Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Immigration) Share this | Hansard source

If there's one group of Australians that have had the rough end of the pineapple when it comes to the cost of living, it's young people. They've had increases in rent, increases in student debts and increases in their general cost-of-living expenses like every other Australian and they've really been struggling. That was the message that came through in the last period of the former parliament and, indeed, in the first period of this parliament. That's why the Albanese government reacted and put in place that commitment to reduce student debts by 20 per cent if we were elected and to make it a priority of this government upon returning to office.

I'm proud that this Universities Accord bill will provide that real relief for millions of Australians. Many of them are younger Australians—who we've listened to—and we're now taking action by cutting their student debts by 20 per cent. It's a promise that we made in the election and we're now delivering it as a priority for this government. It will be the first piece of legislation that will pass this parliament. We know that the cost of living is important to Australians. That's why the major focus of our election policies was cost-of-living relief. This bill does just that, helping to wipe more than $16 billion in debt for more than three million Australians. We know that getting an education shouldn't mean a lifetime of debt. We also know that the coalition opposed this measure in the election campaign. I'm pleased to see that they've changed their mind, but they did call it 'terrible' and 'unfair'.

But the Australian people made it clear on 3 May that they wanted cost-of-living support, and many parents wanted it for their kids. They want to ensure that their kids get access to education and that that education is affordable. This is what this bill does. We saw large increases in indexation associated with student debts in the wake of COVID because of the inflation spike that occurred throughout the world. That resulted in some unfair debts and some increases in debts for many Australian students, so we've responded by cutting their debt by 20 per cent and easing pressure for workers and students across the country. Someone in the community of Kingsford Smith with an average debt of $27,600 will see around $5,500 wiped from their outstanding HELP loans. It's backdated to 1 June and it will reduce the burden for many of those students, including those with HELP vocational education and training student loans, Australian apprenticeship support loans, student start-up loans and other student loans.

I've been speaking to some students from Randwick TAFE in the community that I represent, and I know that costs can often be a barrier to Australians pursuing an apprenticeship or a qualification at a trade level. This bill will deliver cost-of-living relief to 280,000 students in the VET sector across the country, cutting half a billion dollars of student debt from that group alone. Our government is focusing on reducing the barriers to further study and training so that every Australian can get the skills they need for a secure, well-paid job.

In addition to cutting student debts by 20 per cent, the legislation raises the minimum threshold for repayment, before students start making those repayments, from $54,435 to $67,000. So those payments will be reduced. For someone earning $70,000, that will reduce their minimum repayments by $1,300 a year.

I'm fortunate to have the wonderful University of New South Wales in the electorate that I represent, and I'm a very proud alumnus of that great institution. It fills me with great pride to see the opportunities on offer at UNSW for students in our community and for those beyond Australia, and to hear of the positive impact on them from the education that they get. They're the ones making the future happen today. UNSW, of course, leads the world in solar research, in quantum technology and, indeed, in AI and in other areas where there's some fantastic research going on. You can see the development of hydrogen fuel in UNSW, as well as the work that goes on at the Kirby Institute around the development of lifesaving treatments for many viruses and other diseases across the world.

No matter where you live or how much your parents earn, we'll continue to ensure that the doors of education and opportunity are open for more Australians, not just at UNSW but at other great universities across the country. It's not just helping students from Randwick TAFE but also those from other great TAFEs throughout the country. This reform helps everyone repay student debts right now, and it delivers a better deal for every student in the three years ahead.

It builds on significant reforms that we made to help students in the last period of government, when we wiped $3 billion of HELP debts and fixed the system so that indexation of HELP debts can never increase faster than wages. From 1 July this year the government established the Commonwealth Prac Payment to support about 68,000 eligible teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students whilst they're completing their compulsory practical training at university. They'll now start to receive that $320 payment whilst they're on practical placement—again, assisting those students to meet their cost-of-living pressures, ensuring that when they do have to take a break from the workforce they will still be able to earn and to pay their bills.

We've locked fee-free TAFE into law. It's now seen more than 650,000 enrolments across the country, with 170,000 of those courses already completed. From 1 January this year, the government also massively expanded the fee-free uni ready courses, which are life-changing courses that help more students from disadvantaged backgrounds get access to early support for education in the university sector.

We're establishing an independent Australian tertiary education commission to drive reform of Australia's tertiary education sector. We're changing the way that universities are funded—that will start from 2026—which will help more people from outer suburbs and regions get a chance to go to university and provide them with the support that they need to complete their degrees. The government has heard the calls from younger Australians about support for their educational aspirations and the challenges that they're facing with their cost of living. We heard that call; we put in place the policy; we took it to the election; we received a mandate; and now we are delivering that cost-of-living support for millions of younger Australians to ensure that they can aspire to the education that they want, aspire to the job that they hope to achieve, and make a valuable contribution to Australia moving forward.

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