Overview
- The legislation aims to wipe $16 billion from HELP, VET and apprenticeship loan balances for about three million Australians.
- It raises the minimum repayment threshold from $54,000 to $67,000 to delay repayments for lower-income graduates.
- Cuts will be backdated to June 1, 2025, before indexation and applied automatically via MyGov and the Australian Taxation Office.
- Labor has made the bill its first legislative priority for the new term and secured non-blocking support from the Coalition and Greens.
- The student debt relief forms part of a broader cost-of-living package that includes energy rebate top-ups, home battery discounts and apprenticeship bonuses.