11. Hon TAU HENARE (National) Link to this
to the Minister for Tertiary Education
What action is the Government taking to ensure overseas-based student loan borrowers are meeting their repayment obligations?
Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister for Tertiary Education) Link to this
We are expanding our successful debt-recovery programme, which is a pilot programme in conjunction with the Minister of Revenue, Peter Dunne, to target a further 50,000 debtors in Australia and the United Kingdom. This follows an Inland Revenue Department pilot that targeted around 1,000 Australia-based loanholders, which has in the past 10 months led to the recovery of more than $6.6 million. This extended campaign will see loanholders across those two countries contacted either directly or through their nominated contact person in New Zealand to pay the arrears or set up payment arrangements. Legal action will follow for cases of continued non-compliance.
How do the repayments of overseas-based borrowers compare with those of New Zealand - based borrowers?
Most New Zealand - based borrowers comply with their repayment obligations. In fact, the median repayment time for New Zealand - based borrowers after they leave tertiary study is just 4½ years, compared with overseas-based borrowers at around 14 years. Student loan borrowers need to understand that if they choose to access the loan scheme, they are also choosing to take on the responsibilities that come with it, even if they head overseas. We remain committed to providing interest-free student loans, so improving the repayment rate by overseas borrowers is a priority in order to deliver greater value for taxpayers, who fund the student loan scheme.