Taxpayers, including those paying tuition fees with FEE-HELP loans, can claim a deduction for self-education expenses that relate to the work they do. But graduates with a HECS-HELP debt can’t claim.
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This essay explores the way the social contract between universities, society and the state has changed over the course of the 20th century. And how generations of students paid and benefited.
Twenty five percent of student loans are unlikely to be paid.
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With HELP debt likely to increase to A$75 billion in 2020, research from the US shows offering students financial literacy courses may be a gentler way to combat student debt.
Simon Birmingham said a reduced HECS repayment threshold for graduates would deliver a ‘fairer deal for taxpayers’.
Sean Davey/AAP
After almost a decade of failed processes to reform the current funding system, the government must produce a revised system that improves the quality of outcomes for students in all courses.
Is it fair that students pay different amounts for university courses?
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Andrew Norton, Grattan Institute and Conor King, La Trobe University
Students currently pay higher fees for courses that lead to jobs with typically higher wages. But not all students find, or want, a job in their area of study. Should all students then pay the same amount for their university degree?
Do students know what they’re getting in to when they take on debt?
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Students rated their financial literacy quite low, which means many students who have managed to secure a place at university don’t believe they understand about debt.
Vocational education and training students probably need income-contingent loans more than university students.
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The HECS revolution remains seriously incomplete because it does not extend to many parts of the vocational education and training sector - which still suffers from the scourge, hostility and unfairness of upfront fees.
Shorten is right to see the importance in science, technology and maths, but his policies don’t have proven efficacy.
AAP/Lucas Coch
A heavy focus of Bill Shorten’s budget reply speech was preparing for the future with science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. While this focus is a step in the right direction, the policies probably aren’t the right way to go about it.
Students living overseas should have to repay their loans.
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Unpaid HELP debts are a problem, while super contributions may be lost. Should students use super to repay HELP?
It seems the desired effect of Pyne’s uni reforms is to stratify the system, making the top unis better and the middle-tier unis worse. A progressive tax would allow him to achieve this goal.
AAP
It seems the desired effect of Pyne’s uni reforms is to stratify the system, making the top unis better and the middle-tier unis worse. A progressive tax would allow him to achieve this goal.
By letting students in who might not otherwise be able to afford university, HECS sharpens the price signal.
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