How student debt changes made the same degrees more expensive
Recent university graduates who racked up big debts to get an arts degree are set to have $10,000 wiped from their HECS account in the coming months – but those just starting their study are unlikely to see the same financial windfall.
While the Albanese government will move to legislate a 20 per cent discount after winning the federal election, tertiary analysts say adjustments to how much students pay for their degree is likely to be years away.
Under former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's controversial Job-ready Graduates program, the cost of a humanities degree rose to $50,000.
The current government says it wants to look at fee reform but rather than change now, it will take advice on fees from the yet-to-be-opened Australian Tertiary Education Commission. It will be fully operational by January 2026.
Monash University higher education policy researcher Professor Andrew Norton said the government had prioritised a 20 per cent reduction in existing HECS bills because it was a simple and concise political message. 'And that's what they got with a 20 per cent HECS reduction,' he said.
'They have not fixed the underlying issue … it is unlikely we'll see any fee changes until 2027.'
Education Minister Jason Clare describes the issue slightly differently: he says they are taking a 'staged' approach to reforming the cost of degree, with changes starting to make debt indexation fairer.
'Second, we are cutting student debt by 20 per cent,' he said.
The 20 per cent reduction will be calculated based on what a person's debt amount was as at June 1, 2025, before indexation was applied.
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