Calls to reform Australia’s student debt scheme as loan holders face ‘deeply unjust’ 7.1% rise

The National Union of Students has welcomed independent MP Zoe Daniel’s support to tackle ‘the crisis of skyrocketing student debt’. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Australians with student debt face the highest increase in decades from 1 June, leading to calls from a growing group of MPs and advocates for the government to urgently reform the repayment system amid the cost-of-living crisis.

The March quarterly figures, released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday, revealed the consumer price index (CPI) for the first three months of 2023 was at an annual rate of 7%, down from the 32-year high in December of 7.8%, but up on last March’s 5.1%.