Matt Smith (Leichhardt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the provisions of the Universities Accord (Cutting Student Debt by 20 Per Cent) Bill 2025. I support this bill. The people I know support this bill. From the huge amount of doorknocking I did in my community, I can say clearly that the people who put me here support this bill. The only people I've heard not supporting it are those opposite. I'm pleased to say the bill is going through.

If I'm to go out on a limb I will say this is a great day for the over three million Australians who are going to see their HECS debt reduced by 20 per cent. It is a great day for the 17,000 people in my own electorate who are going to see their bill reduced by 20 per cent. The regions know that when you train people at home they stay at home. Cairns is home to two world class universities, JCU and CQU, and this change will enable young people to get the education they want and stay close to home and also give us the services and skills in the regions that we need to prosper. This is nation building, this is region building and this is a fantastic initiative that is going to make a world of difference to my electorate of Leichhardt.

This bill is also the delivery of a promise. I'm proud to be part of a government that delivers on its promises. The Prime Minister said this would be the first bill to be introduced to the House, and indeed it was. This is my first speech on a bill, and I'm proud that it is this one.

The average student debt is over $27,000—weighing people down, an albatross around their neck. These people are teachers, nurses and allied health workers. We are removing that albatross. We are giving them room to breathe. When you are not feeling financial strain, everything in your life gets that little bit easier. I was fortunate. I never got a HECS debt, but a lot of people I know did. A lot of people in this House probably have a HECS debt or know somebody with a HECS debt—their children, perhaps.

My good friend Ash Constable came to Cairns from Ballarat, tried out with the Taipans, became a teacher, did his university up there and stayed. You teach them there, they stay there. I remember talking to him way back when, before the campaign, before there was any thought, and he said: 'I can't do it, mate. I want to buy a house, but every time I check my HECS debt, it's going up further than I'm paying off. I can't get a loan. I can't get in front of anybody.' He's working. He's got his girlfriend, Jas, and they want to start their lives They want to get that house. They want to get that dog. They were just stuck. He was spinning his wheels as he watched his debt go up and up and up. This changes this for Ash. The APRA changes, which allow him to get a home loan without HECS and HELP being taken into account, changed it for him. I'm happy to report to the House that he now has his house and his dog Ziggy and he and Jas are able to start their lives together in a beautiful suburb of Cairns. This is a success story; this is what is made possible by the Australian Labor government.

It's not just for Ash. All up this bill will cut student debt by more than $16 billion. That's a lot less sleepless nights for those young people. The legislation makes clear that this cut will be backdated to June 2025, before this year's indexation has been accrued, and this policy will help uni students, vocational education students and some apprentices. The bill will also make important structural changes to the way this system works. It raises the minimum amount you earn before you have to start making repayments from $54,435 to $67,000. To the students I see in the gallery, it's going to make your futures easier. You'll earn more before you have to start paying back.

It also replaces the current system with a new marginal repayment system. The current system is based on your entire income. Once you earn above the minimum repayment threshold of $54,435, you pay a percentage of your entire wage as your repayment. Under this bill, you'll only pay a percentage of your wage above the minimum repayment threshold. For example, if you earn $70,000, you'll pay $1,750 a year. Under our changes, you'll only pay $450. That's roughly $1,300 back into your pocket. That's $1,300 that you can spend on going out to dinner and that makes you less afraid of the electricity bill or when the car inevitably breaks down as it does in those first few years out of university.

Last year the government wiped $3 billion of HELP debt from the fixed system so the indexation of HELP debts can never increase faster than wages. From 1 July 2025, the Labor government has established a Commonwealth prac payment to provide up to about 68,000 eligible teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students payments while they are completing their compulsory practical training at TAFE and university. Fee-free TAFE has become law, and over 680,000 enrolments have occurred across the country with 170,000 of those courses already completed. When I visit TAFEs in Far North Queensland, I hear from the potential nurses how grateful they are for that. A lot of them are starting education mature in life. They've got children; they've got mortgages; they've got rents. This is really helping them along and is putting more nurses in our hospitals.

The Labor government has also established the independent Australian Tertiary Education Commission to drive reform of Australia's tertiary education sector. The changes to which universities are funded will start from 2026 and will help more people from the outer suburbs and the regions get a chance to go to university and provide them with support they need to get their degrees.

As I've said, we've made it easier for students to get into the housing market. My friend the Treasurer delivered on this. It has made a world of difference. Young people can see the light. They feel the pressure released from their shoulders. It is reasonable that the banks omit HELP debt from a serviceability assessment when a borrower's expected to pay off their HELP within 12 months, and ASIC has updated all of its regulatory compliance to acknowledge that HELP debts are different from other forms of debt because the amount required is to be repaid dependent on a person's level of income. This is a valuable change. It makes sense, it makes the system fairer and it helps our young people have a future.

As Minister Clare has said multiple times, young people don't always see something for them on the ballot paper, but this time they did because we listened. This is what Labor parties have done and will continue to do—listen to the people and provide support for the people who want to improve themselves through education and improve their lives for their families. From go to whoa, this Labor government has supported the full Gonski, from early childhood education right the way through to university and vocational training. There is not one part of your life as a student and becoming educated that has not been improved by this Labor government.

I know that there will be many people in my electorate today who are pleased by the passing of this bill. They are relieved by the passing of this bill. Future students will now understand that HECS and HELP debts are not going to be a barrier to them going to university or TAFE or furthering their education. I am very proud to commend this bill to the House.

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