‘It’s perverse’: how Australia’s student loan scheme traps graduates in a debt spiral

The new indexation rate is expected to be about 7%, causing Help debts to soar as Labor faces calls to ease the pain on graduates. Composite: Alamy/Guardian design

Zoe thought 2023 would be the first year she’d make a dent in her $123,000 student debt.

The arts law graduate from Victoria has been working full-time in the public service sector for five years. In that time her higher education loan program – previously the higher education contribution scheme hasn’t shifted, even though she has been making payments on it for five years.