Steve Georganas
Adelaide · Australian Labor Party · Australia
“It reflects one of our most important national values. Health care should be available to everyone, not just to those who can afford it. Many people prioritise their health and paying their everyday essentials. That is a fact.”
“That means more than 172,000 occasions when individuals and families have been able to receive urgent medical care without needing to attend an emergency department or a public hospital and without needing to face out-of-pocket costs.”
“That is really important because that gives the confidence to those people that I spoke about earlier, those families that are doing it tough that may have previously considered whether they received the health care that they really required and was a necessity or whether they put food on the table.”
“People receive treatment earlier, chronic illnesses are managed more effectively, hospital admissions are reduced and pressure on our emergency departments is eased. Every dollar invested in effective primary care saves costs elsewhere in the system while delivering better health outcomes for Aussies.”
“I too rise to make a contribution, just as the member for Pearce just did, on the Health Insurance Amendment (Incentive Payments and Other Measures) Bill 2026. At its heart is Medicare.”
“In my home state alone, bulk-billing has risen to 80.4 per cent across the state, representing one of the strongest improvements in the country. We heard, the other day, other statistics around the country. They are all increasing, and this is a good thing. It means people are having to fork less out of their pocket when visiting a GP.”
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“I was lucky enough to have been born here—very blessed to have been born in this wonderful nation. I know that my parents came here in 1954, worked in the lowest-paid jobs, had no command of the English language and no skills whatsoever, but they managed to make a life for themselves. Why did they do that? Because of the laws and legislation that were in place—the pillars of our democracy. And that's what we're here to do: to uphold those pillars to give generations of Australians—whether they're second-, third- or fifth-generation migrants—the same opportunities that we had. That is very important. I'd like to thank the people of Adelaide for placing their trust in me to serve them in this 48th federal parliament. I'm truly humbled and honoured to represent them here.”
“For someone who's been a long-term supporter and defender of multiculturalism in this country, it's great to see the changes in this parliament. I'm delighted to be part of such a wonderful, diverse parliament that has changed immensely from when I was first elected in this place. The electorate of Adelaide is a diverse community, and, when I look around, this parliament indeed reminds me of that community I'm so proud to serve and represent, where over 72,000 people—around 36.8 per cent of my constituents—were born overseas. It is a very diverse electorate, and I'm absolutely blessed to, every weekend, attend an event, whether it be an Ethiopian Orthodox Church service or a Hindu temple for a particular Hindu event. My family were migrants. When they came here in the 1950s, I was born here.”
“I went on to win in 2007 and 2010, losing in 2013 and making a comeback in 2016—again, scraping through—and, certainly, winning in 2019, 2022 and again in 2025. But, regardless of the margin or the results, I am, as I said, immensely proud to represent the people of Adelaide—to be their voice, their conscience, and to ensure that we listen to the electorate, that I hear the electorate, and that I bring those views to the parliament. That's our No. 1 role as members of the House of Representatives. If you look at the title, it says House of 'Representatives'. Representatives—we represent those people in our electorates. I'm very honoured to be here again at the will of the electors in the seat of Adelaide.”
“I'm very proud to be part of this government, the Albanese government, in this 48th Parliament. I say so because, No. 1 and as we just heard the member say, it's an absolute honour to be elected to this place, regardless of what political party you're in or what your political views are. It's something that is an honour, and there is no greater vocation than to have your peers elect you to this place. It's something that is very, very special. This was my 10th election. I've run in 10 elections. My record is seven out of 10, so it's not bad. I first ran in 1998 and then in 2001, missing out both times by a tiny margin, and then scraped through in 2004, in one of the most marginal seats in the country, with 108 votes.”
“The Australian Space Agency has delivered $171 million in grant funding to 91 projects, benefiting over 200 Australian organisations. It is an exciting industry, and I commend this.”
“The aim is to address the need for efficient traffic management to avoid congestion and ensure the sustainability of space activities. The Industry Growth Program support will enable the design, manufacture, test, launch and on-orbit proof-of-concept operation trial of this particular spacecraft. I congratulate Dr Matthew Tetlow, founder and CEO of Inovor, on his hard work in getting to this point. I've been following them very carefully from day one. The Australian space sector is significant, with a $4.6 billion annual turnover and approximately 17,000 full-time employees and over 620 organisations. We also should be very proud that Australia is hosting the 76th International Astronautical Congress in September, with more than 6,000 attendees from over 90 countries expected to attend in Sydney next month.”
