The federal government has confirmed that it has begun actioning its election and budget promise of implementing a 20 per cent one-off reduction to student loan balances – a measure that is expected to wipe nearly $16 billion in total debt for over 3 million Australians.
The move comes following the enactment of the Universities Accord (Cutting Student Debt by 20 per cent) Act – part of the very first bill to be introduced to the Parliament after the federal election – and is currently being implemented automatically by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Eligible loans include HELP, VET Student Loans, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans, and Student Start-up Loans.
The ATO began processing the debt cuts last month, and…