SFSS – Student Financial Supplement Loan - Repayment Thresholds and Rates 2019
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The Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS) was a voluntary loan scheme for tertiary students to help cover their expenses while they studied

SFSS – Student Financial Supplement Loan

The SFSS closed on 31 December 2003 and no new loans have been issued. Existing Financial Supplement debts will continue to be collected through the Australian Taxation system.

If you took out a Student Financial Supplement Loan between the years of 1993 and 2003, you are required to repay some of your debt if your Repayment Income (RI) is greater than the thresholds in the table below.

The Repayment Income (RI) is your taxable income plus any total net investment loss (which includes net rental losses), total reportable fringe benefits amounts, reportable super contributions and exempt foreign employment income.

Hopefully, you have notified your pay office that you have an SFSS debt so that they can take extra PAYG Withholding on your behalf to cover your obligations. For the 2022 – 23 year, your employer will start withholding SFSS if your wages exceed $930 per week.

When you have lodged your 2023 tax return, based on your Repayment Income (RI) the ATO will calculate how much SFSS will need to be paid

Unfortunately, the SFSS has no provision to make any voluntary payments.

The SFSS is calculated by your pay office and the extra tax is withheld from your wages, in most cases enough that will be enough to cover your SFFS obligation when your tax return is completed.

Reportable Fringe Benefits

In some cases, if you are receiving reportable fringe benefits it may be wise to ask your pay office to withhold extra PAYG Withholding to cover a possible shortfall in SFSS at the end of the year.

I have been asked by clients, if is it worth salary sacrificing and receiving a reportable fringe benefit with the possibility of paying extra off the SFSS loan. Yes is my answer, the amount of tax saved by salary sacrificing will far outweigh any extra payments off your SFSS loan, keeping in mind that any extra payments will mean that your loan will be paid off earlier.

New SFSS Rates

From 1 July 2022, all study and training loans are covered by one set of thresholds and rates.

The hierarchy in which compulsory repayments are applied to study and training loans is:

  • HELP
  • VSL
  • SFSS
  • SSL
  • ABSTUDY SSL
  • TSL

If you have a HELP debt and an SFSS debt, once the HELP debt is paid off, the ATO will start applying the payment to the SFSS Debt.

Repayment income (RI)Repayment rate
Below $48,361Nil
$48,361 – $55,8361.0%
$55,837 – $59,1862.0%
$59,187 – $62,7382.5%
$62,739 – $66,5023.0%
$66,503 – $70,4923.5%
$70,493 – $74,7224.0%
$74,723 – $79,2064.5%
$79,207 – $83,9585.0%
$83,959 – $88,9965.5%
$88,997 – $94,3366.0%
$94,337 – $99,9966.5%
$99,997 – $105,9967.0%
$105,997 – $112,3557.5%
$112,356 – $119,0978.0%
$119,098 – $126,2438.5%
$126,244 – $133,8189.0%
$133,819 – $141,8479.5%
$141,848 and above10%

Example of how the payment works

For example, if your income is $58,000, you will be required to repay 2% as your income is between $55,837 – $59,186 per annum, 2% of $58,000 is $1160. It is important to note that the repayment rate is subject to change each financial year, so it is best to check with the relevant government website for the most up-to-date information.

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250 Comments

  1. Has anything happened with the class action? I would also be interested.. 30 k of hecs and sfss is costing me nearly 400 a week..

  2. Hey all,

    Having looked at your comments, and seeing that over four years a whole lot of pissed off people have amassed (and rightly so! way to exploit the young, naive and financially desperate! Imagine how many more there are out there!), I’m wondering if anyone is actually gonna step up to the plate and lead this thing! It isn’t enough to whinge about it. I discovered today that I have been unknowingly had $50/fortnight withheld from my pay to pay off this damn loan, and more from my tax return. at this rate it will still take me years to repay it, yet I only got an extra $50 a week for a year! Unbelievable. We need lawyers who will fight this injustice. They scrapped it because it was blatantly unethical, yet still pass on the entire debt, plus interest? Hmm. We need to action on this.

  3. I am also ashamed that I was naive enough to take out one of these loans. Any help that we can get to stop the increases at the very least would help immensely. Please let me know if anyone makes any headway. If I make a repayment of $3000 will I still get a Tax Debt at EOFY?
    Thanks again for your help.

