Banks to refund low-income Aussies more than $93 million
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The Advertiser
43 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
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Australians with outstanding HECS debts will soon get their 20 per cent discount, after the Albanese government's bill to reduce student loans passed Parliament. The bill passed the Senate on Thursday morning unamended, despite several proposed changes by independent and Greens senators. It marks the first piece of legislation to pass both houses for the new parliamentary term. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised during the election campaign that the 20 per cent reduction would be the first bill introduced to Parliament if his government was re-elected. Education Minister Jason Clare rejected the Greens' criticism that the reduction was a one-off debt cut. "There's a lot of attention, and rightly so, on a 20 per cent cut," he said. "There's 3 million Aussies right around the country that will know exactly what their debt is today, and they'll know exactly what a 20 per cent cut means for them." Mr Clare said the bill also made structural changes to make the education system fairer, including raising repayment thresholds for people on lower incomes. "So a big cut today, but a big change to the structure and operation of the system that'll help people that are at uni today and that'll go to uni tomorrow," Mr Clare said. Here's what happens next and when you can expect your 20 per cent discount in your account. The reduction will apply to anyone with an outstanding debt with the higher education loan program as of June 1, 2025. This includes HECS, tuition fees, overseas study expenses and student service fees. The reduction will apply to balances before they were indexed at the CPI rate of 3.2 per cent on June 1. If you had already paid off your debt by June 1, 2025, you will not be eligible for the reduction. If you expect to have paid off your student debt when you lodge your 2024-25 tax return, the 20 per cent reduction will still be applied to the amount you owed on June 1. This may result in a credit applied to your HECS account, which would be refunded into your nominated bank account as long as you do not have outstanding government debts. You won't need to do anything to get the reduction; the government will apply it directly to loan accounts. The ATO will retrospectively apply the 20 per cent reduction to your debt as of June 1, and the indexation that was applied will also be adjusted. As usual, the compulsory repayments you made throughout the most recent financial year will be applied to your balance as a lump sum after your 2024-25 income tax return is lodged. The government will notify student debt holders once the 20 per cent reductions have been applied. Now the bill has passed Parliament, the Tax Office will begin processing the 20 per cent discount. However, it is unclear at this stage how soon the reductions will appear. Australians with outstanding HECS debts will soon get their 20 per cent discount, after the Albanese government's bill to reduce student loans passed Parliament. The bill passed the Senate on Thursday morning unamended, despite several proposed changes by independent and Greens senators. It marks the first piece of legislation to pass both houses for the new parliamentary term. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised during the election campaign that the 20 per cent reduction would be the first bill introduced to Parliament if his government was re-elected. Education Minister Jason Clare rejected the Greens' criticism that the reduction was a one-off debt cut. "There's a lot of attention, and rightly so, on a 20 per cent cut," he said. "There's 3 million Aussies right around the country that will know exactly what their debt is today, and they'll know exactly what a 20 per cent cut means for them." Mr Clare said the bill also made structural changes to make the education system fairer, including raising repayment thresholds for people on lower incomes. "So a big cut today, but a big change to the structure and operation of the system that'll help people that are at uni today and that'll go to uni tomorrow," Mr Clare said. Here's what happens next and when you can expect your 20 per cent discount in your account. The reduction will apply to anyone with an outstanding debt with the higher education loan program as of June 1, 2025. This includes HECS, tuition fees, overseas study expenses and student service fees. The reduction will apply to balances before they were indexed at the CPI rate of 3.2 per cent on June 1. If you had already paid off your debt by June 1, 2025, you will not be eligible for the reduction. If you expect to have paid off your student debt when you lodge your 2024-25 tax return, the 20 per cent reduction will still be applied to the amount you owed on June 1. This may result in a credit applied to your HECS account, which would be refunded into your nominated bank account as long as you do not have outstanding government debts. You won't need to do anything to get the reduction; the government will apply it directly to loan accounts. The ATO will retrospectively apply the 20 per cent reduction to your debt as of June 1, and the indexation that was applied will also be adjusted. As usual, the compulsory repayments you made throughout the most recent financial year will be applied to your balance as a lump sum after your 2024-25 income tax return is lodged. The government will notify student debt holders once the 20 per cent reductions have been applied. Now the bill has passed Parliament, the Tax Office will begin processing the 20 per cent discount. However, it is unclear at this stage how soon the reductions will appear. Australians with outstanding HECS debts will soon get their 20 per cent discount, after the Albanese government's bill to reduce student loans passed Parliament. The bill passed the Senate on Thursday morning unamended, despite several proposed changes by independent and Greens senators. It marks the first piece of legislation to pass both houses for the new parliamentary term. