Is Your HECS Debt Setting You Up To Fail?

The average Western Sydney University (WSU) student will finish their degree with a debt of around $48,030.  This amount can be quite daunting for a young person fresh out of University but who has found themselves unemployed. 

With the HECS threshold dropping from the initial $51,957 to the new threshold of $45,881, many students will find themselves having to pay off their debts earlier than they thought. This could have a massive impact on a student saving for their first home as a HECS debt can play a huge role in whether an individual is accepted for a home loan.

As stated in a Western Sydney report released earlier this year showing “bachelor degree attainment among young people in Western Sydney is 40% lower than elsewhere in Greater Sydney” – it is evident that there will be a large number of WSU students that do not complete their degree due to many external factors, yet they are left with a huge debt to pay back and no means to do so.

Many students, including Laura Matekovic- who is a student in her second year of Bachelor of Arts - can agree that the cost incurred with secondary study is quite overwhelming.

“I am currently working two jobs; I’m doing this so that I’m not left with a huge debt when I finish my degree.”

- Laura Matekovic Bachelor of Arts

A result of the HECS debt weighing heavily on students minds on top of the already heavy workload of university and work commitments is the mental health implications. In an interview done on Psychology today Aneeta explains “I really didn’t grasp the gravity of having so much financial assistance from the government, and then having to owe all that money back until after I actually graduated. And it was even more anxiety-provoking because I really struggled to find permanent, full-time work after leaving school.

With the newly appointed Morrison Government now applying ‘freezes’ to how many students can enrol at WSU in an act to try and push Australian’s into labour roles instead of education- comes a demand that nurses, teachers and social workers pay off their HECS debts sooner. Enforcing an early debt repayment acts as a deterrent to possible students as many students don’t have that kind of money. The ‘freeze’ is being put in place to encourage the students in Western Sydney into the career path of labour and manufacturing opposed to possible lawyers, teachers and medical staff which are all careers in high demand.

The HECS debt can affect students in a negative manner that may not have been considered by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). Umut Guler studied a Bachelor of Computer Science and has a HECS debt of approximately $31,000. Umut is also a type 1 diabetic sufferer and pays hundreds for medication each month.

“It (the HECS debt threshold decrease) makes me angry because I have a medical condition that I already pay a lot of expenses for and still have to make a living.”

- Umut Guler Bachelor of Computer Science

The cost of wanting a higher education should not impact a student’s life in a negative way- students should finish a degree feeling a sense of achievement, not the stress of how they will afford a comfortable lifestyle.

If you or someone you know needs someone to talk to in regards to mental health issues associated with their debt or degree, please click here.