James Cook University

Why does the same university charge such different amounts across degrees? Because the Australian Government sets student contributions by field of study, not by campus. Under the current funding bands, teaching, nursing, agriculture, mathematics and English sit in the lowest tier at about 4,627 dollars per year, while humanities, business, law and communications sit in the highest tier at about 16,992 dollars per year. Engineering, science and computing fall in between, near 12,720 dollars per year. A student studying two equally long degrees can therefore finish with very different debt balances depending only on which subject area they chose. These figures are indicative published bands rather than a quote, so the actual amount depends on the exact unit mix in each course.

Repayment is income based, not time based. You owe nothing until your annual income passes the compulsory repayment threshold, after which the Australian Taxation Office collects a percentage of income that rises with each higher band. The outstanding balance is indexed each year to keep pace with the cost of living, which is why two graduates with the same starting debt can clear it in very different timeframes. The numbers on this page come from official government sources, drawn from the Australian Department of Education, the Australian Taxation Office and Services Australia, and the dataset was last refreshed in 2026. See our methodology page for how these contribution bands and thresholds are sourced and updated.