Student HECS-HELP debt statistics

12% of Australians don’t think they’ll ever be able to repay their student debt.

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By

Richard Whitten

Updated

Fact checked

Quick summary

  • The average HECS debt was $27,640 in the 2023–2024 fiscal year, according to ATO figures, up from $26,494 in 2022–23.
  • The 2024 HELP debt indexation is set at 4% (revised down from 4.17%). This is still the highest rate in a long time.
  • It now takes Australians on average 9.9 years to pay off student debt in full.
  • 55% of debts have a tertiary education debt of over $20,000.

Student loans Australia

    • The average HECS debt was $27,640 in the 2023–2024 fiscal year. This is up from $26,494 in 2022–23, according to ATO figures.
    • There were 2.93 million people with outstanding HECS-HELP debt in 2023–24. This is a slight reduction from the previous year's 2.95 million.
    • The total amount of outstanding student debt hit $81.05 billion in 2023–24, up from $78.2 billion in 2022–23.
    • The number of people with debts above $40K is now 24% of all debtors, up from 21% in 2022–23.
    • In 2025 the HELP loan limit for most students was raised to $126,839 for the majority of students. Those studying veterinary science, medicine, dentistry or other eligible courses have a limit of $182,172.
    • 63% of those with HELP debt are concerned about their ability to pay their student debt.
    • Shockingly, 12% don't think they'll ever pay their student HELP debt off.

HECS indexation

    • Student HELP debt is technically an "interest-free loan" but it's indexed to keep up with inflation.
    • The indexation rate went up to 7.1% in June 2023, meaning 3 million Australians were hit with higher payments. But the federal government retroactively lowered this to 3.2%.
    • The indexation rate was 4.7% for the 2023-2024 financial year, but this was lowered to 4%. This adds $1,105 to the average HELP debt.

Analysis on indexation rate figures

Year
Indexation rate
Indexation applied to $20,000 HELP debt
Indexation applied to $30,000 HELP debt
Indexation applied to $40,000 HELP debt
Indexation applied to $50,000 HELP debt
2022
3.90%
$780
$1,170
$1,560
$1,950
2023
3.2%
$640
$960
$1,280
$1,600
2024
4.0%
$800
$1,200
$1,600
$2,000

Source: Finder's analysis. Figures rounded to the nearest dollar

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Money Editor

Richard Whitten is Finder’s Money Editor, with over seven years of experience in home loans, property and personal finance. His insights appear in top media outlets like Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine, and the Herald Sun, and he frequently offers expert commentary on television and radio, helping Australians navigate mortgages and property ownership. Richard holds multiple industry certifications, including a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking (RG 206) and Tier 1 and Tier 2 certifications (RG 146), as well as a Graduate Certificate in Communications from Deakin University. See full bio

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2 Responses

    Default Gravatar
    DisabledJuly 23, 2024

    Can you provide information on what happens to the HECS debt if a HECS law graduate goes on a Disability Pension for an illness without a cure and is never well enough to work and repay the debt please? Can the indexation additions be stopped at all please? Thanks for your answer.

      AvatarFinder
      SarahJuly 29, 2024Finder

      Hi there,

      You may find it worthwhile contacting the government directly about your specific situation. In general, your debt won’t need to be repaid provided your income doesn’t hit the minimum payment threshold, but indexation would continue to be applied each year.

      In 2023, HECS was absorbed into HELP and the scheme is now referred to as HECS-HELP. You can contact them directly via the contacts here.

      Hope this helps!

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