The Albanese Government has botched its Budget commitment to cut student debt for three million Australians with the ATO confirming HELP loans will rise by 4.7 per cent from 1 June 2024, rather than the 4 per cent increase Labor promised.
Shadow Minister for Education, Sarah Henderson, said Labor’s go-slow on student debt reform means there is no certainty as to when Labor’s HELP indexation changes will be implemented.
With no legislation in sight to enact Labor’s changes, there is also no certainty as to when last year’s crippling indexation rate of 7.1 per cent will be backdated to 3.2 per cent, as Labor promised.
On 5 May 2024, Education Minister Jason Clare announced “..in response to the Australian Universities Accord, the Government…