  4. Yes, myself as well has been scammed.

    I was on a single parent pension and trying to raise three children on my own – I went to TAFE to better myself and to try and re-educate myself and get a job – thought the governement would be happy to have me off centrelink payments. I too agreed to this riduculous loan, not being aware of the implications and how it would come back to bite me many years later.
    I gave $50.00 a fortnight from austudy to gain $100.00 a fortnight, which in turn didnt help out alot anyways.

    So, many years later, I finally have a job that is a good income, and go to do my taxes, and now I have a debt to the government.

    So, over the twelve months I got $50.00 a fortnight which equals $1300 and now I owe at least five times that amount.

    The rich get richers and the rest of us seem to work harder for nothing.

  5. OMG
    I just realised that my 35k loan is now a 60k loan with all the interest over the years….this is unacceptable.

    And the only way to get rid of it is to DIE. WTH??????

    Ahhhhh so the government is telling us that’s ok if you just want to get rid of it then just kill yourself.
    because if I work all my life I will not be able to pay it off anyway.

    I didn’t even understand what I was signing when I applied for that. I was just told that instead of getting $200 a fortnight I will now get $300. Niceeee, of course I will take that.

    but hey we didn’t tell you that you will suffer the rest of your life, because once you graduate you will be working for us to pay the 60k loan you owe us.

  6. Hi, I was also one of these low income, immature and ill-informed individuals who availed themself of this loan when I moved away from home to study at the age of 17. The extra money was extremely useful at the time as my family was in no position to support me financially. Now I find myself saddled with a $14,000 or so loan, and being hopefully a little wiser, I am left wondering how on earth the government and commonwealth bank were legally allowed to collude in offering these schemes to vulnerable people. It boggles my mind how it can be legal to ‘trade in’ a government payment you are entitled to and turn it into a ‘loan’. Im happy to pay back the loan portion, with interest, but to have to pay back a government payment which I was entitled to at the time seems extremely unfair. I also would be more than happy to be a part of any inquiry, legal action etc, to rectify the gross unfairness of this scheme.

  7. Any news re this SFSS ? I would love to be able to just wipe mine -happy to pay back what was borrowed, but the indexation is like perpetual servitude , and grossly unfair . I really wish I could stop my younger self from taking on this absolutely ill informed decision. I was not made aware of ANY of the consequences when I signed up , I wonder just how much consumer disclosure about financial products has changed from then to now. soetjf -at-gmail

  8. I too stupidly took out a number of loans in the 90s when I was a single parent with 2 kids trying to get my degree. My supplement debt has now overtaken my HECs and is growing by the minute. I Now find myself in a decent job earning good money have to pay top of the band for HECS and supplement meaning Im paying an extra 12% tax on my income. I have deferred my supplement for the past 3 years as if I factor that in I cant afford to meet all my obligations. It was the biggest scam ever perpetrated against low income people in Australia. I think it is a human rights violation and maybe we should talk to the UN. What do others think?

  9. Drowning, drowning in it. I had a $5,000 loan now well over $50,000. What the hell!They sent me a payment slip. What a joke.
    I rang the ATO and explained that I couldn’t possibly pay it in 10 days. I received no support or help at all from them.
    Now I am about to be hit with the next round of interest. I was told the loan would be interest free at the time. Help

    1. Considering the scheme only began in 1993, you borrowed $5000, and the loan increases only by CPI, I cant see how it is possible you now owe over $50,000. I had a loan of approximately $12000 over 2 years in 93/94, which is now around $13,000 and I have only paid back a minimal amount through tax over the past 5 years or so.

  10. Well i agree that it was the biggest rip off of low income earners trying to improve their education. I too took out the loan as I was supporting a wife and 2 young children. i was at uni from 1992 to 1996 and took out the loan for most of the time just to pay rent and put food on the table. When I got the SFSS statement from the ATO this year it said I had a balance of $2117.00. After processing my tax return I only owed $52.94. I have now completed the repayment of the SFSS loan after 16 years, I was earnng over the threshold from the day I finished uni. And if there is a class action then I would like to be involved too.

  11. Great to see others questioning the merits of this scheme (scam) – I will certainly join any action taken on this – I work in finance and suspect any private organisation that attempted to market a similar product with such a lack of disclosure around the financial implications to a typically young and financially struggling market would be torn down immediately. Students like me who took this were backed into a corner – a government program designed to help with 100% interest accumulated at inception – and interest on that interest for the life of the loan. Here I am over $50,000 of debt later with a young family, thanks for nothing!!!

