Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) commends the Government for delivering on its commitment to cut student debt by 20 per cent for:

(a) apprenticeship support loans;

(b) the Higher Education Loan Program;

(c) student start-up loans;

(d) vocational education and training student loans; and

(e) the student financial supplement schemes;

(2) recognises that this will help more than three million Australians, whose student debt balances backdated to 1 June 2025 will begin to be reduced this month as the Australian Taxation Office implements the change;

(3) acknowledges that this will reduce the average student debt of $27,600 by $5,520, and when combined with the Government's 2024 changes to indexation, will cut approximately $20 billion in debt;

(4) welcomes the Government's changes to make student loan repayments fairer by:

(a) replacing the current repayment system with a new marginal repayment system; and

(b) raising the minimum income threshold for repayments from $54,435 in 2024-25 to $67,000 in 2025-26;

(5) further acknowledges that reducing the debt burden for Australian graduates will help them build a better future for themselves and their families; and

(6) further commends the Government for:

(a) taking action on issues of intergenerational fairness;

(b) building a better and fairer education system; and

(c) supporting Australians with cost of living measures.

On 3 November 2024 at Norwood International High School in my electorate of Sturt the Prime Minister made an announcement that reflects Labor's commitment to education, to the notion that education is a right and to the understanding that education lifts people out of poverty, gives them opportunities and allows them to contribute to our community and to provide for their families. It allows them access to the employment market, to good, secure and meaningful jobs. A good education is good for working families, working families that Labor will always strive to protect.

That announcement was that Labor would slash 20 per cent from student debt, HELP and VET if returned to government at the 2025 election. Young people, who are typically the biggest cohort of those with HELP and VET debts, heard that promise. Following the election and before the opening of the 48th parliament, the Prime Minister, ably supported by the Minister for Education, said wiping 20 per cent of student debt would be the first piece of legislation passed, and it was. The government said to those Australians with qualifying HELP and VET debts, 'You will see that debt reduction before the end of 2025.' That is now happening. That is what delivery looks like. That is what good policy looks like. That is what action on cost-of-living relief for Australians looks like.

In my electorate of Sturt alone, 26,353 Australians will have 20 per cent of their student debt wiped. This is important for those people because the average student debt is around $27,000, meaning that the average debt reduction is roughly $5,500 per year for around 3 million Australians to the tune of $16 billion. We promised this, and we are delivering this.

We've also raised the minimum income amount before people have to start making repayments on their remaining debt from $54,435 to $67,000 but as a percentage of a wage above the minimum repayment threshold, which reduces each outlay each year. Under this government, some things go up, like the minimum repayment threshold, and some things go down, like student debt—all designed so more money stays in the pockets of Australians. This is real, tangible, cost-of-living relief.

This government also recognises not only that the end of the course or the end of degree debt requires servicing but that life also must be lived and costs met during the course or degree. Before we took office, too many students were dropping out because they couldn't afford unpaid placements, which in some cases run for weeks. We need more teachers, nurses, midwives and social workers, and we need to ensure that they can still pay the bills whilst they study these critical and much-needed professions. Paid prac for eligible teaching students, nursing students, midwifery students and social work students offers around $330 per week and is currently supporting 68,000 higher education students, including VET students, whilst they complete their studies. We know that almost every Australian will interact with a nurse, midwife or teacher over their life, and we know that social workers are critical to the wellbeing of all people in Australia. We are giving people who have signed up to do some of the most important jobs in this country the extra help that they need to get the qualifications.

Then, when you add the fee for university-ready places or for bridging or enabling courses that help people prepare for university—acting as a bridge between school or work and higher education—you start to understand the scale of this government's commitment to education. In 2026, the investment in fee-free university-ready places will hit $173 million, with almost 25,000 people projected to take advantage of the scheme, which is critical, given that it is estimated by the Australian Universities Accord that, by 2050, 80 per cent of the workforce will need a tertiary qualification.

Phones are pinging around the country as I speak, notifying students that their HELP or VET debts have shrunk by 20 per cent. That is the sound of a government that values education, wants all Australians to have access to a quality education and has cost-of-living relief at the centre of its policy agenda.

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