Startup Year commenced in 2024 with a targeted pilot to test aspects of program design, gauge student demand, assess providers’ capacity to deliver the program, and give providers time to develop and accredit their accelerator courses prior to the full rollout of the initiative.
The following 11 universities were selected to participate in the pilot:
- Charles Sturt University
- Curtin University
- Flinders University
- La Trobe University
- Queensland University of Technology
- Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
- Swinburne University of Technology
- The University of New South Wales
- The University of Queensland
- University of New England
- Western Sydney University
The pilot program has now concluded, and following a review STARTUP-HELP has now been closed. Eligible students are still able to access other forms of financial assistance, such as FEE-HELP or HECS-HELP, to support their higher education costs for courses under the STARTUP Year Program.
Further information
For further information about the Startup Year program, please contact Startup.Year@education.gov.au