As part of the 2024 Federal Budget, Treasurer Jim Chalmers announced that $3 billion dollars worth will be wiped from millions of students’ HECS debt accounts. This was aimed to help ease the current financial burdens of inflation and cost of living expenses. The new system means indexation will be capped to the lower of either the consumer price index or the wage price index. This initiative is to counteract last year’s 7.1% indexation, thereby putting credit into students’ tax accounts.

What will this mean for you and your debts?  The Ag spoke to current media student, Mac Henderson, and LTU financial counsellor Lil Kennedy about their views on the topic. In the studio, presenters Ava Stone and Ruby Bartzis discussed what the consumer price index or the wage price index means to students with LTU associate economics professor Dr Buly Cardak.

Credits:

Producer, Camera, Editor: Kim Vy Ngo

Reporter: Ruby Bartzis