HECS-HELP is Australia’s income-contingent student loan system, administered by the ATO. Unlike a bank loan, you pay nothing until your income crosses a minimum repayment threshold — and there is no interest, though the debt is indexed to CPI each year. Once your income reaches the threshold, your employer withholds an additional amount from your wages and the ATO applies it to your HECS balance when you lodge your tax return.
This cluster covers everything you need to know about HECS-HELP: the current repayment thresholds and rates, how indexation works and what it cost borrowers in recent years, voluntary repayments, and what happens to your HECS debt if you move overseas.
How HECS-HELP Works
- HECS-HELP Explained — How It Works in Australia — The loan scheme from start to finish: taking on debt, when repayments start, and how the ATO collects them
- HECS-HELP Repayment Thresholds 2025–26 — The current income threshold ($54,435 for FY2025–26), the full rate table, and how much is withheld at each income band
- How to Declare Your HECS Debt on Your Tax Return — The compulsory repayment process, your HECS statement via myGov, and reconciliation at tax time
- Can I See My HECS Balance? — Viewing your debt via the ATO’s online services in myGov and what the balance means
HECS Indexation
- HECS Indexation Explained — How CPI indexation is applied on 1 June each year, the recent high-indexation years (7.1% in 2023, 4.7% in 2024), and how to interpret the impact on your balance
- HECS Debt History and Indexation Rates — A year-by-year look at indexation rates and how Australia’s student debt system has changed since 1989
Voluntary Repayments
- Making Voluntary HECS Repayments — How to make additional payments via BPAY or the ATO, the timing rules, and whether you get a discount (you don’t — the 5% bonus was abolished in 2017)
- Should You Pay Off HECS Early? — A comparison of paying down HECS versus investing the same money, taking into account indexation, your tax bracket, and opportunity cost
HECS and Major Financial Decisions
- Does HECS Debt Affect Your Borrowing Capacity? — How lenders treat HECS repayments as a liability, the impact on your borrowing power, and strategies to consider
- HECS-HELP Overseas — What Happens? — The worldwide income provisions that require Australians living abroad to make HECS repayments if their income exceeds the threshold
- HECS and Tax Withholding — How to Notify Your Employer — Updating your tax file number declaration or withholding variation to ensure the right amount is withheld
Other HELP Loan Types
- HELP Loan Types — HECS, VET Student Loans, and More — The difference between HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, VET Student Loans, SA-HELP, and OS-HELP
- HECS for Postgraduate Study — FEE-HELP for full-fee postgraduate courses versus HECS-HELP for Commonwealth-supported places
This section provides general information about HECS-HELP. For advice tailored to your situation, speak with a registered tax agent. Find one through the Tax Practitioners Board register.