Latest news with #HELP
The Advertiser
11 hours ago
- Business
- The Advertiser
If you're going for a home loan but still have a HECS debt, you might want to wait
People with outstanding student loans will have an easier time getting a mortgage from September, when new lending rules will take effect. Banks will be able to disregard higher education loan program (HELP) debts, which include HECS debt, when assessing a homebuyer for a mortgage. The changes were finalised this week, after the Albanese government made a pre-election pledge in February to level the playing field for people with student debts. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has advised banks to remove HELP debt from debt-to-income reporting, a metric used to determine a person's capacity to repay a mortgage. The regulator has also clarified that it may be reasonable for banks to completely disregard a person's HELP debt from serviceability assessments, where it's expected the loan will be paid off within 12 months. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the changes would make lending rules fairer. "We're making sure young people with a HELP debt are treated fairly and supporting them to get into the property market," he said. The changes mean a dual-income household with two student debts could borrow an additional $50,000 in the year they expect to pay off their student loan, according to the government's own analysis. APRA has written to lenders and the industry to advise them of the changes and their new obligations. The revised standards for banks will come into effect on September 30, 2025. In its letter to lenders, APRA said the changes would provide regulatory clarity and reaffirm the flexibility banks had in considering borrowers' individual circumstances. The regulator expects the changes will allow some borrowers with student debts to secure a home loan sooner. Education Minister Jason Clare said the Universities Accord found that banks' assessments of student debt made it harder for young Australians to buy a home. "HECS was never meant to be a handbrake on owning a home," he said. "That's not fair and we're fixing it." The federal government will also move ahead with its plan to reduce student debts by 20 per cent, something it committed to before the May election. During the election campaign, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised the legislative changes would be his first priority if his government was to be re-elected. The government has reaffirmed this, saying it will be the first piece of legislation introduced when Parliament returns on July 22, 2025. The 20 per cent reduction will occur once the legislation passes Parliament. However, the government has clarified the discount will be calculated based on a person's HELP debt amount as at June 1, 2025, before indexation was applied. This means the 2025 indexation will only apply to the remaining balance after the 20 per cent reduction. People with outstanding student loans will have an easier time getting a mortgage from September, when new lending rules will take effect. Banks will be able to disregard higher education loan program (HELP) debts, which include HECS debt, when assessing a homebuyer for a mortgage. The changes were finalised this week, after the Albanese government made a pre-election pledge in February to level the playing field for people with student debts. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has advised banks to remove HELP debt from debt-to-income reporting, a metric used to determine a person's capacity to repay a mortgage. The regulator has also clarified that it may be reasonable for banks to completely disregard a person's HELP debt from serviceability assessments, where it's expected the loan will be paid off within 12 months. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the changes would make lending rules fairer. "We're making sure young people with a HELP debt are treated fairly and supporting them to get into the property market," he said. The changes mean a dual-income household with two student debts could borrow an additional $50,000 in the year they expect to pay off their student loan, according to the government's own analysis. APRA has written to lenders and the industry to advise them of the changes and their new obligations. The revised standards for banks will come into effect on September 30, 2025. In its letter to lenders, APRA said the changes would provide regulatory clarity and reaffirm the flexibility banks had in considering borrowers' individual circumstances. The regulator expects the changes will allow some borrowers with student debts to secure a home loan sooner. Education Minister Jason Clare said the Universities Accord found that banks' assessments of student debt made it harder for young Australians to buy a home. "HECS was never meant to be a handbrake on owning a home," he said. "That's not fair and we're fixing it." The federal government will also move ahead with its plan to reduce student debts by 20 per cent, something it committed to before the May election. During the election campaign, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised the legislative changes would be his first priority if his government was to be re-elected. The government has reaffirmed this, saying it will be the first piece of legislation introduced when Parliament returns on July 22, 2025. The 20 per cent reduction will occur once the legislation passes Parliament. However, the government has clarified the discount will be calculated based on a person's HELP debt amount as at June 1, 2025, before indexation was applied. This means the 2025 indexation will only apply to the remaining balance after the 20 per cent reduction. People with outstanding student loans will have an easier time getting a mortgage from September, when new lending rules will take effect. Banks will be able to disregard higher education loan program (HELP) debts, which include HECS debt, when assessing a homebuyer for a mortgage. The changes were finalised this week, after the Albanese government made a pre-election pledge in February to level the playing field for people with student debts. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has advised banks to remove HELP debt from debt-to-income reporting, a metric used to determine a person's capacity to repay a mortgage. The regulator has also clarified that it may be reasonable for banks to completely disregard a person's HELP debt from serviceability assessments, where it's expected the loan will be paid off within 12 months. