Published
- $27,739
- Average outstanding HELP debt per debtor, 2024–25
- 2.96m
- Australians with an outstanding HELP debt at 30 June 2025
- $82.2b
- Total outstanding HELP debt nationally, up from $12.4b in 2005–06
- 10.2 yrs
- Average time to repay a HELP debt in full, 2024–25
HECS debt by degree, field of study and gender in AustraliaHECS-HELP is the loan that covers the student contribution for a Commonwealth supported place, commonly known as HECS, where the government subsidises part of the course cost. In 2026, that contributi…
How HECS has changed since 1989: debt, fees and policy over timeHECS began in 1989 with a flat annual charge of $1,800, a compulsory repayment threshold of $22,000, and a maximum repayment rate of 3% of income for the highest earners. That single, flat-rate design…
How long does it take to repay HECS debt in 2026?The minimum income needed to start repaying a HECS-HELP debt is $69,528 in the 2026–27 financial year, up from $54,435 just two years earlier. From 1 July 2025, compulsory repayments are calculated on…Section 01 · The headline number
What is the average HECS debt in Australia in 2026?
The average outstanding HELP debt in Australia was $27,739 in the 2024-25 financial year, up slightly from $27,641 the year before and 165% higher than two decades ago. Across the country, 2,962,650 debtors owed a combined $82.18 billion.
The government has separately cited a benchmark average of $27,600 when explaining the 20% debt reduction applied to eligible student loan balances. The small difference reflects rounding in public communications. Using that benchmark, a 20% reduction would remove about $5,520 from an average balance. This is a basic calculation based on the government's published example, not a separate ATO average.
Indexation of 2.8% was applied to eligible balances on 1 June 2026. The minimum repayment threshold for 2025-26 is $67,000, meaning no compulsory repayments are required on income below that level. From 2025-26, the repayment system shifted from a flat-rate structure to a marginal system, where only income above the threshold attracts compulsory repayments.
These changes followed a period of unusually high indexation. In 2023, a rate of 7.1% was originally applied to HELP balances, the highest in the published rate series going back to 2013. The government subsequently legislated a cap tying indexation to the lower of the Consumer Price Index or the Wage Price Index, and retrospectively reduced the 2023 rate to 3.2% and the 2024 rate from 4.7% to 4.0%. The one-off 20% debt reduction, which according to the government removed over $16 billion in student debt for more than 3 million borrowers, was part of the same reform package.
| Measure | Figure | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Average outstanding HELP debt | $27,739 | 2024 to 25 (ATO) |
| Government benchmark average | $27,600 | Government debt-reduction example |
| 20% reduction on benchmark average | $5,520 | Applied 2025 |
| Indexation rate | 2.8% | Applied 1 June 2026 |
| Minimum repayment threshold | $67,000 | 2025 to 26 |
Source · ATO HELP statistics 2024-25; Department of Education; Study Assist.
Section 02 · Distribution
How HECS debt is distributed across borrowers
The median HELP debt in Australia falls in the $20,001 to $30,000 range, below the $27,739 average. Nearly 47% of debtors owe $20,000 or less, while 1.9% of debtors, or 57,707 people, owe more than $100,000.
The gap between the two figures reflects a right-skewed distribution: a relatively small number of very large debts can pull the average above the midpoint that most debtors actually experience. These high-value balances are what push the national average above the median.
- 46.9%
- of debtors owe $20,000 or less
- 14.6%
- owe more than $50,000
- 1.9%
- owe more than $100,000 (57,707 people)
A borrower with a $20,000 balance is below the national average but close to the median range. A borrower with a $60,000 balance is well above average and, based on the ATO's published debt bands, would sit roughly within the highest 10% to 15% of HELP debtors by balance size. This is an estimate based on published balance ranges, not a directly published ATO percentile.
Section 03 · Borrower count
How many Australians have a HECS debt?
At 30 June 2025, 2,962,650 Australians had an outstanding HELP debt. That was up from 1,185,432 in 2005–06, a 150% increase over two decades. The increase may reflect expanded higher education participation, accumulated indexation on unpaid balances and changes in the mix of HELP loan types.
A derived estimate suggests about 5.8 million Australians have held a HELP debt at some point since the scheme began in 1989. This figure is calculated by combining current debtors, people who have fully repaid a HELP debt and debts written off due to death.
The debtor count peaked at 3,002,984 in 2021-22, eased over the following two years, then edged back up to 2,962,650 in 2024-25.
