Bad news for the almost 3 million Australians with student debt with forecasts showing it'll increase by more than 4%. HECS debts rise each year according to inflation, but the soaring cost of living has meant the highest rises in decades.
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00:00At university campuses, the cost of living crisis is already hitting hard, with rising
00:06rents and food prices, and now the annual indexation to student loans is quickly approaching.
00:14Among those feeling that the debts are rising faster than they can pay them off is Amy Jolliffe.
00:19The psychology graduate has a HECS debt of $64,000 and is so despondent about the future
00:26she's thinking of leaving Australia and falling back on her hobby.
00:30I feel like I could just get on a plane and fly to Mexico and become a scuba diving instructor
00:37and just live my dream and leave this behind me, like leave my country behind me and all
00:42my study and all my hopes, all my dreams, everything I've worked for.
00:51Now new figures reveal it could get worse soon.
00:54The Greens commissioned the Parliamentary Library to crunch the numbers on this year's
00:58indexation number, and it's come back with a figure between 4.2 and 4.8 per cent.
01:05That would be the second biggest rise in the last decade, and mean that over Labor's time
01:09in office, HECS debts could have increased by more than 16 per cent.
01:14Someone with an average debt of $26,000 will face a rise of $4,000 in their debt in just
01:24the first term of the Labor government.
01:26The government's flagged that relief could be on the way.
01:29It's commissioned a higher education review, which also called for indexation relief for
01:35students.
01:36Education Minister Jason Clare has said the government's response could come as soon as
01:40next month's budget.
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