The Stealth Tax Crushing Graduates | Canberra News

Students in Australia are quietly paying a hidden tax—interest on debt they’ve already repaid—because loan balances adjust for inflation or wage growth without subtracting annual payments. Since 2021, living costs for students have surged 29%, forcing cuts in spending and harming academic focus. Independent MP Monique Ryan’s bill aims to fix this, estimating students will overpay $3.2 billion over ten years. Compounding the issue, the Job-ready Graduates Package raised fees for some courses while lowering them for others, without changing enrollment trends—and still saddling students with higher debt. This “stealth tax” is crippling graduates’ ability to thrive in a high-cost economy, sparking urgent calls for reform. Support the show:Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/6d6498b6d2f0daa2