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I’m calling on the Albanese Government to end the cost-of-HECS crisis by fixing unfair indexation, reversing the Job-Ready Graduates scheme, cutting the cost of degrees, and expanding prac placements. Will you join me?

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Young Australians are doing it tough. They already face a cluster crisis of insecure housing, skyrocketing cost-of-living, and a collapsing climate. Record student debt is compounding these challenges, and making it harder to afford rent and food, buy a home and start a family.

The cost-of-HECS crisis, which saddles graduates with $50,000 debt for three-year Bachelor degrees, was created by the Morrison Government and has been allowed to continue under the Albanese Government. It’s time to reduce student contributions, support students in the care sectors to undertake mandatory placements, reverse the disastrous Job-Ready Graduates scheme, and cut the cost of degrees. By fixing HECS, every young Australian can access the affordable education most politicians benefited from.

In the last parliament, I led the campaign that forced the government to wipe $3 billion off student debt for three million Australians. But the job is not done. One-off debt relief in 2024 does nothing for students and graduates in 2026 and beyond. They're still accumulating too much debt for courses which cost too much.

So, let’s fix HECS. Together.

The problem with
student debt indexation.

A university education should put Australians on the pathway towards living a good life. But instead of enabling and celebrating students who go to university, we are saddling them with debt that is taking a decade or more to pay off.

~3 million
Australians carrying HECS debt
More Australians carry student debt than ever before — and the load is growing.
$
$27,000+
Average debt per graduate
Commerce and law contributions are nine times higher than when many MPs graduated.
$81 Billion
Total HECS debt owed nationally
A $14 billion jump in a single year — indexation outpacing repayment.

The punishing Job-Ready Graduates scheme, introduced by the Morrison Government in 2021, has turbocharged student debt. Almost three million Australians now carry, on average, over $27,000 in student debt. Student contributions for courses like commerce and law are many times higher than they were in the 1980s and 1990s — when many members of parliament graduated.

In 2023 and 2024, high inflation meant the total owed by Australian graduates increased from $67 billion to $81 billion. This staggering increase illustrates one of the biggest problems with the HECS debt system. HECS loans are interest-free but indexed annually on June 1, using a CPI-based formula to maintain their real value over time. The tax office collects HECS payments throughout the year but doesn't adjust the balance owing until tax returns are filed — months after indexation is applied. This often results in growing debt despite ongoing contributions.

In the first phase of my campaign to fix HECS, I am advocating for a simple but significant change to HECS indexation. Shifting it to 1 November or later will mean graduates' compulsory contributions are counted before the debt grows. Analysis I commissioned from the Parliamentary Budget Office shows this simple change will save Australians with a HECS debt $3.192 billion in indexation over the next 10 years.

To fix HECS, we also need to reverse the Job-Ready Graduates scheme, and make the cost of degrees more fair - so graduates aren't saddled with decades of debt. And we need to provide financial support for prac placements, so students in healthcare can finish their courses and take their skills and knowledge out into the communities that need them.

Join my campaign today and help take the first step towards a fairer HECS system for millions of Australian students and graduates.

A simple fix: move indexation day.

Today, HECS is indexed on 1 June — months before most repayments are reconciled against the balance. Shifting it to 1 November or later gives graduates' contributions a chance to be counted before the debt is grown.

Current
1 June
→
Proposed
1 Nov