What it doesn't mention is how the HELP debt works: 1. A person who has a HELP debt doesn't have to pay any money until they earn above $54,859 (average salary here is $74,724). The repayments come out of your salary automatically. 2. The interest on these loans are only at CPI (around 2.5% per year). 3. The aforementioned interest is charged annually (as in once a year) and is only charged on the balance of your loan on 30th June (end of our financial year).
Put simply, I could have a $20k debt for the whole year, pay $5k off it on June 29th and only get charged interest on $15k at CPI interest rate. Also, many people never pay their debt off due to lifestyle choices. It doesn't get cleared in bankruptcy, but it does get cleared in death. The Left wing government when it was in power wanted to overhaul it to charge home loan interest rates, sell the existing HELP debt to a bank to get a bit of extra cash and allow banks to seize assets of people who weren't paying back the debt, basically anyone earning less than $54k. The plan was very unpopular, as you can imagine. Sorry for the long post, but there's more to the story than just they're cutting stupid courses.
Damn! That two year degree on how to care for horse hoofs seemed like a good idea, as long as someone else pays for it!
ReplyDelete"But no courses in the areas of engineering, information technology, natural and physical sciences, agriculture or environment will be impacted."
That's sexist. What about the chick who wants to get a degree in flower essence therapy?
What it doesn't mention is how the HELP debt works:
ReplyDelete1. A person who has a HELP debt doesn't have to pay any money until they earn above $54,859 (average salary here is $74,724). The repayments come out of your salary automatically.
2. The interest on these loans are only at CPI (around 2.5% per year).
3. The aforementioned interest is charged annually (as in once a year) and is only charged on the balance of your loan on 30th June (end of our financial year).
Put simply, I could have a $20k debt for the whole year, pay $5k off it on June 29th and only get charged interest on $15k at CPI interest rate.
Also, many people never pay their debt off due to lifestyle choices. It doesn't get cleared in bankruptcy, but it does get cleared in death.
The Left wing government when it was in power wanted to overhaul it to charge home loan interest rates, sell the existing HELP debt to a bank to get a bit of extra cash and allow banks to seize assets of people who weren't paying back the debt, basically anyone earning less than $54k.
The plan was very unpopular, as you can imagine.
Sorry for the long post, but there's more to the story than just they're cutting stupid courses.