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To remit a HELP debt, the ‘special circumstances’ provisions [Appendix G] set out the legislative criteria to allow for students to seek remission for units in which they were enrolled, but could not complete. It is a provider’s responsibility to assess special circumstances applications. Should the applicant disagree with their providers’ decision , they can use the internal and external review mechanisms of the special circumstances provisions [Part 43]. Failing this, the person’s option of last resort is to contact the Department of Finance and request their HELP debt be waived.
A waiver of debt is a special concession granted to a person that extinguishes a debt owed to the Commonwealth. This means that the debt is completely forgiven and can no longer be recovered by the Commonwealth.
The waiver of debt mechanism is generally an avenue of last resort and is used only where there is no other viable avenue to provide redress.
The waiver of debt power is found in section 63 of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act). It allows the Minister for Finance to waive amounts owing to the Commonwealth. The waiver of debt power has been delegated to officials within the Department of Finance.
The waiver of debt power is discretionary. This means there is no automatic entitlement to a waiver of debt.
For further information on waiver of debt, and information on how to apply, see the Department of Finance website.