Since 1989, 2,778,392 individuals have fully repaid their HELP debt. A further 1,363,506 current debtors have never made any repayment, whether compulsory or voluntary, and 23,324 debts have been written off due to death.
Most current debtors are not making compulsory repayments in any given year. HELP repayment income is assessed using the prior year's tax return, so the income data reported against 2024–25 reflects 2023–24 earnings. The compulsory repayment threshold that applied in 2023–24 was $51,550. Around 63% of current debtors had HELP repayment income below $50,000 or had not lodged a return. A further 7.5% fell in the $50,000 to $59,999 band, which partly overlapped that threshold, and about 30% had income of $60,000 or more. This pattern, combined with continuing indexation, may help explain why the national total keeps growing even as many debtors make repayments each year.
- 5.8m
- have fully repaid, currently owe, or have had a HELP debt written off since 1989
- 2.78m
- have fully repaid their HELP debt
- 63%
- of current debtors had repayment income below $50,000 or had not lodged a return
Section 04 · National total
Total outstanding HECS debt in Australia
Outstanding HELP debt stood at $82.18 billion at 30 June 2025, up from $12.4 billion in 2005-06. The total has risen in all but one year of the published series, with a small dip in 2019-20. New lending and annual indexation have generally outpaced repayment flows, even as millions of individual debtors have made repayments.
Since the HELP scheme began in 1989, a cumulative total of $125.3 billion has been lent to students. Of that, $52.1 billion has been recovered through compulsory repayments and $11.8 billion through voluntary repayments. Cumulative indexation has added $21.8 billion to balances over the same period, equivalent to about 42% of the amount recovered through compulsory repayments.
Outstanding HELP debt by state and territory
New South Wales has the most HELP debtors at 902,137, owing $25.84 billion combined. Victoria is close behind with 817,167 debtors and $23.67 billion. Those two states together account for 58% of all HELP debtors nationally.
Average debt per debtor varies more than the raw totals suggest. Victoria has the highest state average at $28,971, followed by New South Wales at $28,644 and the ACT at $28,126. Tasmania ($22,709) and the Northern Territory ($22,994) have the lowest averages.
| State/territory | Debtors | Total debt | Average debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | 902,137 | $25.84b | $28,644 |
| VIC | 817,167 | $23.67b | $28,971 |
| QLD | 611,457 | $16.36b | $26,756 |
| WA | 265,221 | $6.83b | $25,748 |
| SA | 202,083 | $5.23b | $25,875 |
| ACT | 55,332 | $1.56b | $28,126 |
| TAS | 52,462 | $1.19b | $22,709 |
| NT | 17,375 | $0.40b | $22,994 |
| Overseas | 35,222 | $1.03b | $29,351 |
Source · ATO, HELP statistics 2024-25, table 6.
The 35,222 Australians living overseas carry the highest average balance of any group in this table, at $29,351.
Section 05 · Trend
How the average HECS debt has grown over 20 years
Average outstanding HELP debt has risen from $10,459 in 2005-06 to $27,739 in 2024-25, a 165% increase. The average crossed $20,000 for the first time in 2016-17 and $25,000 in 2022-23.
Several factors may have contributed to this growth. Student contribution amounts have changed over time, including a 2021 shift in per-field pricing under the Job-ready Graduates package. FEE-HELP lending, which typically involves higher balances than HECS-HELP, has expanded. Annual indexation has also compounded on outstanding balances: the 7.1% rate applied in 2023, before its retrospective reduction to 3.2%, was the highest in the published rate series. Even at the lower rates applied more recently, indexation on a debt stock of more than $80 billion adds billions of dollars to the national total each year.
The average time to repay a HELP debt in full has also lengthened, from 7.3 years in 2005-06 to 10.2 years in 2024-25. Longer repayment periods mean balances are exposed to more years of indexation before being cleared.
The debtor population grew by about 87% between 2005-06 and 2014-15, while average debt grew by 73% over the same period. Debtor numbers then levelled off near 3 million from around 2018-19 onward, but the average has kept climbing as existing balances continue to accumulate indexation.
| Year | Debtors | Total debt | Average debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–06 | 1,185,432 | $12.40b | $10,459 |
| 2008–09 | 1,371,914 | $17.82b | $12,990 |
| 2011–12 | 1,680,700 | $25.53b | $15,191 |
| 2014–15 | 2,223,041 | $40.18b | $18,075 |
| 2016–17 | 2,659,057 | $53.99b | $20,303 |
| 2018–19 | 2,972,032 | $66.65b | $22,425 |
| 2021–22 | 3,002,984 | $74.39b | $24,771 |
| 2024–25 | 2,962,650 | $82.18b | $27,739 |
Source · ATO, HELP statistics 2024–25.
