A flat $5500 reduction of HELP debt would deliver better uniform relief for Australians with student debt, with analysis of Labor’s signature policy finding that the cost-of-living relief would currently largely help high-income earners.
The research, released by not-for-profit research body e61 Institute on Thursday found the policy as is, doesn’t meaningfully speed up debt repayment, and unfairly benefits students who graduated in 2024.
Instead of a 20 per cent cut to balances, e61 said the relief would be better targeted if Australia’s with student debt were given a flat $5500 cut.
The figure also represents the average amount set to be wiped across all HELP accounts.
e61 said that a $5500 reduction would help 35 per cent of…