Daniel Mulino (Fraser, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Deakin for his question. As a former schoolteacher I know that the member for Deakin understands firsthand the transformative power of education. His experience is an asset to this parliament—and I'm sure his time as a teacher also prepares him well for the raucous nature of the House! The member was elected by the people of Deakin to deliver real cost-of-living relief for his electorate and to deliver a 20 per cent cut to HECS debts for the more than 23,000 students in his community who will benefit from the bill that passed the House just over an hour ago. Those 23,000 students in the member's electorate of Deakin join more than 28,000 in my own electorate of Fraser and three million Australians around the country who are set to benefit from the wiping of $16 billion of student debt by our government.

The Prime Minister said that a re-elected Albanese Labor government would wipe 20 per cent of all student debts. He said this would be the first bill we would introduce in the new parliament. And guess what? That's exactly what we've done. Last week Minister Clare introduced the Universities Accord (Cutting Student Debt by 20 Per Cent) Bill 2025 to the House. Once the law passes, the ATO will start implementing the measure to wipe debts on the basis of what they were on 1 June 2025, before indexation. Beneficiaries don't need to do a thing. The ATO will text you when your debt has been reduced.

In addition to last year's changes to indexation, the Albanese government is removing around $20 billion in student debt. But we're not stopping there. We also pledged to make it easier for people with student debt to enter the housing market by asking regulators to review lending rules. That work is done. APRA and ASIC have finalised the guidance the Treasurer requested in February. APRA has now made amendments to guidance to banks to remove HELP debt from debt-to-income reporting and also to clarify that it may be reasonable for banks to omit HELP debt from serviceability assessments where a borrower is expected to pay off their HELP debt within 12 months.

ASIC has updated its regulatory guidance to acknowledge the income-contingent nature of HELP payments. This will help thousands of students and graduates across the country who have invested in their education and now want to invest in a home. We're tackling the housing challenge on all fronts. That's how the Australian government is helping young Australians pay off their debt, enter the housing market and build their future.

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