Media speculation that the Federal Government is considering forgiving or reducing ballooning levels of HECS-HELP as an inflation-friendly way of providing cost of living relief to under 35s is bolstered by a report from the Australia Institute, pointing out the rising cost of HE.
The ‘University is expensive’ report is a useful reminder that Generation X graduates who control the purse strings of some institutions and parts of government had it easy, relatively, when HECS was first introduced in 1989.
HE has far exceeded the rate of inflation and the prices of other goods since 2011 and HECS-HELP debts for people in their 20’s have more than doubled between 2006 and 2024, rising from $12,600 to $31,500.
Nine newspapers reported that the Albanese government was actively considering cutting student debt by tens of thousands of dollars in current fiscal deliberations. The Federal Government wiped $3 billion off student loans in the May Budget.