Section 06 · Age breakdown
How much HECS debt does each age group owe?
The 20 to 29 age group accounts for 42.5% of all HELP debtors in Australia and carries an average balance of $31,727. The 30 to 39 group holds a marginally higher average at $31,801. Together, people under 40 make up 75.8% of all HELP debtors.
Average debt declines progressively in older age groups: $23,791 for 40 to 49, $19,310 for 50 to 59, $17,814 for 60 to 69, and $14,711 for those 70 and over. This may reflect lower historical student contribution amounts, longer repayment periods and differences in the types of study undertaken by older cohorts.
The number of debtors aged 70 and over rose from 3,167 in 2005–06 to 52,563 in 2024–25, a more than fifteen-fold increase. This shows that a growing number of older Australians still had outstanding HELP balances at the end of the financial year.
Women make up 61.1% of all HELP debtors. Female debtors carry a lower average balance, at $26,710, than male debtors, at $29,355. The gap varies by age group. In the 30 to 39 bracket, for example, the average female debt is $30,235, compared with $34,371 for men. This data does not break debt down by field of study.
| Where a HELP balance sits nationally | ||
|---|---|---|
| Debt band | Debtors in band | Debtors owing less |
| $10,000 or less | 795,017 | 0 |
| $10,001–$20,000 | 594,071 | 795,017 |
| $20,001–$30,000 | 507,953 | 1,389,088 |
| $30,001–$40,000 | 380,158 | 1,897,041 |
| $40,001–$50,000 | 252,243 | 2,277,199 |
| $50,001–$70,000 | 244,571 | 2,529,442 |
| $70,001–$100,000 | 130,930 | 2,774,013 |
| Over $100,000 | 57,707 | 2,904,943 |
Source · ATO, HELP statistics 2024 to 25, table 5.
Section 07
Frequently asked questions
What is the average HECS debt in Australia right now?
The average outstanding HELP debt, commonly referred to as HECS debt, was $27,739 at 30 June 2025, based on the latest ATO data for the 2024–25 financial year. The government has also used a rounded benchmark of $27,600 in public communications about the 20% debt reduction.
How many Australians have a HECS debt?
At 30 June 2025, 2,962,650 Australians had an outstanding HELP balance. The debtor count peaked at just over 3 million in 2021–22. A derived estimate suggests about 5.8 million Australians have either currently held, fully repaid, or had a HELP debt written off since the scheme began in 1989.
What is the total HECS debt in Australia?
Total outstanding HELP debt was $82.18 billion at 30 June 2025. Since 1989, a cumulative total of $125.3 billion has been lent through the HELP scheme.
Which state has the highest average HECS debt?
Victoria has the highest average HELP debt among the states and territories at $28,971 per debtor, followed by New South Wales at $28,644 and the ACT at $28,126. Australians living overseas carry an average of $29,351, the highest of any group in the ATO state and territory table. Tasmania has the lowest state average at $22,709.
Is HECS the same as HELP?
HECS is the common term many Australians use for student loan debt, but HELP is the official broader system used in the ATO data. HECS-HELP is one type of loan within HELP, alongside FEE-HELP, OS-HELP and SA-HELP. This article uses "HECS debt" as the reader-facing term, while the statistics are based on official HELP debt data.
What happened to HECS indexation in 2023?
The 2023 HELP indexation rate was originally 7.1%, before being retrospectively reduced to 3.2% under the new rule capping indexation at the lower of CPI or WPI. The 2024 rate was also reduced from 4.7% to 4.0%. A separate one-off 20% debt reduction removed more than $16 billion in student debt.
References
- Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) Statistics — data.gov.au · data.gov.au
- Department of Education: HELP Indexation and Debt Reduction · education.gov.au
- Department of Education, Legislation to reduce student loan debt passes Parliament · education.gov.au
- Study Assist, Indexation of 2.8% will be applied to your study loan on 1 June 2026 · studyassist.gov.au
- ATO Study and Training Support Loans Indexation Rates · ato.gov.au
- ATO Study and Training Support Loans Rates and Repayment Thresholds · ato.gov.au
- Department of Education, Reporting of HELP Receivable · education.gov.au