  12. I was shocked and embarrassed when I received a statement in the mail for my supplement loan debt of 50k a few years ago. I didn’t know what to do and because I had started full time work again, thought that the deductions from my salary would reduce it over time. However, four years later, it is over 50k despite deductions, because of indexations of 3.5k pa. It seems that it will never get paid off even though I’m working full time. Like many of you, I was a poor student struggling to survive whilst studying for a degree. I had no support from family and living in an expensive city of Melbourne. I did part time work of 10-15 hous pw on top of full time study, but it was unbelievable that the government reduced my austudy payments when I earnt over a certain amount per week. So I couldn’t earn enough money to live and pay for uni expenses, which forced me to take out the supplement loan to the maximum over 4 years. Now, 15 years later, it had increased to a staggering amount that contradicts its primary purpose: the supplement loan was meant to help those who are disadvantaged, but it has had the reverse effect: I feel overwhelmingly ashamed, stupid and stuck in debt thanks to our supposedly fair society. I am so glad I’m not the only one here and that people want class action. We need to do something.

  13. Took out several loans in the late 90’s while studying at TAFE and receiving AUSTUDY. At the time I was living at home with my mother, who was on a disability pension. My parents had separated and my sister had left home so financially times were very tough. I too have been scammed by this scheme believing at the time I would have to only pay half of it back, now my debt has risen to over 26k and ive only now passed the repayment threshold. We all really need to take a stand on this and contact any solicitors/lawyers we know of to see if there is any way we can have our loan repayments either reduced, (repay only what we borrowed) or have it completely removed from our tax records. We should get a website up and running so that anyone who had been affected by this sign a petition so we can take this to the highest level if need be. Im happy to assist in any way to have this scam put out to the mainstream media to raise awareness so that further action can be taken

  14. SCAM!!! Like many of you, i was in need of finanacial support to purchase a PC for studies during ’97 to keep up with the subjects that i had been studying at the time. My parents were hard workers but were low income earners. A friend referred me to the SFSS loan and i thought it was a good idea at the time. I was 17, desperate, naive and eager to recieve good grades when i signed for a loan of 4000. 15yrs later and i am being punished from my government for needing their support. And im still paying taxes!!, I will make sure that word of mouth gets this site more comments and attention so that we can hear from more people who have been affected. Time for some action!!

  15. Being a little older, I missed out on the introduction of these loans, but I know if I’d been a student when they were introduced, I would have also been scammed, as I was quite broke at the time.

    I have recently however, been helping a friend with tax matters. She took out a loan in the nineties, when two months in, her circumstances changed and she only accessed a quarter of it. She assumed the Commonwealth Bank would pay the remaining amount back, but we recently discovered that it appears only a third of her unused loan was returned to the government. So her debt started out at triple the amount she actually accessed (if we use the arguments above – it works out to six times what she actually borrowed). She has only been in a high enough tax bracket in the last couple of years to need to start paying it back, so was unaware of the amount it had escalated to, until after all bank records had been eradicated. We are kind of stuck about how to even begin to sort this one out.

    Any ideas, anyone?

  16. I am the same, i was just out of school and they let me get out a loan, the government, the money got taxed then so i didn’t really even notice it. Now it’s something i stress about every year, every new job. The amount it has gone up with interest is out of this world.

  17. i too have been naive back then and took out this loan. my SFSS loan is way bigger than my actual HELP debt. as some people have stated up the thread its just plain highway robbery. you sacrfice $50 off your centrelink payments to get $100 back which basically amounts to the loan you owe. interest is basically 100% the moment you take out the loan plus interest every year indexed.

    is there any update on this? has anyone done anything to address this issue? im willing to pay off my SFSS loan based on the actual amount i really loaned in the first place, in my example that would just be $50 plus any interest applicable.

  18. I also accumulated 2.5 years worth of maximum SFSS from when I was 17-19 years old. I knew what I was forgoing and getting myself into, but it’s a drag that follows you around for life 🙁

    After recently becoming interested in legal things, I wonder (and 2 people have touched on this above) – wouldn’t you be able to dispute the contract entered into while under 18?? In most circumstances minors can’t be held liable for contracts under age. Worth disputing $7000 portion (first year, while aged 17) of the debt??

