Higher Education Funding Act 1988

A client of the Agency is an eligible client in respect of a study period if:

as at the census date for the study period, the client is enrolled to undertake at least 2 units of study for the purposes of an approved course of study in the study period; and

the number of units of study for which the client has enrolled for the study period, together with the total number of units of study for which the client had previously enrolled for the purposes of the course, does not exceed 28; and

the client has successfully completed half the number of units:

for which he or she had enrolled for the purposes of the course since 1 January 1994; and

in respect of which results are known 14 days before the census day for the study period; and

on the day (enrolment day) on which the client completes his or her enrolment, the client is:

an Australian citizen; or

a person who has been granted an approval to become an Australian citizen under section 24 of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 and who has yet to make the pledge referred to in section 26 of that Act; or

a New Zealand citizen who is the holder of a permanent visa, is present in Australia and:

does not satisfy the prescribed residency requirements; or

if, on enrolment day, he or she satisfies the prescribed residency requirements—first satisfied those requirements on a day within the period of 12 months immediately preceding enrolment day; or

a person (other than a New Zealand citizen) who is a permanent resident, is present in Australia and:

does not satisfy the prescribed residency requirements; or

if, on enrolment day, he or she satisfies the prescribed residency requirements—first satisfied those requirements on a day within the period of 12 months immediately preceding enrolment day.

For the purposes of subsection (1), the prescribed residency requirements for a person on a particular day are that the person:

should have been present in Australia as a permanent resident for a period of, or for periods amounting in the aggregate to, not less than one year during the period of 2 years immediately preceding that day; and

should have been present in Australia as a permanent resident for a period of, or for periods amounting in the aggregate to, not less than 2 years during the period of 5 years immediately preceding that day.