Editor’s note: After this story was published, the federal government proposed to change the HECS-HELP indexation rate to match whichever is lower out of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or the Wage Price Index (WPI).
If passed by parliament, the revised indexation rates would be backdated to June 1, 2023, and loan amounts would be reduced automatically by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO).
Under the proposal, the indexation rate for 2024 would be reduced from 4.7 per cent to 4.0 per cent. The indexation rate for 2023 would be reduced from 7.1 per cent to 3.2 per cent.
The release of March inflation data means student HECS-HELP debts are set to rise by 4.7 per cent on the first of June this year.
It might pale in comparison to last…
