Australia wipes $13 billion off student loans, targeting cost of living relief
Millennials and Generation Z made up 43 per cent of the 18 million people enrolled to vote in Australia's May general election.
SYDNEY - Australia's parliament on July 31 passed a law to cut student loans by 20 per cent, wiping more than A$16 billion (S$13.3 billion) in debt for 3 million people, and fulfilling a key election promise to help mitigate the rising cost of living.
The law is the first passed by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's centre-left L abour Party since being re-elected in May with one of the country's largest-ever majorities.
'We promised cutting student debt would be the first thing we did back in parliament – and that's exactly what we've done,' Mr Albanese said in a statement.
'Getting an education shouldn't mean a lifetime of debt.'
Education Minister Jason Clare said the measure would help 'take a weight' off the backs of young people.
'Young Australians don't always see something for them on the ballot paper, but they did this year and they voted for it in their millions,' he said at a press conference.
'And we're repaying now the trust that these young Australians have placed in us.'
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Millennials and Generation Z made up 43 per cent of the 18 million people enrolled to vote in Australia's May general election, outnumbering Baby Boomers.
Seizing on the generational shift, Labour made cutting student debt a key election promise, framing it as a measure to ease living costs and tackle intergenerational inequality.
The government said reducing student loans by one-fifth was equivalent to more than A$16 billion in debt relief for three million Australians.
It would mean a university graduate with an average loan of A$27,600 would have A$5,520 wiped, the government said, adding the changes would be backdated from June 1, 2025, before the loans were indexed 3.2 per cent for inflation.
The law would also raise the minimum repayment threshold from an income of A$54,435 to A$67,000, reducing the amount low-income earners would have to pay. REUTERS
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Straits Times
40 minutes ago
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Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox While buyers are free to hold their stakes in a 99-to-1 arrangement, the transaction could be illegal if the decoupling was undertaken to avoid paying more tax. SINGAPORE – Couples who transfer full ownership of their first home to one spouse – a gambit known as 'decoupling' – so that the other can buy another property without the additional buyer's stamp duty (ABSD), are breaking the law if the sole purpose of the move is to avoid tax, the High Court has found. The finding stemmed from a recent dispute involving an unmarried couple who held their first property in the ratio of 99 to 1 in favour of the woman. But when they broke up, the former boyfriend claimed he owned at least half of the home, and not just 1 per cent. A reason for holding the property 99-to-1 was that they had planned a decoupling to avoid the ABSD for their second property. 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Tax evasion and avoidance The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (Iras) did not comment on Justice Lee's finding specifically but noted that any breaches of tax law depend on the specific circumstances of each case. For tax avoidance, Iras will check whether the arrangement 'is artificial, contrived or has little or no commercial substance and is designed to obtain a tax advantage that is not intended by Parliament'. As for tax evasion, this happens when individuals deliberately provide Iras with inaccurate or incomplete information with the aim of reducing their tax liability. Iras says it takes a serious view against those who evade or avoid tax, as well as professionals who promote or facilitate tax avoidance arrangements. The couple in the recent case did not breach any tax law because they neither decoupled nor bought a second property. 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In this example, Prof Phua says the couple could face two tax penalties – one for underpayment of stamp duty in the decoupling, and another for not paying ABSD on the second property. Justice Lee's finding comes about two years after Iras clamped down on an unrelated 99-to-1 ABSD avoidance scheme that involved first-time buyers using artificial transfer agreements to rope in relatives for mortgage purposes. An insurance broker told The Straits Times that he has come across at least five lawyers being sued by clients due to Iras enforcement. He added: 'I think it is prudent for lawyers to study the latest court case carefully when advising clients on transfers of properties between co-owners, especially if it is being done with the view of buying another residential property.'
