I followed all the advice from adults – but now it’s backfiring and left me with a hefty bill of $76,000

When Jordyn Avery thought about her dream job in fashion, lingering $76,000 debt was never part of the vision.

In high school, student debt was not a popular topic of conversation.

Instead, she and her cohort were encouraged to pursue whatever course of study would take them to their desired career – and it was assumed that everyone would go to university.

She never imagined that her academic achievements would leave her racking up tens of thousands of student loans at the age of 24, and wondered if she would ever be able to pay it all off.

“It was definitely swept under the rug,” Ms. Avery said.

‘Currently my HECS is $16,000 more than my annual salary, so even the idea of ​​being able to pay it all off feels completely unrealistic at the moment.’

Taking her love of fashion and design to tertiary level, Ms Avery proudly completed two bachelor’s degrees: Communication Design from Monash University and Fashion and Sustainability from Collarts.

Although both degrees were rewarding and useful, the costs were “spooky.”

“At school everyone encourages you to take the subjects you’re good at, and that’s exactly what I did – and I couldn’t see myself working in any other industry or job or field,” Ms Avery said.

‘You’re told to pursue what you want, and if it’s a creative industry the government hits back and says, ‘Have you actually considered anything else?’

“I want to do this because I’m interested in this and passionate about it, and I shouldn’t be punished for pursuing a creative education.”

Eligible students in Australia can pay off their degrees using a HECS-HELP loan: a Higher Education Contribution Scheme and High Education Loan Plan.

When a graduate starts earning more than $51,550, HECS refunds come out of wages in the same way as income tax.

Repayment rates start at one percent of a person’s salary, but increase dramatically to ten percent once graduates earn $151,201 or more.

The 24-year-old completed two bachelor’s degrees in fashion and racked up a debt of $76,000 – more than her annual salary

Although HECS debts do not earn interest, the amount is indexed against inflation annually on July 1 – meaning the debts were indexed by 7.1 percent last year.

This means that even if Mrs. Avery had voluntarily made payments on the debt last year, the total amount owed would not have decreased.

“My HECS went up about $4,000 last year because of indexing,” she said.

“By the time I would have paid off a significant portion of it, the amount it increased by would have wiped out that payment anyway.

“So it added a lot more money to what I’ve now paid off.”

Victorian Independent MP Dr. Monique Ryan recently launched a campaign to update, modernize and equalize the HECS system.

By starting an online petition, Dr. Ryan has easily collected more than 200,000 messages of support.

In the introduction to the petition, she criticized the system as ‘broken’.

“Last year, over a million Australians saw their HECS debt grow faster than it was repaid, because of an unfair indexation system,” she wrote.

‘The government got more money from our HECS debts last year than from the main fossil fuel tax.

‘As we sign this petition, Education Secretary Jason Clare is deciding what to do about HECS debt.

“We are calling on Minister Clare to change the way HECS debt is indexed.”

She fears she will be in debt for a lifetime and not be able to get a mortgage

She said studying and studying at university should be celebrated and not punished financially, rather than “overloading” students with a “lifetime of debt”.

“One option is for the government to apply the lowest indexation rate in a year, whether on wages or prices, so that no one’s debts rise faster than he or she can pay,” she wrote.

‘Young people are facing a housing crisis, a cost of living crisis and a climate crisis – they shouldn’t also be facing a HECS debt crisis.’

Ms Avery said the stress of HECS was far-reaching and may even have put her off buying a house.

“It’s frustrating because even someone with a really good credit score still can’t get a mortgage because of their HECS debt,” she said.

“The idea of ​​buying a house or paying off debt is completely unattainable for me, especially in the cost of living crisis.”

The final report of the Australian Universities Accord – which examined long-term solutions to the problems facing the nation’s higher education system – overwhelmingly found that ‘significant change is needed’

“Small reforms to programs and funding will not be enough,” the report concluded.

‘Higher student contribution amounts… have significantly and unfairly increased the amount students pay back.

‘While the HELP system protects students by ensuring repayments grow with their income, pressure on living costs and higher than usual inflation rates have increased concerns about the HELP system.’

Victorian Independent MP Dr. Monique Ryan (pictured) launched a petition calling for a modernized and equal HECS debt system, which attracted more than 200,000 signatures

Recommendations from the review included changing the timing of indexation to deduct mandatory repayments first and ensuring people’s debts do not grow faster than their wages.

Education Minister Jason Clare addressed the review in a statement, saying it would help “build a better and fairer education system.”

‘Under Bob Hawke and Paul Keating, the number of Australians completing secondary school rose from about 40 percent to almost 80 percent. That was nation-changing,” Mr Clare said.

‘The Accord says that in the coming years we will need 80 per cent of the workforce to not only complete high school, but also to complete TAFE or university.

‘The Agreement will help bring about this change. It will help us build a better and fairer education system where no one is held back and no one is left behind.

“This is not a one-budget plan, but a blueprint for the next decade and beyond.”

Despite apparently stagnant talks from the government, Ms Avery said it was an urgent problem and urgent action was needed to address it.

“It’s not like I wanted to have this $76,000 debt for my education,” she said.

‘I don’t think it’s fair for my HECS to be so high because it’s not a representation of how intelligent you are, how hard you’ve worked or anything like that.

‘I literally can’t see a day where I don’t have HECS debt.’