hecs

HECS-HELP is a loan scheme for eligible students enrolled in Commonwealth-supported places to pay for the cost of your course. It doesn't extend to additional costs such as accommodation or textbooks. To help you better understand how these loans affect ... More

A proposal to recover unpaid HECS/HELP debt from deceased estates has been slammed by one of the founders of the education loan system. ANU Professor Bruce Chapman, who helped design the system, said the Grattan Institute's proposal goes against ... More

With the Coalition's anticipated April budget package of $158 billion in tax cuts unlikely to start on July 1, 2019, can Australians look forward to any joy when it comes to tax? We found a few changes that might help. Australians will have to wait ... More

Q. I have just turned 27 and, like many other Australians, I dream of owning my own property. I'm originally from Adelaide, where one can purchase a reasonable three- or four-bedroom family home for around $400,000- $450,000. In Melbourne , where I ... More

"Good afternoon. I'm just wondering... is it possible to get a loan just to, um... afford my life?" This was an actual phone call I made to a bank just a few years ago. I already had a student loan, car loan and HECS debt, and found myself in urgent ... More

A 30-year-old earning $80,000 has similar challenges to those on other incomes: a substantial tax bill ($20,000pa), a barrage of information about where to invest and, above all else, a desire to live life on their own terms. With little in the way ... More

Q. My husband [26] and I [27] own four investment properties in Brisbane with 10% equity - they are negatively or neutrally geared with interest-only payments. We have a large investment property mortgage of $2.3 million and we owe HECS debt but no ... More

Do I pay off my HECS-HELP loan or save? With an interest rate equal to the inflation rate, this is one of the cheapest debts around. So if you have any other debts, pay them off first. If not, then you'd be better off saving, provided your net return ... More

Amex points can soon be spent on Airbnb stays Peer-to-peer accommodation website Airbnb recently launched a new "fintech" program to add to its successful operations. In November it announced a new partnership with American Express, where holders of ... More

Nicki: I'm 32 with no dependants and earn around $70,000 gross a year. The only assets I have are my vehicle, jewellery and electronics. My super is $86,000 and I have a HECS debt of around $26,000, and around $30,000 of personal loans and credit card ... More