Bill
Education Legislation Amendment (Overseas Debt Recovery) Bill 2015
passed, as at 2015-11-26. Education portfolio.
- Sponsor
- Not recorded
- Portfolio
- Education
Recorded stages
- introduced — 2015-09-17
- second reading — 2015-09-17
- second reading — 2015-10-15
- second reading — 2015-10-15
- third reading — 2015-10-15
- introduced — 2015-10-15
- second reading — 2015-10-15
- second reading — 2015-11-09
- second reading — 2015-11-09
- committee — 2015-11-09
- third reading — 2015-11-09
- passed — 2015-11-09
- royal assent — 2015-11-26
Divisions
- The majority voted against [an amendment](http://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2015-11-09.193.1) introduced by Greens Senator [Robert Simms](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/sa/robert_simms). ### Amendment text > *At the end of the motion, add:* > *", but the Senate calls on the Government to use existing mutual taxation agreements to assist in the identification of foreign residents and overseas travellers required to repay HELP [[Higher Education Loan Programme](https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-loan-program-help)] or TSL [[Trade Support Loan](http://www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/trade-support-loans)] debt, rather than require those residents and travellers to comply with changes in Australian law.".* ### What does this amendment mean? Senator Simms introduced this amendment in order to "tak[e] the onus off the individual" (see his [whole explanation](http://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2015-11-09.193.1)). Currently, the bills make it the responsibility of overseas Australians (or Australians planning on being overseas for over six months) to be aware of the new requirement to repay their debts and to register with the Australian Taxation Office. ### What exactly do the bills do? **These bills relate to the policy [for requiring Australians working overseas to repay their student debts](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/policies/82).** If made into law, the bills will require Australians living overseas and earning over the threshold (which was $54,126 in 2015–16) to repay their [Higher Education Loan Programme](https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-loan-program-help) (HELP) debt or [Trade Support Loan](http://www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/trade-support-loans) (TSL) debt under the same compulsory repayment scheme that applies in Australia. The bills will also require Australians with HELP or TSL debts to notify the Commissioner of Taxation if they plan to be overseas for at least 183 days or if they have been — 2015-11-09, Senate: negative, ayes 9, noes 33
- The majority voted against an [amendment](http://www.openaustralia.org.au/senate/?gid=2015-11-09.209.1) introduced by Greens Senator [Robert Simms](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/people/senate/sa/robert_simms). ### What was the amendment? The amendment was about how the bills would apply to people with student debts who already live overseas. It would have meant that the changes made by the bills wouldn't apply to those people so long as they continued to live and work overseas and didn't add to their debts at all (yearly indexation doesn't count as adding to your debt). ### What are the changes made by the bills? **These bills relate to the policy [for requiring Australians working overseas to repay their student debts](https://theyvoteforyou.org.au/policies/82).** If made into law, the bills will require Australians living overseas and earning over the threshold (which was $54,126 in 2015–16) to repay their [Higher Education Loan Programme](https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-loan-program-help) (HELP) debt or [Trade Support Loan](http://www.australianapprenticeships.gov.au/trade-support-loans) (TSL) debt under the same compulsory repayment scheme that applies in Australia. The bills will also require Australians with HELP or TSL debts to notify the Commissioner of Taxation if they plan to be overseas for at least 183 days or if they have been overseas for at least 183 days over any 12 month period. The notification will have to occur either: * no later than seven days after leaving Australia; or * no later than seven days after the end of those 183 days See [StudyAssist](http://studyassist.gov.au/sites/studyassist/helpfulresources/pages/2015%20budget%20-%20student%20overview) for information about when these changes will come into effect. Previously, Australians with HELP or TSL debts who moved overseas didn't have to make any repayments, regardless of how much they earned. Nor did they have to notify the Commissioner if they went overseas. For more infor — 2015-11-09, Senate: negative, ayes 9, noes 32
- Education Legislation Amendment (Overseas Debt Recovery) Bill 2015, Student Loans (Overseas Debtors Repayment Levy) Bill 2015 - Third Reading - Pass the bill — 2015-11-09, Senate: affirmative, ayes 31, noes 9
Plain-language summary
Written by a model from the explanatory memorandum; not the record, as at 2015-09-17.
This bill would make Australians living abroad repay their student loans and trade support loans under the same rules as those in Australia.
It would amend the Higher Education Support Act 2003 and the Trade Support Loans Act 2014 to require repayments based on worldwide income, collected through a levy.
The new rules would start on 1 January 2016 or the day after royal assent, whichever is later, and debtors overseas would need to register with the Australian Taxation Office by 1 July 2017.
- Extends the HELP and TSL repayment framework to debtors living overseas.
- Imposes repayment obligations on overseas debtors based on their worldwide income.
- Requires debtors going overseas for more than six months to register with the ATO.
- Sets repayment rates and thresholds to mirror those for debtors in Australia.
Australians living overseas with HELP or TSL debts.
Sources
em
billhome
frl act