The Federal Government’s annual budget has outlined Labor’s plan to cut more than $3 billion worth of Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt and restructure the way student support loans are indexed. The proposed change would cap the yearly HELP indexation at the lower rate of either the Consumer Price Index (CPI) or Wage Price Index (WPI), retroactively lowering the index rate from last year and this year. If legislation is passed, 2023’s index rate spike of 7.1 per cent will be reduced to 3.1 per cent and this year’s 4.7 per cent will become 4 per cent. Prime Minister…
Author: Jett Eagleson
In 2022, all NSW universities, bar the University of Sydney and the Australian Catholic University, lost money. The schools saw collective losses of over $400 million, with the University of Wollongong having a deficit of $28,400,000. Across the state, domestic enrolments are down and, for most schools, international enrolments have begun to increase, but have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. These enrolment declines paired with the increased operating costs of returning to on-campus learning have been blamed for much of the deficit. Waning domestic enrolments appear to be a trend across the country. Associate Dean for the Faculty of Arts,…