Students would save $3bn over a decade if Labor changed Hecs indexation date by five months

University graduates would save more than $3bn over a decade if the government changed the date of indexation on Hecs debts , dubbed a “broken system” in its current form by independent MP Monique Ryan. About 3 million students and graduates will see their Hecs debts increase by $1bn on Monday, when they are indexed by 2.8%. Hecs debts do not accrue interest but increase yearly based on the rate of inflation or the wage price index, to maintain the “real value” of the money owed. Students make compulsory payments towards their Hecs, which are collected and held by the tax office, but that money isn’t deducted from the debt until the person has filed their tax return. That is done after the debt indexes. Costings by the Parliamentary Budget Office, seen by Guardian Australia, show if the government changed the indexation date from 1 June to 1 November, after compulsory payments have been paid down, it would cost the budget’s underlying cash balance $1.2bn in forgone revenue over four years. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email Ryan, who commissioned the costings, said young Australians are already under immense pressure, and has called on the government to make the system fairer. “Rising student debt is not an accident. It’s the result of deliberate policy choices made by Liberal and Labor governments,” Ryan said. “We need to fix this broken system. When you make a payment on your home loan, its balance goes down. …