‘How is that possible?': Highest HECS-HELP debt figure leaves people floored

News.com.au

3 days ago

A list of the highest student loan debts across the country has left Australians absolutely gobsmacked, with many questioning how some of the figures are even possible.
Data from the Australian Taxation Office obtained by Sky News late last year revealed the highest individual HECS-HELP debts, with at least 50 people having debts over $250,000.
The data showed that, as of October 1, 2024, the person with the biggest HECS-HELP debt owes a whopping $831,675.53 in student loans.
This number could now very well be higher, given on June 1, 2025, indexation of 3.2 per cent was applied to all student loan debts.
The second highest amount on the list was $556,154, followed by $436,110 and $417,134.
A photo showing the top 10 highest debts was recently shared to X by journalist and analyst Tarric Brooker, sparking a huge reaction online.
People were left stunned by the top number, with many asking: 'How is that even possible?'
'What? That doesn't even make sense,' one person said.
'How on earth do they have debts this high?' another asked, with one person adding, 'what a joke'.
Speaking to news.com.au, Mr Brooker said he found the top number on the list 'astounding'.
'Given that the average HECS-HELP debt for Australians in their 20s was a bit under $31,000 in 2022-23, it's somewhat astounding that there is an individual out there who has managed to rack up over $830,000 in debt or roughly 26 times the average for people who are at the median just starting to pay down their debts,' he said.
'Debts this large illustrate how the HECS-HELP system could have been used to effectively be akin to an eternal university student once upon a time.'
But he noted that, given the caps now placed on student debts, it would take a 'highly protracted period of higher inflation and wages growth for current university students to reach a debt load that large'.
In January 1, 2020, a combined HELP loan limit was introduced that put a cap on the amount students could borrow, but, initially, there were no limits on how much debt could be accrued.
For 2025, the HELP loan limit for most students is $126,839.
Those studying medicine, dentistry and veterinary science courses leading to initial registration, or eligible aviation courses with census dates in 2025, have a higher limit of $182,172.
Many commenters were not happy after finding out just how much student debt some individuals across the country have managed to rack up, with people theorising that the majority of them likely have no intention of ever paying down their loans.
'I know several who are retired, racked up the HECS debt and as it's only repayable on salaried wages, plan to have it written off by the government when they pass on,' one person said.
'You have to admit it's pretty impressive that someone can rort the system so thoroughly. On a more serious note, it's high time universities were held to account for this,' another said.
One person branded these figures a sign of a 'broken system', while another joked the person holding the top number was the 'perpetual student final boss'.
This week, the Labor government introduced a bill to parliament that, if passed, will see HECS-HELP debts slashed by 20 per cent for some 3 million graduates.
The changes would also raise the repayment threshold for student loans from $54,000 to $67,000.
Before introducing the bill on Wednesday, Education Minister Jason Clare said there was 'a lot at stake'.
'This was one of the big promises that we made in the election campaign that we would cut the student debt of 3 million Australians by 20 per cent,' he told the ABC.
'This will take the weight off the shoulders of a lot of young people right across the country in particular – at elections young people don't often see themselves on the ballot paper, but they did at this election.
'And they voted for it, in the millions.
'For the average person with a student debt today, this will cut their debt with about ($5500) and so there is a lot at stake there, and I'm hoping that politicians across the parliament will vote for this.'