Student Services and Amenities Fee

1. What is the SSAF?

SSAF is short for the Student Services and Amenities Fee.

In addition to course fees, all undergraduate, postgraduate, domestic, international and UQ College students have to pay the SSAF – although some students are exempt. The Australian Government requires universities to collect this fee to help provide student services, support and amenities.

UQ must comply with the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (Cth) (the Act) and the Student Services Amenities, Representation and Advocacy Guidelines (the Guidelines) on how the money is allocated, spent and reported.

The SSAF can only be spent on 19 legislated allowable services. These services will be provided by:

UQ Sport
Student Enrichment and Success, and Student Support and Wellbeing Services
The Association of Postgraduate Students
University of Queensland Union.

Services Agreement 2025–2027

The University and UQ Union have signed a Services Agreement for 2025–2027, providing greater certainty for the Union to deliver important student support across health, safety and wellbeing, services to address cost of living challenges, and study and career support.

In line with Federal Government guidance to allocate at least 40% of the Student Services and Amenities Fee to student-led organisations, the agreement guarantees $30 million of funding over 3 years for the UQU.

A robust management framework to guide the allocation, expenditure, acquittal and reporting of SSAF funding will continue to be in place.

How is the SSAF managed?

At UQ, SSAF spending is managed by a student focussed Advisory Group which makes recommendations to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) (DVCA). The DVCA approves how SSAF will be allocated to service providers to spend each year. When making decisions, the DVCA is informed by student consultation through:

the annual SSAF survey conducted in April.
an advisory group of democratically elected representatives and representatives of major student organisations recognised by UQ, comprising:
- Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) (Chairperson)
- Director, Student Enrichment and Success
- Director, Student Support and Wellbeing Services
- UQU President
- UQU Vice-President, Campus Culture
- President, Association of Postgraduate Students
- Academic Board Undergraduate Student representative nominated by the President of the Academic Board
- UQ Sport Student representative
- International Student representative
- Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander student representative.

How will the SSAF be used in 2026?

UQ expects the SSAF income for 2026 to be $19,629,846. This will be allocated to service providers as follows:

UQ Sport: $3,925,969
Student Support and Wellbeing Services/Student Enrichment and Success: $3,925,969
University of Queensland Union: $8,833,431
The Association of Postgraduate Students: $981,492
Other projects: $1,962,985

Based upon results of the 2025 SSAF Survey and other consultation, the SSAF Advisory Group has endorsed the following priority areas for spending by service providers in 2026.

High priority:

Careers
Food and drink
Health and welfare
International

Medium priority:

Financial
Study skills

How was the SSAF used in previous years?

The Higher Education Support (Student Services, Amenities, Representation and Advocacy) Guidelines 2022 requires higher education providers who charge a student services and amenities fee (SSAF) to provide a publicly available report on SSAF allocations and actual expenditure for the year as part of their annual reporting and in the form approved by the Minister. The Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) Allocation Report is the form approved by the Minister.

Students who are exempt from paying the SSAF in 2025

The following students are exempt from paying the SSAF:

incoming cross-institutional students
incoming exchange students
incoming international Study Abroad students
outgoing exchange students
Master of Global Management students undertaking compulsory overseas study components
Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) and Master of Engineering students enrolled in double degree exchange studies courses
Commonwealth Supported students enrolled in the Tertiary Preparation Program at UQ College
high school students undertaking enrichment studies at UQ
higher doctorate candidates
students undertaking a joint PhD at UQ and IIT Delhi, for study periods at IIT Delhi
students undertaking a joint PhD at UQ and the University of Exeter, for study periods at the University of Exeter.

Students who are exempt from paying the SSAF in 2026

From 2026, the exemption for outgoing exchange students has been removed, and these students will be required to pay SSAF.