“All of us South Australians here today, including the member for Grey, the member for Sturt, the member for Spence and me, are aware of how many innovative companies are forging ahead in the space industry, especially at Lot Fourteen in the Adelaide CBD in my electorate, which is home to the Australian Space Discovery Centre as well, and across our vast state from Woomera and the far north to Whalers Way on the Eyre Peninsula, with companies such as Southern Launch, Inovor Technologies, Neumann Space, QuantX Labs, Myriota, Fleet Space Technologies and many, many more. I was delighted last week to see Inovor Technologies awarded a $1.95 million Industry Growth Program grant to develop their Hyperion satellite that will enable and provide space situational awareness services for defence and commercial customers in Australia and overseas.”
“This group is open to all parliamentarians and will assist us to remain informed of the role of the space industry in the Australian innovation, technology and scientific fields. Space capability is essential to supporting the Australian industry and national critical infrastructure—everything from Earth observation capabilities for the climate, satellite communications and GPS to support for Australian national security and defence priority. As fascinated as we are with space, so much of what happens in space makes our lives much easier here on the ground, so a sovereign space industry is, of course, in our long-term national interest and will be a very powerful driver for productivity.”
“As I said, it's no wonder there are four speakers from South Australia speaking on this particular topic. It's a very exciting time for the space industry. Space is critical to Australia's future, for everything from national security right through to climate resilience, agriculture, connectivity and economic growth. I'm also proud to co-chair the Friends of Space Industry in this 48th Parliament together with Senator Dave Sharma, a New South Wales senator. In fact, if I could remind all members, tomorrow night we're having our very first event for the 48th Parliament at the Queen's Terrace at 6.30. We will have the entire space industry here. Please come along, speak to the industry and enjoy the festivities that will take place at 6.30 at the Queen's Terrace tomorrow night.”
“I'll just reiterate what many of the speakers have said here about this motion—this is a very exciting time for the space industry in Australia. It's no wonder that just on this private members' motion there are four South Australians speaking on it. We heard earlier from the member for Grey and the member for Spence. My colleague the member for Sturt is here, as well as myself. It is extremely important to South Australia. We've created a great space industry in South Australia, an innovative industry, and I'm very pleased to represent an area that's called Lot Fourteen, which has lots of these high-tech space industries doing research work and actually producing incredible technology. I visit them regularly, and they're creating the jobs of the future and ensuring that we're creating wealth for our state and the nation.”
“I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Matt Martin, Jasper Lee and the team from Electrify Adelaide for their passion and enthusiasm. This will save households with existing rooftop solar up to $1,100 off their power bills every year. (Time expired)”
“As a proud South Australian and the member for Adelaide, I'm delighted to see that five of the top 10 electorates for the take-up of the Cheaper Home Batteries Program are in South Australia. Adelaide, my federal seat, is No. 7 in the nation with 495 installations as of 18 August, just a couple of days ago. I was very pleased to welcome Minister Bowen to my electorate earlier this month to discuss the new program. We heard firsthand from residents what an enormous difference this scheme will make in their quest to electrify more of their household items and motor vehicles et cetera. In South Australia, we've got a wonderful group called Electrify Adelaide, who attended the forum and answered questions from attendees about how to navigate the journey to energy independence.”
“The government's Cheaper Home Batteries Program will help bring down the cost of a typical battery, which will be discounted by around 30 per cent. The Cheaper Home Batteries Program is part of our plan to create a fairer, cleaner, more reliable energy system but also to ensure that Australian households have cheaper energy, with an additional $150 in direct bill relief for every household and business also commencing. This will save households with existing rooftop solar up to $1,100 off their power bills every year, and those installing a new solar and battery system could save up to $2,300 per year. That's up to 90 per cent of a typical family's electricity bill. One in three Australians have rooftop solar, but only one in 40 have a battery.”
