Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS) roles and responsibilities 010-12010000

The Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS) closed from 1 January 2004. Since December 2005 all outstanding Financial Supplement Loans (FSL) have been transferred to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for recovery.

This document outlines the roles and responsibilities of Service Australia officers, and employees from the Australian Taxation Office in the administration of the Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS).

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Student Financial Supplement Loan

The SFSS was a voluntary loan scheme which gave eligible tertiary students the option of borrowing money to help cover their expenses while they studied. The voluntary loan was known as a Financial Supplement Loan (FSL).

Funding and recovery

The funds for the FSL were provided by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA). When the student applied for FSL, the student entered into a loan contract with the CBA for a contract period. All loans were administered by the Services Australia until the end of the contract period.

At the end of the contract period, the outstanding loan was transferred to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). The loan then became a debt to the Commonwealth and is repayable through the taxation system.

Note: the final balance on all outstanding loans will show as zero on the agency's system. This does not mean that the loan has been zeroed off, just that the balance has now been transferred to the ATO for recovery through the taxation system.

Commonwealth Bank involvement

All outstanding loans were bought back by the Commonwealth Government on 1 December 2005. Since that date the Commonwealth Bank no longer has any role to play in the Financial Supplement Loan process.

Related links

Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS)

Rates of Financial Supplement Loan (FSL)

Factors affecting repayment of Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS) loans