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Uni students who fail half their subjects will no longer be eligible for HELP loans under new reforms

In new legislation proposed by the Federal Government, uni students who fail half of their subjects in their first year will no longer be able to access government subsidies and loans.

The harsh new measures are part of an attempt to reduce the growing amount of unpaid HELP debts.

australia, university, funding, students, fail

Uni students who fail half their subjects will now be cut off from government subsidy and loans under new measures proposed by the Federal Government.

The proposed measures will see any student who fails four out of their first eight subjects becoming ineligible for a government-subsidised place or HELP loans moving forward. The changes, which are part of a larger bill involving the government’s overhaul of university funding, will also require unis to enforce tougher measures to determine “academic suitability” for courses.

Speaking on the news, Education Minister Dan Tehan described that the measures would ensure students “can’t take on a study load they won’t complete, leaving them without a qualification but a large debt.”

One silver lining of the news is that students will be able to erase debt for subjects in cases where their attendance has been impacted by special circumstances. Similarly, unis will be able to exercise power to override the new rules and continue a student’s access to loans in the event of extreme circumstances, such as illness or bereavement.

The measures are an attempt to combat people racking up exorbitant debts, with one instance seeing a student gathering a debt of $663,000 after enrolling in 44 courses and failing to ever receive a qualification, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald.

However, it follows other stringent changes made in the last few years, including the instating of a $100,000 HELP loan limit in 2018, as well as drastic adjustments to uni fees proposed earlier this year.