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the changes would make lending rules fairer. "We're making sure young people with a HELP debt are treated fairly and supporting them to get into the property market," he said. The changes mean a dual-income household with two student debts could borrow an additional $50,000 in the year they expect to pay off their student loan, according to the government's own analysis. APRA has written to lenders and the industry to advise them of the changes and their new obligations. The revised standards for banks will come into effect on September 30, 2025. In its letter to lenders, APRA said the changes would provide regulatory clarity and reaffirm the flexibility banks had in considering borrowers' individual circumstances. The regulator expects the changes will allow some borrowers with student debts to secure a home loan sooner. Education Minister Jason Clare said the Universities Accord found that banks' assessments of student debt made it harder for young Australians to buy a home. "HECS was never meant to be a handbrake on owning a home," he said. "That's not fair and we're fixing it." The federal government will also move ahead with its plan to reduce student debts by 20 per cent, something it committed to before the May election. During the election campaign, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised the legislative changes would be his first priority if his government was to be re-elected. The government has reaffirmed this, saying it will be the first piece of legislation introduced when Parliament returns on July 22, 2025. The 20 per cent reduction will occur once the legislation passes Parliament. However, the government has clarified the discount will be calculated based on a person's HELP debt amount as at June 1, 2025, before indexation was applied. This means the 2025 indexation will only apply to the remaining balance after the 20 per cent reduction. People with outstanding student loans will have an easier time getting a mortgage from September, when new lending rules will take effect. Banks will be able to disregard higher education loan program (HELP) debts, which include HECS debt, when assessing a homebuyer for a mortgage. The changes were finalised this week, after the Albanese government made a pre-election pledge in February to level the playing field for people with student debts. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has advised banks to remove HELP debt from debt-to-income reporting, a metric used to determine a person's capacity to repay a mortgage. The regulator has also clarified that it may be reasonable for banks to completely disregard a person's HELP debt from serviceability assessments, where it's expected the loan will be paid off within 12 months. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the changes would make lending rules fairer. "We're making sure young people with a HELP debt are treated fairly and supporting them to get into the property market," he said. The changes mean a dual-income household with two student debts could borrow an additional $50,000 in the year they expect to pay off their student loan, according to the government's own analysis. APRA has written to lenders and the industry to advise them of the changes and their new obligations. The revised standards for banks will come into effect on September 30, 2025. In its letter to lenders, APRA said the changes would provide regulatory clarity and reaffirm the flexibility banks had in considering borrowers' individual circumstances. The regulator expects the changes will allow some borrowers with student debts to secure a home loan sooner. Education Minister Jason Clare said the Universities Accord found that banks' assessments of student debt made it harder for young Australians to buy a home. "HECS was never meant to be a handbrake on owning a home," he said. "That's not fair and we're fixing it." The federal government will also move ahead with its plan to reduce student debts by 20 per cent, something it committed to before the May election. During the election campaign, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese promised the legislative changes would be his first priority if his government was to be re-elected. The government has reaffirmed this, saying it will be the first piece of legislation introduced when Parliament returns on July 22, 2025. The 20 per cent reduction will occur once the legislation passes Parliament. However, the government has clarified the discount will be calculated based on a person's HELP debt amount as at June 1, 2025, before indexation was applied. This means the 2025 indexation will only apply to the remaining balance after the 20 per cent reduction.
Canberra Times
13 hours ago
- Business
- Canberra Times
If you're going for a home loan but still have a HECS debt, you might want to wait
The regulator has also clarified that it may be reasonable for banks to completely disregard a person's HELP debt from serviceability assessments, where it's expected the loan will be paid off within 12 months.
Hans India
14 hours ago
- Business
- Hans India
Need to safeguard oil and gas supply chains amid geopolitical uncertainties: Report
New Delhi: With India projected to grow at over 6 per cent annually and its primary energy demand increasing at a CAGR of 5.5 per cent, there is an urgent need to safeguard oil and gas supply chains amid rising geopolitical and market uncertainties, according to a report released on Friday. Over 85 per cent of India's crude oil needs are met through imports, positioning the country as the world's third-largest oil importer. 'Geopolitical instability, especially in chokepoints like the Hormuz Strait and Suez Canal, threatens consistent crude supply and pricing,' said the report by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI). Brent crude prices are forecast to decline from $81 per barrel in 2024 to $66 per barrel in 2026, driven by supply expansion outside OPEC+ and moderate demand growth. 'India's economic growth trajectory demands resilient and diversified energy sources. This report provides an integrated roadmap to navigate future energy challenges while ensuring affordability, accessibility, and sustainability,' said Hemant Jain, PHDCCI President. The industrial sector now consumes approximately 40 per cent of India's total energy, making it the largest single energy-consuming sector in 2023. 'Over past three decades, industrial energy demand has tripled, and industry accounts for approximately 36–38 per cent of final energy consumption,' the report noted. Currently, India' domestic oil and gas production is centred in Assam, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Mumbai High and the Krishna Godavari Basin. Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) launched in 2016 has simplified approval processes, with attractive fiscal terms, and bolstered licensing and exploration activity. By mid-2024, 144 blocks covering approximately 243 000 km² had been awarded, though international companies have largely avoided participation, favouring other countries with more attractive terms. Offshore production is set to increase thanks to additional supplies from ONGC's deepwater KG-D5 project between 2025 and 2030. However, offshore (and overall) gas supply growth will be tempered by plateauing output from the KG-D6 fields and declining production from legacy assets like ONGC's Mumbai offshore fields. According to recent reports, India may be inching closer to a game-changing offshore oil discovery in the Andaman Sea — one that could hold as much as 184,440 crore litres of crude oil and rival Guyana's transformational find, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, has hinted. According to projections, India's natural gas production is also expected to rise to 54.7 BCM by FY 2029-30.
