The federal government has announced it will wipe $3 billion from Australians’ HECS-HELP debt. Millions of Australians have faced ballooning debts as student loans were indexed in line with inflation. But, the government said it will move to adjust how the debt is indexed, so it’s either in relation to the consumer price index (CPI)…
Education Minister Jason Clare (Image: AAP/Lukas Coch) Lower repayment thresholds and higher inflation has created a new class of hundreds of thousands of Australians with HELP debts that go backwards even as taxpayers are charged for them, 360info analysis of taxpayer data has found. The Australian government announced a policy at the weekend intended to…
Education Minister Jason Clare has announced a $3 billion change to student debt indexation. Responding to the Australian Universities Accord, the government will introduce legislation to cap the HELP indexation rate to be the lower of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Wage Price Index (WPI) with effect from 1 June 2023. This will…
In short: Debtors are calling for further HECS relief in next week’s budget in addition to the $3 billion wiped from student loans. Greens deputy leader Senator Mehreen Faruqi is calling for indexation to be scrapped altogether What’s next? The government will need to legislate its HECS changes after the budget but the Greens have suggested they…
More than three million Australians are expected to have their student debt cut in the federal budget as a part of measures to ease cost of living pressures. Education minister Jason Clare said the decision would wipe about $3 billion in higher education loans, after loans increased by 7.1 per cent last year as a…
Labor has announced changes to the way Hecs and Help student debts are indexed, with the change likely to deliver a saving to most debtors. The new approach will use the lower of either the consumer price index (CPI) or the wage price index (WPI) to calculate the indexation amount. This replaces the old method…
More than three million Australians will have their student debt wiped in a bid to win over younger voters crushed by the cost of living crisis. Education Minister Jason Clare on Sunday announced the government would cap the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) indexation rate, eliminating about $3 billion of student debt. The capped rate…
The federal government has announced it will wipe $3 billion from Australians’ HECS-HELP debt. Aussies have complained they can’t pay off their student loan debt because annual indexation keeps increasing the amount. Lauren Eardley told Yahoo Finance her ballooning loan debt has caused her to question whether she will ever afford to have kids or…
The federal government will cut around $3bn in student debts through a key change to the Hecs and Help programs, reversing last years horror indexation hike and delivering a $1,200 saving for the average person. The measure, to be outlined in this months federal budget, will ensure student debts cant outpace wage growth in the…
In short: Student debts will be lowered for more than three million Australians under reforms designed to stop HECS loans growing faster than wages. Loan indexation will now match whichever is lower out of the Consumer Price Index or the Wage Price Index which the government says will prevent another shock increase like last year’s 7.1 per cent…