    1. Minors

      Both the common law and statute operate to restrict the capacity of minors to contract. The existing mix of common law and multiple different state legislative rules in relation to the capacity of minors has rendered the assessment of the contractual capacity of minors exceedingly complex.

      Common law

      The general rule at common law is that a contract made by a minor (a person under the age of 18) is voidable. There are, however, a number of exceptions (some of which now have statutory force).

      Contracts for necessities

      A contract by a minor for necessities is binding on both parties. Necessities are determined by reference to the minor’s ‘existing life style’ and must be necessary for maintaining that lifestyle. This is given statutory force in Victoria by the Goods Act s 7.

      NASH V INMAN
      [1908] 2 KB 1

      GOODS ACT
      (VIC) S 7

      Beneficial contracts of employment

      A contract by a minor for employment is binding provided beneficial (not unfair or oppressive). A minor can, however, repudiate such a contract upon adulthood.

      The effect of minority at common law

      Contracts not falling within either of the above exceptions are voidable. However (apparently for the sake of causing confusion) the Courts treat ‘voidable’ in this context differently from voidable as normally understood in contract. Where the contract results in the minor permanently acquiring property (eg land) or involves ongoing obligations (eg partnerships) then the contract is binding unless and until avoided by the minor – the minor remains bound by any obligations that arising prior to that point.

      All other contracts entered into a minor are not binding unless ratified (taking positive steps to affirm) by a minor when they become an adult.

      Statute (Victoria)

      In Victoria (as in NSW and SA) there is significant legislation dealing with the obligations of minors under contracts. The Supreme Court Act (s 49) makes certain contracts with minors void:

      Contracts for the repayment of money lent or to be lent
      Contracts for payment for goods supplied or to be supplied (other than necessities)
      Accounts stated
      This does not include contracts for the purchase of land, provision of services or employment – the common law still applies for those contracts. While these contracts are ‘void’, this does not always mean ‘void’ in the normal sense of the word! (which is of no affect at all). In particular, it has been held property can still pass under a ‘void’ contract, and money paid by a minor can be recovered only where there is a total failure of consideration (eg, they pay money under a contract of sale and receive nothing in return). The provisions also permit loan contracts and contracts for the sale of goods to be enforced by a minor.

      In addition, protection is given to minors who purport to ratify after becoming an adult. In particular, section 50 effectively provides that a minor cannot ratify a contract made during minority (an entirely new contract would need to be entered into). Section 51 further provides that a minor who contracts alone cannot (in most cases) effectively agree (after obtaining full age) to repay all or part of that loan – any such agreement is void.

  19. In a fortnight’s time, interest will be added by the ATO. I regretfully paid mine today so that no more interest could be added. I got 10% off. I thought I’d feel better & in a way I do – no more interest & no more worrying about it! However, I still am not happy with the situation. I was told by a fellow student that you only ever had to pay it back if you earned over so much. Johnny Howard set this scheme up. 5 years later I learn that the debt has gone to the ATO? WTH??? Another page on facebook is financial redress with James Middleweek. Good luck everyone & keep in touch. Book mark this page 🙂

  20. hey everyone, sorry i posted ages ago that i would call stater and gordon and i did, but they said they would discuss it and call me back they never did.
    has anyonelse got any leads??

  21. I’d be interested in joining a class action. My SFSS debt is over $50,000 for four loans. How can the government get away with a scheme with 100% interest up front?

  22. Dear all,

    I, too, was taken advantage of under this scheme. As a rural student, I had no choice but to relocate to the city to study at university. I was unable to make ends meet on the measly ‘Austudy’ I received, and was forced to apply for the loan. I also worked part-time, to the detriment of my studies.

    Although I am currently repaying the “loan” at the highest % rate, it looks as though I will maintain this debt for MANY years to come. All of this for being a socio-economically disadvantaged rural teenager, with a desire to better my situation through tertiary education!

    I would like to see a class action suit, and would welcome any feedback on actions others have taken so far. I am looking into my options for fighting this through legal and political channels.

