Big Win for Students: Parliament Passes 20% HECS Debt Cut
Hey, have you heard the big news about HECS? If you’ve got a student debt in Australia, this is something you’ll definitely want to know. The federal government has officially passed legislation that will cut HECS debts by 20 per cent — and yes, it's happening. The bill made it through the Senate just recently with support from the Greens and several key crossbenchers, so now it's all systems go.
What this means is pretty straightforward: anyone with an existing student debt from university studies will get a 20 per cent reduction in what they owe. And the best part? It's going to be backdated to June 1st. So even if you’ve been chipping away at your debt already this year, you’ll still benefit from the change.
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Education Minister Jason Clare was clearly pleased. He described this as “guaranteed” relief, and now that the legislation is through, the Australian Tax Office can get to work making it happen. Around 3 million Australians are expected to benefit, so it’s not a small group — this is major.
Of course, the Greens were quick to say that while this is a good start, there’s more to be done. They’re pushing for a full overhaul of the Job-Ready Graduates scheme — that’s the one introduced under the Morrison government that hiked fees for some courses and left a lot of students worse off. The Greens want that scrapped, along with the removal of indexation on student loans, which is what keeps those debts creeping up with inflation every year.
But for now, this is a clear and tangible win. After years of rising debts, interest hikes, and people feeling trapped in an endless cycle of repayments, this 20 per cent cut offers a bit of breathing room.
It’s also worth noting how it all played out politically. The bill passed pretty smoothly — 36 votes to 3 — with only a handful of One Nation senators opposing it. Interestingly, the Coalition didn’t vote against it directly; they abstained, so it wasn’t exactly a full-on fight in parliament.
So, if you’ve got a HECS debt, keep an eye on your myGov account and ATO records over the coming months. This cut isn’t just a promise anymore — it’s real, and it’s on the way.
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