“We're seeing more players in the market, we're seeing more renewables and we're seeing that investment taking place, which will bring down the cost of energy for average households. Certainly it won't happen overnight, or within 12 months, because we've wasted nearly 20 years on this topic. From 1 July this year, we've been rolling out billions of dollars worth of responsible support in this area. This includes, as I said, the increase to the minimum wage, longer paid parental leave, the energy bill relief and new incentives for apprentices, builders et cetera. This government has taken strong action to provide energy bill relief to Australian households and businesses while those opposite have opposed those measures at every step.”
“I say that because, when you look at the issue of where we are today—not only the number of renewable projects taking place but also the amount of investment in them—you see that the more investment we have in renewables, the more energy can be produced, which means there's more competition out there, which brings prices down. What we had for the last 12 years under the coalition was a government with no energy policy and no renewables policy. So, if you were an investor wanting to put money into renewable energy, why would you, when there was total uncertainty? I wouldn't have, if I were an investor. Investors in renewables needed certainty. They now have it, and we're seeing it.”
“There's no doubt that the cost of living is one of the greatest challenges of any government, but especially for this government. We are focused on doing everything we can to ensure that the Australian working people have relief when it comes to cost of living. There are many things that we're doing. For example, the minimum wage has increased since we've been in government, after we saw it stagnate for many, many years. Interest rates have come down. Productivity is going upward. These are measures that will be in place to help with the cost of living. Of course, energy is one of the big issues when it comes to costs for the average Australian. And, when you look at energy bills, it is tough. It is hard. You can see the increases. But, I've got to say, we spent the last 12 years stagnant, not doing a single thing about energy costs.”
“I have to report to the House that on 8 August 2025 the Speaker received advice from Ms Boele and Dr Scamps withdrawing their membership of certain committees. In accordance with standing order 229(b), as the House was not expected to sit for several weeks, the discharge became effective on that date.”
“I have to report to the House that on 7 August 2025 the Speaker received advice from the Chief Government Whip nominating Ms Coker to be a member of the Standing Committee on Appropriations and Administration in place of Ms Chesters. In accordance with standing order 229(b), as the House was not expected to sit for several weeks, the appointment became effective on that date.”
“The Speaker has received messages from the Senate informing the House that (a) Senator McKim has been appointed a member of the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Parliamentary Standards and (b) senators have been appointed participating members of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters and the Joint Standing Committee on Implementation of the National Redress Scheme. The list of the appointments is a lengthy one, and I do not propose to read the list to the House. Details will be recorded in the V otes and P roceedings .”
“Over the course of the three-day event, over 100,000 people attended Ellis Park in Adelaide. They watched 3,500 athletes compete in various sporting events, including the showpiece kabaddi event, and it's in events like these that the Guru Nanak Society play a massive role in feeding the public and hosting. The Guru Nanak Society have also hosted an annual Lohri Mela every January, since the inaugural Lohri Mela of 2010. This is a great party that has great food, great community, music et cetera. I'd like to wish the Guru Nanak Society a happy 20th anniversary, and may there be more to come. I look forward to visiting them again very soon.”
“On average, the society serves 3,500 vegetarian meals a week to members of the community, not just the Sikh community but members of the community wide and spread—anyone can attend and get a meal. They are really great community workers when it comes to outreach programs as well. They also have a Punjabi language school that's grown from six children in 2006 to over 150 children. The society has expanded from its base in Adelaide and now has branches in Port Augusta, Whyalla and Port Pirie. The Sikh community make up a growing section of our community, having grown in South Australia from 8,812 in the 2016 census to 17,259—including in my electorate in Adelaide, in which the census showed 4,099 people of Sikh faith. Last year, I had the privilege of attending the 36th Australian Sikh Games.”
“Today I rise to congratulate the Guru Nanak Society of Australia on their upcoming 20th anniversary. The Guru Nanak Society was launched on 15 November 2005 to coincide with the 534th birthday of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the first guru of Sikhs and the founder of Sikhism. I'd like to thank Mr Mahanbir Grewal, a great South Australian, a leader in the Sikh community and one of the founders of this particular temple in Allenby Gardens in my electorate. I'd also like to thank him for his friendship and for encouraging me to turn up to the temple and be part of their community—a great community. The society runs a temple in Allenby Gardens where they serve as a beacon of spirituality and community engagement.”
