Legislation to reduce student loan debt by 20% passes Parliament

The reforms will deliver:

• a one-off 20% reduction in HELP and student loan balances, effective from 1 June 2025. Someone with the average Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt of $27,600 will see around $5,520 wiped from their outstanding student loan.
• Lower repayment amounts, under a new marginal repayment system making it easier to manage living expenses.
• Higher income thresholds, increasing how much people can earn before repayments are required, allowing graduates to keep more of their earnings. The new repayment threshold will change from $54,435 to $67,000.