HECS-HELP indexation is forecast to be higher this year. Is it still a 'good debt'?

The cost of living is rising and that means that people who have a Higher Education Loan Program debt should brace themselves for increases. For CSP's the federal government covers some of the student's uni fees and the student pays the rest — that's what's known as the "student contribution amount". Here's a look back at the past 10 years: Year Indexation rate 2022 3.9 per cent 2021 0.6 per cent 2020 1.8 per cent 2019 1.8 per cent 2018 1.9 per cent 2017 1.5 per cent 2016 1.5 per cent 2015 2.1 per cent 2014 2.6 per cent 2013 2.0 per cent Is HECS-HELP still a 'good debt'? "If an individual wishes to pay off their loan balance in full prior to indexation being applied, it needs to be done with sufficient time to allow the payment to fully process through the banking systems to reach the ATO accounts before midnight, May 31," an ATO spokesperson says. Here's the formula: the sum of the index number for the March quarter for the current year and the index numbers for the three immediately preceding quarters divided by the sum of the index number for the March quarter for the previous year and the index numbers for the three immediately preceding quarters So, last year, that worked out to be: Mar22+Dec21+Sep21+Jun21 divided by Mar21+Dec20+Sep20+Jun20 = 123.9 + 121.3 + 119.7 + 118.8 divided by 117.9 + 117.2 + 116.2 + 114.4 = 483.7 divided by 465.7 = 1.039 That meant the indexation factor was 1.039, meaning the effective percentage increase was 3.9 per cent.