Albanese reveals first order of business after election win

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has coming confirmed that his first bid of business aft being reelected is to trim student indebtedness by a further 20 per cent.

Speaking astatine nan Labor caucus gathering successful Canberra this morning, he said that young Australians merit a "fair crack" and that nan Labor authorities wants to "look aft them".

"The first portion of authorities that we will present into nan caller parliament is 1 for nan 20 per cent simplification successful student debt," Albanese said to applause.

"I deliberation that is important, not conscionable successful itself but for what it says astir our committedness to intergenerational equity. "

Reflecting connected his ain education, nan premier curate quipped that he vanished his HSC connected a Tuesday and was moving his first occupation astatine Commonwealth Bank nan pursuing Monday.

He mused that nan quality of activity and acquisition has changed a awesome woody since past and has go "much harder successful truthful galore areas".

"One of things we person to get to grip pinch arsenic a authorities is nan truth that nan world is truthful accelerated moving, nan quality of jobs and employment is changing," he said.

"We request to make judge that people, young group successful peculiar consciousness much unafraid arsenic they spell forward, that we look aft them."

Labor intends to do that by forgiving $16 cardinal successful student debt, a committedness that helped nan statement triumph nan 2025 national election.

From July 1, nan newly re-elected Albanese Labor authorities will slash a further 20 per cent disconnected each student indebtedness debts.

It has besides vowed to assistance nan minimum period for repayments by much than $10,000 a year, from astir $54,000 to $67,000.

These reductions will spot astir $16 cardinal successful indebtedness wiped crossed HELP, VET Student Loan, Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan and different income-contingent student support indebtedness accounts.

University students and graduates will spot an mean of $5,520 wiped from their HECS indebtedness successful 2025, based connected nan mean HELP indebtedness of $27,600.

Data released successful February revealed really each authorities and territory is expected to use from nan reductions, pinch Victoria and New South Wales group to person nan highest mean cuts per person.

Australians who wholly repaid their student indebtedness after 2023 aliases 2024 indexation was applied will person a refund to their slope account, assuming location were nary outstanding authorities debts.

All of this is connected apical of important student indebtedness cuts that started being rolled retired successful December 2024, to nan tune of astir $3 billion.

It began rolling retired reductions the pursuing month, slashing nan student debts of astir 3 cardinal Australians.

These reductions were achieved by adjusting nan measurement indexation is calculated connected student debt, capping nan HELP indexation complaint to nan little of either nan Consumer Price Index (CPI) aliases nan Wage Price Index (WPI).

The alteration was designed to forestall indexation from outpacing wages successful nan future, and was backdated to June 1, 2023.

"Last twelvemonth we wiped $3 cardinal successful student indebtedness and this is nan adjacent step," Minister for Education, Jason Clare said successful February this year.

"All up, it intends we are wiping adjacent to $20 cardinal successful student debt."

He called nan reductions "a game-changer for nan much than 3 cardinal Australians".

"We said we'd create a amended and fairer acquisition system, our HECS indebtedness alleviation and changes to really indexation is calculated are a awesome portion of this plan," Assistant Minister for Education, Anthony Chisholm added.

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