    Cheers,
    Jennifer

    1. i too am looking at it now… once i gather enough information i will contact my local MP and see how it goes from there…

      found this info…

      http://guidesacts.fahcsia.gov.au/guides_acts/ssg/ssguide-1/ssguide-1.2/ssguide-1.2.7/ssguide-1.2.7.40.html

      1.2.7.40 Student Financial Supplement Scheme (SFSS) – Description
      The SFSS
      No financial supplement loans are available from 1 January 2004.

      From 1 January 2004, the SFSS is closed administratively as there is no agreement with a participating corporation for the provision of financial supplement. This means that no new loans are available under this scheme from 1 January 2004.

      For existing loans, a person’s loan repayment arrangements will continue unchanged. Students may make voluntary repayments to the CBA during the first 5 years of their loan contract. The Commonwealth Government will then buy-back the loans and collect repayments through the taxation system. Loan recipients do not have to repay their loan until their income is above average weekly earnings.

      Background information
      Prior to 1 July 1998, students could access a loan under the former Austudy Scheme. The loan was previously called the Austudy Supplement. After 1 July 1998, the SFSS allowed eligible tertiary students to increase the amount of assistance they were receiving by taking out a loan under the scheme.

      Under this scheme, eligible tertiary students could trade in all or part of their YA, Austudy or PES entitlement for twice the amount in the form of a loan. Full-time tertiary students ineligible for YA because of the level of their parent’s income and/or family actual means could elect to access a SFSS loan of to up to $2,000 a year as long as their parents’ combined income and family actual means were below a certain level. The SFSS was paid fortnightly.

      Act reference: SSAct section 1061ZY Eligibility to obtain financial supplement
      Policy reference: SS Guide 1.2.1.20 Youth Allowance (YA) – Description, 1.2.2.30 Austudy Payment (Austudy) – Description

  23. I forfeited $60 per fortnight government assistance so I could be paid $120 per fortnight to help with cost of living expenses which I desperately needed at the time. 16 years later I am still trying to repay this loan through the tax office & I now owe double what I originally borrowed due to CPI increases. Not bad when it was promoted to me as an interest free loan. What happens to the debt if you never reach repayment thresholds? Lets face it if you live another 60 years the debt would be astranomical & then who pays it on your passing?

    1. If by chance you still have the debt at your passing, and if your final return is less than then the threshold then the debt doesn’t get paid.

  24. This debt is a bit overwhelming – I don’t think that there is anything that can be done accept pay it off slowly over the years, I really wish that I didn’t take this out and that I knew what I was getting myself into. $18k… 🙁

    We got screwed people.

  25. Im on board with this, Ombudsman and class action are a good start.

  26. Hello All,

    I was ripped off by this scheme in 1994 and still paying for it. Any word on a possible class action ??

    Cheers, Loret

  27. Is there something set up for those who don’t use facebook? And has anyone in a capital City contacted any solicitors to find out if it is even possible to start a lawsuit????

    Cheers

  28. Hello

    Can anyone tell me if a class action has started.

    Cheers

  29. I believe this scheme was a way to rip off the poor and they are still ripping me off every year and it never gets paid – how can they be allowed to do this to people?

  30. I was also duped by the SFSS in 2000. I borrowed 5k and lost 2.5k of Austudy in return. I then had a bad car accident a few months before the end of the uni year and had to withdraw so didnt qualify for Austudy anymore. This meant I also didnt qualify for the SFSS anymore, so they ‘back traded’ the balance of my SFSS against Austudy I had already been paid before I took out the SFSS!! Crooks!

  31. I have just created a group on facebook called ‘Ripped off with student financial supplement scheme? Lets fight for Justice…’
    http://www.facebook.com/groups/356959764336898/
    lets band together and fight for OUR rights, if we get enough people together who share the same voice and vision then who knows what will happen… lets fight for Justice!!!! 🙂

  32. I am so angry with the Australian Govt over this stupid rip off scheme that targetted students with this loan. I too was out of home and on ABSTUDY and was told by Centrelink that the only way i could finish my study would be to apply for the loan. Stupid me (against my dads advice) signed up for it. 9 years later its still there and has only got bigger even tho i am paying compulsory payments and it makes me so frikken angry.

    What i dont get is this – in order to get the loan we had to TRADE in OUR OWN ENTITLEMENTS in order to get money from the government. WHY THE HELL do we have to pay back the whole frikken amount (plus indexation) when we GAVE the stupid government HALF of the money that we were entitled to in the first place.

