Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Hansard source

I thank all senators for their contributions to this debate. As promised, this is the very first bill to be introduced to the parliament after the election. The Universities Accord (Cutting Student Debt by 20 Per Cent) Bill 2025 cuts the student debt of three million Australians by 20 per cent. It cuts the average HELP debt by about $5,520. All up, it will cut student debt by over $16 billion.

This bill also makes important structural changes to the way the repayment system works. It raises the minimum amount you have to earn before you have to start making repayments, from $54,435 in 2024-25 to $67,000 in 2025-26. It replaces the current repayment system with a new marginal repayment system. At the moment, the amount that you pay off every year is based on your entire wage. That means that, once you earn above the minimum repayment threshold, you pay a percentage of your entire wage as a repayment. Under the changes in this bill, you will only pay a percentage of your wage above the minimum repayment threshold—for example, if you earn $70,000 a year, you will have to repay $1,300 less a year than you currently have to, but can you still pay off more if you want to.

This is a bill that helps with the cost of living. It delivers structural reform for generations to come. It builds on higher education reforms that the Albanese Labor government has already delivered. This includes a fairer HELP system, cost-of-living relief for students, support for people from the outer suburbs and regions to go to university, and structural reforms to our tertiary education system. I commend the bill to the chamber.

Debate adjourned.

Senate adjourned at 20:02