Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

in reply—I thank the members who contributed to this debate, the members for Sturt, Moreton, Lyne, Corangamite, Hindmarsh and Blair. The Higher Education Support Amendment (FEE-HELP Loan Fee) Bill 2010, as we know, amends the Higher Education Support Act 2003 to implement the government’s decision to increase the loan fee from 20 per cent to 25 per cent of FEE-HELP loans for undergraduate courses.

An increase in the loan fee will enable the government to recover more of the taxpayer subsidised cost of providing FEE-HELP loans. Even with a five per cent increase in the loan fee, the conditions of the government’s FEE-HELP scheme continue to provide extremely favourable income-contingent loans to students. Students do not have to start repaying their HELP loan until their income reaches the minimum repayment threshold of $43,152 per annum. If students do not repay their loan, the government meets the cost. Most students will not be affected by this change, which will only impact undergraduate students who choose to use FEE-HELP for their tuition fees in a fee-paying place. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

See this speech in context