Troubleshooting your student loan or allowance application

There are a number of common issues which may affect the communication between StudyLink and the University.

It is important to know that:

• The relationship between the University and StudyLink is governed by strict criteria that include privacy issues. The University cannot provide information to StudyLink unless they expressly request it. StudyLink in turn cannot request information unless they have received notification from you.
• The University makes every attempt to provide updated information to StudyLink.

Please note, a student loan will only pay fees that have not already been paid. The University is only allowed to advise StudyLink of your total fees for the period and request payment of the fees outstanding. 

The name of the Education Provider on your student loan application may not state 'The University of Auckland'.

If you entered Auckland University on your application, it may have incorrectly identified Auckland University of Technology as your provider.

StudyLink can change this for you if your provider has been incorrectly identified.

For assistance, please visit StudyLink's contact us page.

The Student ID number on your application may be incorrect.

StudyLink need to have your Student ID number on your application, however you may have used your username instead.

Your username is usually 4 letters and 3 numbers (for example: abcd999), whereas your Student ID is 7 or more numbers only (eg 1234567 or 123456789).

If this is the case, to fix this issue, please contact StudyLink. To do this, you can visit StudyLink’s contact us page.

The 'Pay my fees' question on your application may be set to 'No'.

If this is the case, then StudyLink are not allowed to ask the University to include any information about fees.

You will need contact StudyLink to have this changed to 'Yes' and then resend a Verification of Study to the University.

StudyLink will then be able to ask the University to include your fee details when we respond to their requests for information about you.

For assistance, please visit StudyLink's contact us page.

The time between the start date on the student loan application and the actual start date of study may be too long.

StudyLink use the start date on your student loan application as a guide when they request information from the University.

However, the University is only allowed to include enrolments that start from that date onwards and cannot include any that fall outside those dates stated.

If your start date is incorrect, you will need to ask StudyLink to change it so StudyLink can re-confirm your details with the University.

For assistance, please visit StudyLink's contact us page.

StudyLink typically require documents to help with the assessment of your loan or allowance application.

If any of the evidence that StudyLink requires from you is missing when you submit your application, this can result in delays in processing of your application. Because of this, payment of your fees may not be made by the due date. 

It is important to make sure you supply all of the required evidence, such as, but not limited to:

• Your birth certificate
• IRD number
• Your passport

If you need help knowing what documents are missing, please visit StudyLink's contact us page.

It is important that you check your enrolment is showing correctly on Student Services Online. You should check your enrolment to make sure that you are fully enrolled in all of your courses.

If you are not enrolled, the University is unable to confirm the Verification of Study request. 

Please note that the student loan application can be declined if you have not passed half of the total EFTS you have studied previously. For more information, please see Eligibility for student loans and allowances.

Confirm you’re enrolled in one programme

To be eligible for student allowances, you generally need to be enrolled in:

• Enough courses (or points)
• Your courses must be assigned to the same programme

If you are enrolled in enough points, double check that all of your courses are assigned to the same programme.

This is because StudyLink's definition of 'full-time' is different from the University of Auckland definition. To find out what is considered full-time for StudyLink, visit Student allowance.

If your courses are assigned to more than one programme, then you would only be considered a part-time student by StudyLink.

You would need to get them reassigned, and then get StudyLink to re-check your enrolment details.

To fix this issue, please

• Contact us
• Visit your nearest Student Hub

If you have changed your enrolments

If you have recently changed your enrolments, you will need to ask StudyLink to resend a Verification of Study request to the University. This is so StudyLink have the updated and correct amount to pay.

This is the only way to guarantee that updated information is sent to StudyLink.

If the payment amount doesn't match your current fees account balance on Student Services Online, it could be because there has been an increase/decrease in your overall fees since StudyLink last checked your details.

Anytime you change your enrolments, you should always contact StudyLink as soon as possible.

For assistance, please visit StudyLink's contact us page.

If you’re enrolled part-time when you’re full-time

If you were not fully enrolled at the time StudyLink began checking your enrolment with the University and you have now added courses to your record, you will need to get StudyLink to re-check your enrolment details with the University.

If any of your courses are on a waitlist or awaiting the outcome of a concession request, then they are not yet confirmed as an enrolment and will not be reported to StudyLink.

You should contact StudyLink if you are enrolled into any new courses to re-check your enrolment details. 

For assistance, please visit StudyLink's contact us page.