“These are people that are working shift work, that are working weekends, yet there are unscrupulous people that will take advantage of them. We don't want that. This government supports everyday hardworking Australians, and it won't end there. Our workplace relations framework has gender equality at its heart, and it's helped reduce the gender pay gap to the lowest level since records began. As I said, I am extremely proud of this bill, and it's something, as we heard earlier, that gives dignity to workers and ensures they get paid the correct amount when they give up their family time and work after hours and extra hours.”
“Two people could have been working side by side doing the exact same job, yet there were loopholes in the law that allowed one to get paid less and the other one more. How is that fair? It is not fair, and we made sure we put an end to that. We've criminalised intentional wage theft, meaning that starting from 1 January this year any employer who deliberately underpays a worker's wage or entitlements could be committing a criminal offence and could be referred to the Fair Work Ombudsman for criminal prosecution. We've seen many cases where it's systematic. They can argue that it was a mistake or that it was something that they weren't aware of, but we've seen it. It happens and it happens regularly. We saw it in the 7-Eleven story that came out a few years ago.”
“This bill won't impose any additional costs or red tape. That's really important to note. There are no additional costs, and there's no red tape. It doesn't force employers to bargain either. The government has introduced these significant reforms to reinvigorate enterprise bargaining, including by making the bargaining framework more streamlined and accessible. Since our election in 2022, the government has had a track record of protecting and improving the lives of our Australian workers, especially low-paid workers. For example, our same job, same pay laws have seen thousands of workers receiving up to $60,000 extra in their pay packets each year—another reform that was about dignity and fairness.”
“They're running on weekends, public holidays and late nights, throughout shift hours, so they deserve this system. They deserve a system that compensates them for their work. As I said, many of us are home with our families on the weekends. We enjoy that family life or we enjoy our sport or we enjoy going to the races or we enjoy just going down to the pub for a meal, but there are people that keep all these things running. There are people there who have given up their weekend. They've given up their family. They're working hard to ensure that they earn a little bit of extra money. They've given up that time to service us, to service the rest of the community, and we should never forget that. Next time you're out on a public holiday being served by someone, thank them—thank them for being there servicing us and giving up their time.”
“Parties would still be able to bargain at the enterprise level to reduce that existing rate, so long as the commission is satisfied the enterprise agreement meets the better off overall test. As I said earlier, in my electorate there are 8,925 people employed in the retail industry, 6,328 employed in the construction industry and many thousands of others employed in the hospitality industry and in health work who all work shifts, weekends and public holidays. They will continue to benefit from penalty and overtime rates as a result of this bill. As a result of this bill, it will be guaranteed that they get paid the correct rates if they're working overtime, on weekends and after hours—as they should be. These, as I said, are hardworking Australians. They keep the country going.”
“It'll ensure that award-reliant workers continue to be fairly compensated for working overtime or working those unsocial, irregular or unpredictable hours, weekends, public holidays and/or shifts. It preserves the commission's existing powers under, in particular, section 144 to insert flexibility terms into awards. That allows employers and employees to enter into individual flexibility arrangements, including to vary penalty and overtime rates, as long as the existing legislated safeguard of ensuring they are better off compared to the standard terms is met. The bill preserves the commission's existing powers under section 160 of the act to vary a modern award to remove any ambiguity, uncertainty or to correct an error. The safeguards in the enterprise bargaining framework remain unchanged.”
“The bill adds this new section to the act to establish a clear principle that, when exercising its powers to make, vary or revoke modern awards, the Fair Work Commission must ensure that the specified penalty or overtime rates are not reduced and that modern awards do not include terms that are substitutes for employees' entitlements to receive penalty or overtime rates where those terms would have the effect of reducing the additional remuneration any employee would otherwise receive. The bill will commence, of course, the day after it receives royal assent, reflecting this government's election commitment to move quickly to protect something that is a necessity for low-paid workers and shift workers, and that is penalty and overtime rates for Australia's lowest paid workers.”
“These are hardworking Australians who keep the country going and running on weekends, public holidays and late nights through many, many shift hours et cetera—shift work. They deserve a system that fairly compensates them for this work. Relative to all employees, award-reliant employees are more likely to be women under the age of 35 who work part time and are employed on a casual basis.”