    The biggest scam i have heard of, the government should be ashamed of themselves for this, they have stuffed up the lives of many thru this, and to think that due to the indexation many of us will still be paying this off long after we retire.

    SHAME SHAME SHAME

    I say we hit them up with a class action, im sure there is enough of us that got sucked in by this scheme, lets fight for justice………

  33. Was also duped by this scheme…young naive and stupid with parents who didn’t have very good financial ethics. If there is a class action happening I’d be very interested in joining.

  34. Hi guys,

    I got the shock of my life when I found out the amount I have to pay for the SFSS. Like many of you I took out SFSS during the late 1990, early 2000 for 4.5 years. How stupid was that. Now some years late I am faced with a massive bill of $52143. I have been earning over the threshold for some years now, however the compulsory repayments are less than the indexation, hence every year I am finding myself in more debt as a result of this ripoff scheme. How could the government allow this to happen? I took the loan at the advise of a centrelink official. What’s more back in the late 90’s – as a newly immigrant to Australia I did not understand the English language like I do now. My understanding was that there was no interest for this loan and the trade-off or trade back of my austudy entitlements made no real sense. It would appear that the actual loan had a 200% interest applied to it upfront. The $3500 that you had to trade off from your austudy and then the actual loan. Even now I still don’t understand how can one end up having to pay back $10500 plus indexation for a miserable $3500 received. How can this be legal in a democratic and fair country like Australia??? Even the former communist regime of the country I have migrated to Australia from was not capable of ripping off its citizens like this. Anyone for class action,I would be really interested. Any advise regarding this matter will be really appreciated.

  35. I regret very much taking out the loans:I was at TAFE and out of home etc: and advised to take this loan by the admissions people; and can see now that it was a very dishonest scheme for the loanee( and an in need one at that-it should have been more explicit with the costings)
    I also did not know the extent of the amount I need to pay back until I did some taxes-and boy did I get a shock!
    I have no issue paying back the actual principal, and would happilly do so and think that was just. But the indexed CPI interest is a massive scam and we have been fooled absolutely. I really wish I could go back in time and find another way . I am so furious with myself 🙁

  36. Hello,

    If you would all like to start a group complaint, please email your details to me at a.simone.h@gmail.com
    with your name and email so that I can collate them in a group letter and petition.

    I will prepare a group complaint to the financial ombudsman.

    Alicia

  37. I borrowed 7k when i was 16 and at TAFE at that time, i’ve been working for the past 8yrs and been paying off this loan. I hardly thought twice why am i paying a loan of for 8yrs and still going.
    When i came across this site, i got the shock of my life, cant believe that we have been screwed by the so CommonWealth govt.
    Guess i would pay off my mortgage but i would still be owing money for this 7k SFSS loan.
    Absolutley no Justice

  38. I don’t remember how much I was actually loaned over the 4 years I completed my undergraduate degree while living on Austudy as an independent due to family breakdown – youth counsellors advised me to apply for the loan as it was the only way to get an allowance that would meet cost of living. 13 years later I’m now up for >$35k and the payments I made last year were LESS than the amount it was indexed.

    I don’t mind paying back what I borrowed, minus the amount of Austudy I was required to trade in, but the indexation is killing me.

  39. i worked for over 20 years -paying taxes, i was out of work for a year so i went back to school to get a diploma and increase my chances of getting more work. i had to raid supermarket bins for food so i had enough to pay rent. the best my country could offer was this 100% interest loan! as far as i’m concerned this was basically creative accounting to take advantage of desperate people. i only needed $100 a fortnight to keep out of trouble but had to give up $100 of my entitled benefit to get the extra and pay back the full $200. i new it was bad then but it was better than being on the street so i wear it but i will never Forget that the government aren’t to be trusted and are in this instance loan sharks

  40. Just found some info on the ATO Website that might help with answer 1. if anyone has a law degree and can explain in plain english what it means:

    “DECEASED ESTATE
    A trustee or executor needs to lodge all
    outstanding income tax returns on behalf
    of a deceased person, up to the date of the
    person’s death. Any compulsory repayment
    included on a notice of assessment that relates
    to the period before the person’s death must
    be paid from the estate, but the remainder
    of the accumulated debt is cancelled. Neither
    the deceased person’s family nor the trustee
    is required to pay the rest of the accumulated
    Financial Supplement debt.”

