Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Sheldon. The Albanese government is providing much needed cost-of-living relief for younger Australians by cutting $3 billion in student debt for more than three million Australians in this month's budget. We're introducing legislation to cap the HECS-HELP indexation rate to be the lower of either the consumer price index or the wage price index, and that will be backdated from 1 June 2023. I guess we might get to see whether this will be another cost-of-living measure that the Albanese Labor government puts forward that the opposition votes against.

This means that indexation will be reduced from 7.1 per cent to 3.2 per cent in 2023, and from 4.7 per cent to four per cent in 2024. Australians with an average HECS-HELP debt of $26,500 will receive a credit of around $1,200, and those who have recently paid off their student loans may be eligible for a cash refund.

The Albanese government is serious about assisting younger Australians with cost-of-living pressures, and these measures will help do that. (Time expired)