News.com.au
19 hours ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Crocodile tears': Home loan change could add to worsening housing crisis
It's now easier for Australians to buy a home, but a key change to credit limits could push up the price of housing, a leading economist warns. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) announced on Thursday that Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts would be excluded from the credit limit for prospective homebuyers from September 30. Independent economist Saul Eslake told NewsWire that the change's two most obvious effects would be to 'allow some people who'd buy a home anyway to buy a more expensive one and (to) allow some people who wouldn't have been able to buy a home because of their student debt' to do so'. 'The net effect of those two factors will be to increase the demand for housing,' he said.
 'The likely result is that it will, along with other things that governments are doing, put further upward pressure on the prices of property.' Mr Eslake said the change meant some people would be able to enter the housing market more quickly than otherwise but 'it would come at the expense of others'. 'The primary beneficiaries of this change will be those who will already own property will be able to sell it to people at higher prices than otherwise,' he said. 'That's consistent with the 60 years of evidence that we have, going back to the first homeowners grant scheme introduced by the Menzies government in 1964 that tells us that anything that allows Australians to pay more for housing than they'd be able to otherwise results in more expensive housing and a smaller proportion of the population owning it.' Mr Eslake added it was 'obvious' the money saved on HELP debt cuts would now be going towards a more expensive house. 'The reason that governments keep doing these things despite the evidence and despite all of the crocodile tears they routinely share about the difficulties faced by would-be first-home buyers is because they know that there actually aren't very many of them,' Mr Eslake said. 
 'On average, 110,000 a year, whereas there are 11 million people who own their own home. There are 2¼ million who own at least one investment property. That's an awfully much bigger number of votes for policies that keep house prices going up than there are for policies that might restrain the rate at which house prices keep going up.' Mr Eslake said the reason the housing crisis continued to worsen was 'because a majority of the population do not want it to be solved and politicians know that'. 
 'Until enough people my age, either out of an altruistic concern for the ability of their children and grandchildren to be able to do what they did, or perhaps more likely out of being pissed off at having to be the bank of mum and dad, until enough of them really want that to change, it isn't going to change.'
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Crocodile tears': Warning over key change
It's now easier for Australians to buy a home, but a key change to credit limits could push up the price of housing, a leading economist warns. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) announced on Thursday that Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debts would be excluded from the credit limit for prospective homebuyers from September 30. Independent economist Saul Eslake told NewsWire that the change's two most obvious effects would be to 'allow some people who'd buy a home anyway to buy a more expensive one and (to) allow some people who wouldn't have been able to buy a home because of their student debt' to do so'. 'The net effect of those two factors will be to increase the demand for housing,' he said. 'The likely result is that it will, along with other things that governments are doing, put further upward pressure on the prices of property.' Mr Eslake said the change meant some people would be able to enter the housing market more quickly than otherwise but 'it would come at the expense of others'. 'The primary beneficiaries of this change will be those who will already own property will be able to sell it to people at higher prices than otherwise,' he said. 'That's consistent with the 60 years of evidence that we have, going back to the first homeowners grant scheme introduced by the Menzies government in 1964 that tells us that anything that allows Australians to pay more for housing than they'd be able to otherwise results in more expensive housing and a smaller proportion of the population owning it.' Mr Eslake added it was 'obvious' the money saved on HELP debt cuts would now be going towards a more expensive house. 'The reason that governments keep doing these things despite the evidence and despite all of the crocodile tears they routinely share about the difficulties faced by would-be first-home buyers is because they know that there actually aren't very many of them,' Mr Eslake said. 'On average, 110,000 a year, whereas there are 11 million people who own their own home. There are 2¼ million who own at least one investment property. That's an awfully much bigger number of votes for policies that keep house prices going up than there are for policies that might restrain the rate at which house prices keep going up.' Mr Eslake said the reason the housing crisis continued to worsen was 'because a majority of the population do not want it to be solved and politicians know that'. 'Until enough people my age, either out of an altruistic concern for the ability of their children and grandchildren to be able to do what they did, or perhaps more likely out of being pissed off at having to be the bank of mum and dad, until enough of them really want that to change, it isn't going to change.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data
