Higher education loan system will become more stable and accessible, following the passing of the higher education student loans scheme. 

This action will ensure that the HELP loan debt of $54 billion will be repaid, while remining to be one of the cheapest loans in Australia. 

HELP loans, including HECS-HELP, funds over $17 billion for Australian student’s higher education each year. 

“With the average graduate starting salary around $60,000, Australian tax payers rightly expect students to start repaying their loans proportionate to their incomes. Our plan means those repayments start at just $8 or $9 a week,” Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham said. 

“By making loans replenishable we’re also rewarding borrowers who make repayments towards their HELP debt and ensuring students have the flexibility to return to study in order to retrain, change careers, or further specialise in their current profession,” he added.  

From 1 July 2019, the loan scheme will include a new minimum repayment income threshold of $45,881. 

Moreover, graduates who earn a higher income will be met with a new 10 per cent repayment rate starting at $134,573, so that their loans will be repaid faster. 

Further, students studying medicine, dentistry and veterinary science courses will have a higher loan limit of $150,000, compared to all the other students with $104,440. 

In addition, from 1 January 2020, a new loan limit will be applied to all students under HELP, including HECS-HELP.