The Australian Government has passed legislation to reduce student loan debt by 20%.
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Does the 20% reduction apply to me?
If you had an outstanding HELP or other student loan debt balance as at 1 June 2025, the Government will reduce your outstanding debt by 20%.
When will I see the 20% reduction on my debt?
If you had an outstanding HELP or other student loan debt balance as at 1 June 2025, the ATO will commence applying the 20% reductions in November 2025.
The 20% reduction is applied to your study loan balance as at 1 June 2025, before indexation was applied. The 2025 indexation will be re-calculated on the reduced loan amount.
You will not need to do anything to receive the 20% reduction. Most people will get their reduction before the end of 2025, however, more complex reductions may not be processed by the ATO until early 2026.
The ATO will notify you when it has applied the 20% reduction to your loan account. The notification will be sent via SMS, email or to your myGov Inbox. To make sure you get the notification, check your contact details are up to date with the ATO.
What if my HELP loan for recent study was not showing on my ATO account by 1 June 2025? Will it be reduced by 20%?
Units of study with a census date prior to 1 June 2025 will be eligible for the 20% reduction – even if those debts were not reflected on your account at that time.
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will apply the 20% reduction to eligible HELP loans, once they appear on your ATO account.
Individuals will not need to do anything to receive the 20% reduction.
What if the census date for the unit of study I deferred to a HELP loan was after 1 June 2025?
The 20% reduction applies to outstanding HELP debt as at 1 June 2025. This includes units of study with a census date prior to 1 June 2025. Census dates after 1 June 2025 are not eligible unless an exception applies.
An example of a circumstance where an exception may apply is where a census date was varied by a higher education provider from 31 May or 1 June to 2 June 2025 to avoid the census date falling on a weekend.
What if I had a HELP debt showing on my ATO account on 1 June 2025 but I paid the debt off after 1 June 2025?
As the 20% reduction applies to your debt as at 1 June 2025, voluntary and compulsory repayments made after this date will not affect the amount of your 20% reduction.
This means that there may be circumstances where the 20% reduction results in a credit to your HELP account, which may be refunded if you have no outstanding tax or other debts to the Commonwealth.
Refunds will be sent to your nominated bank account. If you're expecting a refund, make sure your bank details are up to date with the ATO. Refunds will be processed separately to the 20% reduction, and most should be completed by the end of January 2026.
Will the 20% reduction of HELP debt also mean a re-credit to my available HELP balance under the HELP loan limit?
The 20% reduction will apply if you had a HELP debt on 1 June 2025. The reduction will increase your available HELP balance under the HELP loan limit, in the same way that a HELP repayment re-credits your balance.
This will take place a few weeks after your reduction is applied by the ATO. Once a student's HELP balance has been updated, it will be visible in the myHELPbalance website. A student must have sufficient available HELP balance at the unit census date in order to defer their tuition fees to HELP loans. If you do not have sufficient available HELP balance, you will have to pay your student contribution amounts or tuition fees upfront.
What if I have already paid off my HELP or other student loan debts?
If you completely repaid your outstanding student loans and didn’t have a student loan debt balance as at 1 June 2025, you will not receive the 20% loan reduction. The reduction only applies to debt that existed on balances as at 1 June 2025.
How will the 20% reduction be calculated?
The 20% reduction will be applied to your study loan balance as at 1 June 2025, before indexation was applied. The 2025 indexation will be re-calculated on the reduced loan amount.
You can find out how much your outstanding HELP debt will be reduced by using the 20% HELP Debt Reduction Estimator.
20% HELP Debt Reduction EstimatorWill I receive a notification of my updated HELP debt?
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) will notify you when it has applied the 20% reduction to your loan account. The notification will be sent via SMS, email or your myGov Inbox. To make sure you get the notification, check your contact details are up to date with the ATO.
View your balance on the ATO app or via myGov after linking your account to the ATO’s Online Services. You will be able to check your reduced HELP or other student debt on the ATO app or Online Services.
Why is the Government doing this?
Reducing the amount of debt that people currently have by 20% means Australians will have less student debt to pay back.
This directly recognises that many Australians are doing it tough and will take pressure off the costs that Australians have to budget for.
It will particularly help younger Australians, with around 70% of people repaying a HELP debt being 35 or younger. This is a critical time for saving, considering first home buying and or supporting or starting a family.
How can I find details of my outstanding HELP and other student loan debts?
You can check your HELP and other student loan debt via myGov after linking your account to the ATO’s Online Services.
What “other" student loans are included in this change?
As well as HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, STARTUP-HELP, SA-HELP and OS-HELP, the changes will affect all of the following student loans:
- VET Student Loans
- Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans
- Student Start-up Loan
- Student Financial Supplement Scheme