Graduates could soon earn more before repaying HECS debts under new Labor plan

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to detail a new student loan policy to help graduates juggling cost-of-living pressures.

The government plans to raise the minimum repayment threshold for student loans by $13,000 a year. Source: AAP / AAPIMAGE

Key Points

• The changes would apply to all graduates earning up to $180,000 a year.
• Graduates earning $70,000 will pay $1,300 less.
• The government will aim to legislate the changes in 2025 to take effect from 1 July.

Three million Australians will have lower annual student debt repayments if the government wins the next election as the prime minister unveils the first major pitch to voters and seeks to move on from a string of controversies.

The minimum repayment threshold for student loans would jump by about $13,000 a year, so graduates would begin paying down debts once they earned $67,000, instead of $54,000, from 1 July 2025.

The government would also move to a marginal repayment system in which the amount of a debt repaid was a proportion of income above a given threshold, as recommended by the Universities Accord.

Here's what's expected to change

• An average HELP debt holder will save about $680 per year, with graduates earning $70,000 set to pay $1,300 less and those on $80,000 getting a cut of $850.
• The changes would affect about one million young Australians and would apply to all graduates earning up to $180,000 a year.
• The government will aim to legislate the changes in 2025 to take effect from 1 July.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is seeking to turn a new page following controversy over his Qantas flight upgrades and a home purchase.

Revelations Albanese received 22 free flight upgrades from Qantas, some during his time as transport minister, and allegations he liaised personally with the airline's former boss Alan Joyce have dogged the prime minister for much of the week.

Before that, controversy brewed around his decision to buy a $4.3 million clifftop property on NSW's central coast, with questions over whether the purchase was a "good look" during a cost-of-living crisis.

Albanese will join his South Australian counterpart for a campaign rally on Sunday to detail the student loan policy as he starts to lay out Labor's agenda ahead of the next election, expected by May.

Universities Australia hailed the move as a win for students, with the cost of living factored into a person's decision to start and finish university.

"This additional relief will provide much-needed support for those already paying off a HELP debt," the organisation said in a statement.