It could just be a matter of timing. StudyLink may have checked your enrolment with the University before you were enrolled into all of your courses.

If this is the case, StudyLink can request to re-check your enrolment details with the University again by sending a new Verification of Study.

For assistance, please visit StudyLink's contact us page.

If all of the above details are correct, check with StudyLink to see if they can find any other problems that may be affecting your application.

After you have checked with StudyLink, we can re-check your details. Please email the University at fees@auckland.ac.nz.

What can I do if StudyLink says the University is not responding to the request for Verification of Study (VOS)?

There are a number of common issues which may be affecting the communication between StudyLink and the University. We recommend using the information on this page to:

• Check the name of your provider on your application
• Check your student ID number on your application
• Ensure you have selected 'Yes' in your 'Pay your fee' section
• Check your start date on your application
• Check your enrolment

Why has my student loan been declined by StudyLink?

There could be a variety of reasons why your student loan has been declined. For full details of the eligibility criteria for student loans, please visit the StudyLink website.

To confirm that the information provided on your application is correct, please contact StudyLink. StudyLink will check your study details to see if you are enrolled in at least 30 points (0.250 EFTS) in the same academic year.

Please note that the student loan application can be declined if you have not passed half of the total EFTS you have studied previously. For more information, please see Eligibility for student loans and allowances.

For assistance, please visit StudyLink's contact us page.

What do I do if StudyLink says the University of Auckland is telling StudyLink I am studying part-time?

If you are studying full-time but StudyLink says you’re studying part-time, we recommend that you check your enrolments to check you’re enrolled fully and in one programme.

Please note, if you’re on a waitlist or awaiting an outcome of a concession request, we cannot confirm your enrolment details until you’re enrolled.

If you are enrolled, please contact StudyLink to send another Verification of Study.

For assistance, please visit StudyLink's contact us page.

When I make changes to my enrolment, why does StudyLink not pick this up automatically?

For any changes to your enrolments, you must let StudyLink know as soon as possible.

This is so they can send a new Verification of Study to the University confirm your new enrolments and arrange payment to be sent to the University.

This is the only way to guarantee that updated information is sent to StudyLink.

You are responsible for ensuring your fees are paid on time, including payment via StudyLink.

For assistance, please visit StudyLink's contact us page.

Why am I not eligible for a student allowance?

There are a couple reasons why StudyLink may not consider your eligible for student allowance funding.

1. Check that you are enrolled full-time in one programme
2. Request StudyLink to check your updated enrolment details, to ensure they receive the updated information

What can I do if StudyLink has stopped my allowance?

There are a few things that may be causing your enrolment details with StudyLink to be incorrect. We recommend using the information on this page to:

• Check that you are enrolled full-time in one programme
• Check the start date on your application
• Check if your enrolment was completed fully

What do I do if StudyLink says the University is not asking for fees?

If StudyLink is saying the University is not asking for fees, please check that your student loan application.

Check if the 'Pay my fees' question is set to 'No'. If it is, we will not be able to advise StudyLink of your fees information.

To change this to 'Yes' you will need to contact StudyLink and ask them to update your details.

StudyLink will then be able to ask the University to include your fee details when we respond to their requests for information about you.

For assistance, please visit StudyLink's contact us page.

What do I do if my fees are due before my StudyLink application has been approved?

If you find yourself in a situation where your fees will be due for payment before your StudyLink loan has been approved, please take the following steps:

1. First, check your loan application via MyStudyLink to ensure that you have filled out the form correctly, as any errors may cause delays in approving your loan. In particular, check that the "Pay my fees" question is set to "Yes."
2. If you have checked your application, you should wait - do not pay your fees yourself. We are in communication with StudyLink and will be aware that your application is still pending

In most circumstances you will not be penalised where your student loan is approved shortly after your fees are due.

However, if your student loan application is not approved, you will be responsible to pay your own fees and may incur a late payment penalty. For this reason, it is important that you ensure you are eligible for a loan before you apply.

For more information, see Overdue fees.

Please note, a student loan will only pay fees that have not already been paid. The University is only allowed to advise StudyLink of your total fees for the period and request payment of the fees outstanding. 

If there is a timing delay between you paying your fees and StudyLink paying the fees later, the University is required to refund any excess payment directly back to your student loan in the first instance. 

If you need to contact StudyLink, please visit StudyLink's contact us page.