The HECS threshold is being increased and debts are being lowered but repayment times will take longer for some under a new proposal

Over the weekend the federal government has announced plans to change student loan repayment rules, spruiking cost of living savings. If the changes pass parliament, people paying their university fees via the government's Higher Education Loan Program won't have to pay as much each year and the overall debt levels will be lowered. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said they would "help everyone with a student debt right now" including people with the following loans: HELP — which includes people on the Higher Education Contribution Scheme VET Student Loan Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan Other income-contingent student support loan accounts The opposition is critical of the plan to lower debts, with Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor calling it "profoundly unfair". A joint press release from Education Minister Jason Clare, along with Mr Albanese, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth and Skills and Training Minister Andrew Giles, said the changes to the HECS student debt repayments threshold would give "significant and immediate cost of living relief to Australians with student debt". "This builds on our changes to make indexation fairer and all up this means we are wiping close to $20 billion in student debt," he said in another joint federal government press release.