Emma Gillespie

That discount was applied to individual balances and

And it was rolled out from September 2025.

So for example, a $25,000 debt was reduced by over $1,000 under that discount.

And the government also raised the repayment threshold.

So remember I mentioned that you have to be earning $67,000 a year before your mandatory HECS repayments kick in.

That was $51,000 before last year.

So the debt still gets bigger with indexation every year, but the salary at which you have to meet to start repaying it has lifted.

Oh, super confusing.

I guess the easiest way to think about it is there was that discount that was applied to your balance plan

before last year's indexation, yesterday's 2.8% is applied to whatever your balance was after all of those reforms had taken effect.

So for example, a $10,000 debt in July 2025 before the discount became an $8,000 debt in September.

This week, that debt has now increased from $8,000 to about $8,200 due to that 2.8% indexation, if you're still with me.

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Well, the timing is being questioned by independent Monique Ryan.

She is the MP for Kooyong in Victoria, and she's proposing to shift when indexation happens from June to November due to, I guess, what is a structural quirk.

in the HECS system and how tax and loans interact.

Right now indexation hits on the 1st of June but your compulsory HECS repayments, the ones that are automatically deducted through your tax return, those don't get processed until after you lodge your tax return after the 30th of June.