    Does this mean that if you die they take the full amount of the SFSS money from your estate? or just the amount owing for that financial year???

    The site also states that even if you go bankrupt you have to pay it back(with what money? WTF!) , as follows:

    “BANKRUPTCY
    Financial Supplement debts and accumulated
    Financial Supplement debts are not provable
    under the Bankruptcy Act 1966. This means
    you will have to pay those debts as if you had
    not been declared bankrupt.”

    http://www.ato.gov.au/content/downloads/IND00249013n2789.pdf

    This loan is unreal…………..RIPOFF!

    1. That means that if your income for the financial year is greater than the threshold then the normal amount is due, if there is any balance left on the loan then that is cancelled. Nobody else is required to pay it off.

  41. I have 2 quick questions:
    1. does anyone know what happens if you dont repay the loan? for example if someone dies? or you simply dont earn enough to ever repay it.
    2. How do I check how many loans I have signed for? (I thought I took 3 loans but have a debt of over $35,000!!!)
    cheers

    1. No one else is required to pay your loan, if you pass away the balance the load can’t be collected off any one else.

      A phone call to the ATO will provide you with the balance of your loan, or if you use the services of a tax agent they will be able to look up your balances to.

    2. I spoke to a rep at the ATO and she told me if you die the government can take everything you own and sell it. Property, cars etc

  42. I am now intending to pay this debt. Education has made me learn faster, and I’m planning on making so much money that this debt will be amount to almost nothing in terms of total earnings. I knew it was a scam at the beginning, but I took it anyway, and for this I accept responsibility. It has been a great learning experience about parasitic debt. My plan = make a lot of money quickly, solving all financial problems and kill debt permanently.

  43. I took out 3 loans when i was 18, now im 32 and boy do i regret it.I was under the impression that if you earnt under the average earing threshold for more than 5 years the loan would be erased.I have not received any imformation from the ATO for over 7 years now & thought my loan had been erased.After ringing them the other day boy did i get a shock! -they said my loan had increased to over $9700!!! I couldnt believe it! I asked them why i hadn’t received any statements or anything at all in the mail and they said they no longer send anything.There are prob alot of people out there who are totally unaware they even have a loan anymore. These loans were very poorly explained and in 2003 the government stopped lending them-prob because they realised they could no longer legally RIP OFF TAFE students-for every $1 of youth allowance or austudy you get $2 and a big bill in the future!If any one is mounting a case please could they post it on here as i would be very interested.The government has ripped us all off.

  44. OMG i cant belive this garbagge. I have taken out a very small amount and have been slapped with $22,000
    has anyone filed any legal actions that we can all tag on to?

  45. HI guys yep me too i were ripped offf with this dam loan,
    i’m not sure how much i’m still trying to find out will get the documents at the end of the week
    i’m curious to know has anyone else been hassled by them to pay back money i have been hassled on many occasions especially when i try to study again,
    interested if anyone else has received this kind of harassing behaviour, might give maurice blackburn a call and see if there interested in a class action,
    the loan was a rip off and a scam targeting people that are reall to young to fully understand the consequince of such a loan, i know i never did.
    There would have to be thousands of people out there that would like to wipe there loan
    thankyou
    rebekah

  46. Hi,

    I guess we wouldn’t have a problem in paying the actual debt, not some grossed up and deceivingly ridiculous figure! If we took out say 2 loans at 3.5K each, a total of $7000 then we should pay that not $14,000 + 10 years of CPI (interest!!!) which some how makes is nearly $20,000!!! I’m in for a class action, a 19-20 y.o student in Australia is still quite ‘gullible’ and especially when you are going through tough times, we should get our rights in this regards and at the least pay off what we were given and nothing more, and better still if it can be wiped clean as we were all duped by the banks and now the govt!!!

  47. Tried emailing the ombudsman, here’s their reply:

    We usually do not investigate complaints that are over 12 months old; this is because it can be very difficult to get useful information and to sort out any problems as cases get older.

    As your complaint dates back 11 years, I have decided not to investigate your complaint.

  48. Hello

    I just followed Brad’s advice and emailed http://www.ombudsman.gov.au. Hopefully if enough people email or phone then an investigation will take place. Please contact the ombudsman it might just be the start to getting this resolved.

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