First bill passed by new Parliament delivers student debt relief

THOUSANDS of residents across the Corangamite electorate will have their student debt cut by an average of $5,500, following the passing of the newly re-elected Albanese Government’s first piece of legislation.

The 48th Parliament convened for the first-time at the end of last month, with Labor’s pre-election promise to slash student and apprentice debt by 20 per cent, the first priority.

About 18,000 people in the Corangamite electorate alone are expected to benefit from the new legislation, which has also seen the minimum repayment threshold rise to $67,000, up from $54,000.

Speaking to the bill last week, Corangamite Labor federal member Libby Coker said the legislation will mean more money in the pockets of young Australians, many of whom are just out of university or TAFE and are looking to the future.

“We said we’d do it, and we’ve done it.

“We want everyone to have opportunity regardless of their financial circumstances. We want to reduce the barriers for people with a student loan to buy their first home, start a family or transition to a new career – and that’s what this bill does.”

The bill will see a one-off student loan reduction applied automatically by the Australian Taxation Office. It will apply to the debt levels before the June 1 indexation, a move Ms Coker said ensured graduates would get “the maximum financial benefit”.

“The Australian Taxation Office will process the changes and, when their work is done, Australians with student debt will receive a text – a text worth celebrating.

“That’s real cost-of-living help.”

Among the other key initiatives to be prioritised by the government are legislation to ensure all medications on the PBS cost no more than $25 from January next year, the enshrinement of penalty rates into law, and new childcare safety measures that will allow funding cuts to centres that repeatedly fail to meet national standards.