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised during the election campaign that the 20 per cent reduction would be the first bill introduced to Parliament if his government was re-elected. Education Minister Jason Clare rejected the Greens' criticism that the reduction was a one-off debt cut. "There's a lot of attention, and rightly so, on a 20 per cent cut," he said. "There's 3 million Aussies right around the country that will know exactly what their debt is today, and they'll know exactly what a 20 per cent cut means for them." Mr Clare said the bill also made structural changes to make the education system fairer, including raising repayment thresholds for people on lower incomes. "So a big cut today, but a big change to the structure and operation of the system that'll help people that are at uni today and that'll go to uni tomorrow," Mr Clare said. Here's what happens next and when you can expect your 20 per cent discount in your account. The reduction will apply to anyone with an outstanding debt with the higher education loan program as of June 1, 2025. This includes HECS, tuition fees, overseas study expenses and student service fees. The reduction will apply to balances before they were indexed at the CPI rate of 3.2 per cent on June 1. If you had already paid off your debt by June 1, 2025, you will not be eligible for the reduction. If you expect to have paid off your student debt when you lodge your 2024-25 tax return, the 20 per cent reduction will still be applied to the amount you owed on June 1. This may result in a credit applied to your HECS account, which would be refunded into your nominated bank account as long as you do not have outstanding government debts. You won't need to do anything to get the reduction; the government will apply it directly to loan accounts. The ATO will retrospectively apply the 20 per cent reduction to your debt as of June 1, and the indexation that was applied will also be adjusted. As usual, the compulsory repayments you made throughout the most recent financial year will be applied to your balance as a lump sum after your 2024-25 income tax return is lodged. The government will notify student debt holders once the 20 per cent reductions have been applied. Now the bill has passed Parliament, the Tax Office will begin processing the 20 per cent discount. However, it is unclear at this stage how soon the reductions will appear. Australians with outstanding HECS debts will soon get their 20 per cent discount, after the Albanese government's bill to reduce student loans passed Parliament. The bill passed the Senate on Thursday morning unamended, despite several proposed changes by independent and Greens senators. It marks the first piece of legislation to pass both houses for the new parliamentary term. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised during the election campaign that the 20 per cent reduction would be the first bill introduced to Parliament if his government was re-elected. Education Minister Jason Clare rejected the Greens' criticism that the reduction was a one-off debt cut. "There's a lot of attention, and rightly so, on a 20 per cent cut," he said. "There's 3 million Aussies right around the country that will know exactly what their debt is today, and they'll know exactly what a 20 per cent cut means for them." Mr Clare said the bill also made structural changes to make the education system fairer, including raising repayment thresholds for people on lower incomes. "So a big cut today, but a big change to the structure and operation of the system that'll help people that are at uni today and that'll go to uni tomorrow," Mr Clare said. Here's what happens next and when you can expect your 20 per cent discount in your account. The reduction will apply to anyone with an outstanding debt with the higher education loan program as of June 1, 2025. This includes HECS, tuition fees, overseas study expenses and student service fees. The reduction will apply to balances before they were indexed at the CPI rate of 3.2 per cent on June 1. If you had already paid off your debt by June 1, 2025, you will not be eligible for the reduction. If you expect to have paid off your student debt when you lodge your 2024-25 tax return, the 20 per cent reduction will still be applied to the amount you owed on June 1. This may result in a credit applied to your HECS account, which would be refunded into your nominated bank account as long as you do not have outstanding government debts. You won't need to do anything to get the reduction; the government will apply it directly to loan accounts. The ATO will retrospectively apply the 20 per cent reduction to your debt as of June 1, and the indexation that was applied will also be adjusted. As usual, the compulsory repayments you made throughout the most recent financial year will be applied to your balance as a lump sum after your 2024-25 income tax return is lodged. The government will notify student debt holders once the 20 per cent reductions have been applied. Now the bill has passed Parliament, the Tax Office will begin processing the 20 per cent discount. However, it is unclear at this stage how soon the reductions will appear.
