Australian student-aid statistics
Key findings compiled live from the ATO HECS-HELP schedule, Department of Education university enrolment, and Services Australia Youth Allowance tables. Every figure below is computed from the PlainStudentAid database at request time; nothing is typed in by hand. Registry only, not advice.
- Universities
- 39
- HECS floor
- $67,000
- Reported enrolment
- 1,461,000
Key findings
Standalone, citable statements from the linked official extracts. Reuse with attribution to PlainStudentAid (CC BY 4.0).
- 39 TEQSA-registered universities sit in this extract, with 1,461,000 reported enrolment across 252 degree rows. Every figure below is recomputed from the PlainStudentAid database at request time.
- $67,000 is the FY 2025-26 ATO HECS-HELP repayment-income floor in this schedule. Below that band the published rate is 0%. These are statutory thresholds, not a recommended repayment plan.
- 17% is the peak marginal HECS-HELP rate in this FY 2025-26 extract ($125,000 to $179,285). Above $179,286 the published rate is a flat 10% of repayment income. Marginal and flat bands are different rules; do not mix them.
- 91,000 reported enrolment makes RMIT University the largest campus in this directory (VIC, QS #123). Enrolment and QS place are separate sorts.
- #13 is University of Melbourne's published QS World University Rank in this extract, the best QS place among the 39 campuses here (53,000 reported enrolment, enrolment board #8). QS #1 in this directory is not the enrolment leader.
- #4 / #31 of 39 on QS versus 39 on enrolment is where Australian National University sits in the same table. Dual rank is the point: a small-enrolment campus can still lead a research-rank board.
- 458,000 reported enrolment sits in New South Wales across 11 campuses, ahead of Victoria at 422,000 across 8 campuses. State totals are sums of directory rows, not a census of every student in the state.
- $838.30 a fortnight is the highest Youth Allowance base rate in this Services Australia extract (single with dependants, ages 16-24, effective 20 March 2026). Base rates are not take-home entitlements after tests.
Reported enrolment by state
Sum of directory enrolment rows, in thousands. This is not a full student census of each state.
Reported enrolment by state (thousands)
Department of Education extract in this rebuild
Source: Australian Government Department of Education Higher education statistics (university enrolment rows in this rebuild) · 2023
Full boards: rankings · universities · HECS thresholds.
How to read these numbers
HECS-HELP rates are statutory ATO bands on repayment income. University enrolment and QS place are independent sorts of the same campus table; a leader on one board is often mid-pack on the other. Youth Allowance figures are published base rates for named situations, not an estimate of what any person is paid after income, assets, or rent tests. For methods and caveats, see the methodology.
Download the campus snapshot: HECS university statistics CSV (CC BY 4.0).
HECS rates are ATO statutory bands; enrolment is the directory sum of Department of Education rows; Youth Allowance figures are published base rates, not entitlements after tests. Data current as of HECS FY 2025-26 and the enrolment extract dated 20 May 2026. See methodology and editorial standards.