Key Points
- The changes would apply to all graduates earning up to $180,000 a year.
- Graduates earning $70,000 will pay $1,300 less.
- The government will aim to legislate the changes in 2025 so that they come into force on July 1.
Three million Australians will see their annual student debt repayments fall if the government wins the next election as the prime minister unveils the first major pitch to voters and seeks to move on from a series of controversies.
The minimum student loan repayment threshold would increase by about $13,000 per year, so graduates would begin paying off their debts once they earn $67,000, instead of $54,000, starting on 1 July 2025.
The government would also move to a marginal repayment system in which the amount of debt repaid would be a proportion of income above a given threshold, as recommended by the Universities Accord.
Here’s what should change
- An average HELP debt holder will save around $680 per year, with graduates earning $70,000 having to pay $1,300 less and those on $80,000 getting an $850 reduction.
- The changes would affect around one million young Australians and apply to all graduates earning up to $180,000 a year.
- The government will aim to legislate the changes in 2025 so that they come into force on July 1.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese seeks to turn a new page after .
Revelations Albanese received 22 free flight upgrades from Qantas, including some while he was transport minister, and allegations he had personal contact with the airline’s former boss, Alan Joyce, harassed the Prime Minister for much of the week.
Before that, controversy erupted around his decision to buy a $4.3 million cliff-top property on the New South Wales central coast, with questions over whether the purchase was a “good idea” during a cost of living crisis.
Albanese will join his South Australian counterpart for a campaign rally on Sunday to detail student loan policy as he begins to lay out Labor’s platform ahead of the next election, expected in May.
Australian universities have hailed the move as a win for students, with the cost of living factored into a person’s decision to start and finish university.
“This additional relief will provide much-needed support to those already paying off HELP debt,” the organization said in a statement.
