Edstart offers two products to help spread large upfront school fees into more manageable payments:
Edstart Pay is a payment plan that enables you to spread your annual school fees evenly into weekly, fortnightly or monthly instalments, typically over a 12-month period covering the current school year. Families can apply for Edstart Pay anytime during the year, and the payment plan will cover the remainder of the current school year.
Edstart Pay can cover all items on a school invoice except for any outstanding balances. Fees are paid to the school by Edstart as and when they fall due, usually each term or semester.
There are no interest charges for Edstart Pay and the only cost is a standard 3% transaction fee on payments made to a school on your behalf. We also offer Edstart Pay+ through some of our partner schools where the transaction fee is paid by the school and not charged to families.
Please note that upfront annual school fee payments may not eligible for Edstart Pay, however a more tailored package can be provided for circumstances where families want the school to be paid upfront for a full year.
Edstart Extend is a funding package that allows you to extend your school fee payments for up to 5 years after your child completes school. This option is generally better suited for when children start to reach the high-school years.
Interest rates are personalised based on each applicant’s credit profile and payment terms, and are typically set between 5.90% to 12.90% per annum. We use a risk-based pricing approach, which means that good quality borrowers are rewarded with lower interest rates. Interest is only charged on the balance of your Edstart account which has been utilised (i.e. the funds that have actually been paid to a school).
Edstart Extend can cover tuition fees, boarding expenses and any extras like levies, uniforms, textbooks, excursions, tutoring, extra-curricular activities as well as outstanding fee balances.
Individuals with fees to pay at any Australian education institution can apply for funding, providing:
You can apply for Edstart at any time during the year. Once you submit an online enquiry we will tailor a plan to meet your needs, to make sure you only end up paying the remaining balance. This will incorporate your current school fee balance, and the specific billing cycle of your school(s).
Our online application allows you to upload your latest school fee invoice so that we can tailor your package more precisely.
Your repayments to Edstart can be made weekly, fortnightly or monthly via direct debit from your nominated bank account. You can choose whichever payment frequency and start date that suits you best.
You can also make additional repayments at any time using your personalised BPay reference. There are no fees or charges for early repayment and any additional repayment will be applied to your Edstart account immediately.
Edstart Pay, our 12-month payment plan, has no interest charges and the only cost is a 3% transaction fee on payments made to school on your behalf. Some of our partner schools absorb the transaction fee so that Edstart Pay becomes entirely free for families.
For Edstart Extend, interest rates are personalised based on each applicant’s credit profile and payment terms, and typically ranges from 5.90% to 12.90% per annum. Interest is only charged on the balance of your Edstart account which has been utilised.
Edstart uses a risk-based pricing approach, which means that good quality borrowers are rewarded with lower interest rates and fees.
Every customer can obtain an instant funding estimate online which provides full details of all interest rates and any other fees and charges which may be applied. The estimate is entirely free, will not impact your credit history and there is no obligation to proceed with a funding package.
Since Edstart issues continuing credit contracts, it is not possible to calculate a comparison rate for Edstart products.
Edstart makes school fees simple for families by providing customised funding packages which take into account all future school fee costs. A bank loan might help with just one year of school fees, but that would mean going to get a new loan each year, or initially borrowing much more funding than may otherwise be needed.
By contrast, Edstart provides a longer-term solution where future fees can be drawn down and paid to the school only as and when they are due. Your tailored Edstart account can be used to fund all future school fees, and you can cancel anytime with no penalty. Edstart also uses risk-based pricing, which means that quality customers are rewarded with lower interest rates as compared to traditional banks and other lenders.
There are several major differences between Edstart and a typical payment provider:
Your credit limit is based on our forecast of the maximum balance required for your funding package. It factors in:
Edstart is designed to be much more flexible than a traditional payment plan provider in relation to missed payment issues. This is because every Edstart customer receives a flexible line of credit account rather than a fixed payment plan.
Any temporary cash flow issues can be easily accommodated by providing an alternative payment date, a new payment cycle or a payment holiday as may be required. There are no fees or charges for implementing these changes.
All collections are handled internally by Edstart’s Sydney-based team. We do not outsource collection processes to any third party collection agency. Any missed payments are followed up via phone and we work with you to reschedule the payment or modify the payment schedule to work around you.
Yes, you can make extra repayments or repay your entire balance at any time using your personalised BPay reference (provided on each Edstart statement). There are no fees, charges, clawbacks or penalties for early repayment.
Any extra payments will be applied to your Edstart account immediately, thereby reducing any interest costs that may apply.
No. Edstart will only make a payment when school fees are due to be paid to a school. A maximum of one full year of fees will be funded at a time and we generally pay the school on a semester or term-by-term basis.
The advantage of Edstart is that you will only be charged for the school fees which have actually been paid to a school. This means you’ll only ever pay for the funding you need.
By submitting a funding enquiry via the Edstart website, you are commencing an application for credit provided directly by Edstart Australia Pty Ltd.
Edstart uses its own funding to provide the school fee packages for each family. This ensures that you are only dealing with one entity from start to finish and maximises the flexibility that we can offer.