“It gives certainty and a guarantee that they won't, so I can't see why anyone would be opposing a bill that will guarantee some of our lowest paid workers the benefit of being able to keep their heads above water through penalty rates. It is something that, as we heard the member for Newcastle say earlier, gives dignity to those people. If we can't give dignity to those people, why are we here? If we can't give dignity to people who earn the least amount of money of anyone in the country and who are doing it tough to keep their heads above water, to keep the fridges full at home and to keep their kids at school, then we have to really think about why we're here, because it's for those people that these safety nets, like penalty rates, have been put up so we can protect them.”
“The case is exactly the same today for all those people that I mentioned when I started talking—part-time workers, a lot of women in retail, people in the hospitality industry and university students who keep their heads above water by being able to work on Saturday nights, Sundays et cetera. So it's very, very important. There's been a sustained effort from certain employers to combine penalty and overtime rates into one single rate of pay. This obviously—it's not rocket science—would leave some of those workers worse off, and we don't want that situation. We don't want workers to be worse off and to have less pay, and that's what this bill prevents.”
“In those days, she worked shift work. My father worked at General Motors-Holden. I remember him waiting to hear if he was going to work on the Saturday, which was overtime for him—an extra eight hours that was paid in those days at time and a half, I think—which made all the difference for our family. I remember the conversations around the kitchen table when, occasionally, he'd be despondent because he wasn't given overtime on that particular Saturday. You've got to remember that this was in the sixties, when motor vehicles were pouring off the production line nonstop and people had to keep up with the sale of those cars, so many factory workers were actually working on Saturdays. I recall it very well. Had there been no penalty rates, it could have been a very different story for my family. I don't know, and we'll never know.”
“We were formed to govern, of course, but a major part of our scope was to ensure that workers' rights were protected, that workers were given dignity and that workers could actually get paid so that they could afford to live, to put bread and butter on the table, to dress their kids, to send them to school and to do all the things that give dignity to human beings. As I said, penalty rates have been around for many, many years, but it wasn't until 1947, when there was a ruling by the Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, that penalty rates were effectively established and standardised for millions of Australians who relied on penalty rates to keep their heads above water. I recall clearly when my parents were working. They were both working. My mother worked at the Royal Adelaide Hospital as a domestic, as a cleaner and in the kitchen.”
“If you look back at the history, since the party was established in 1891, you'll see that workers have been better off every time a Labor government has been formed. And there's no better time than now for a Labor government, with the cost-of-living pressures, because all of this assists and helps those people who are struggling and doing it tough. It's so important. Penalty rates have been in Australia for many years, in Queensland from when the Labor Party was formed in 1891 and then gradually in the other states; that's well over 100 years. This was the bread and butter of our political party. We were formed for this reason.”
“Think of industrial relations and the many bills that have come before this place. There's a regular pattern that takes place in things like, for example, WorkChoices. It was the other side that brought that in, that looked at downgrading these rates, at eating into those extras that existed for workers because they gave up their free time or worked extra hours et cetera. When we first formed government we were the side, the Labor side, that actually lobbied for the commission to give an extra pay rise to the lowest paid workers in the country. Yet the other side said it wasn't up to us or governments to do that. We know that workers are better off under Labor governments. That is historically a fact.”
“It's very important that, as a government, we do everything to protect workers and to protect their penalty rates and overtime rates when they work. Let's just think about it. Many of us go out to a restaurant to eat on Mother's Day, on Father's Day, on Sundays and even on Christmas Day. We enjoy the day with our families—with our kids and our grandkids—yet there are workers there to serve us and make sure that we enjoy that day. Think about it. They've given up their family time, their public holiday, their Sunday or the special time that they have with their family because they work shifts throughout the week just to serve the public. They deserve their penalty rates, and they deserve to be paid according to the overtime rates. No-one should have to give that up. That's why this bill is so important.”
“There are workers in many other industries who work overtime or who work on weekends or after hours within my electorate. Every single one of those workers deserves to have their penalty rates and overtime rates protected, and that's exactly what this government bill is doing. With the CBD at the centre of the seat of Adelaide, we have the state's major department stores within the geographical boundary. We have workers in the retail and the hospitality industries, in cafes and pubs. We have shift workers in the hospitals that are based in my electorate. We have people who work after hours. We have part-time workers and many university students who rely on these penalty rates, when they work on the weekends, to meet the cost of living; we hear about the hardships that are taking place at the moment.”
“I'm very proud to be here speaking on this bill, the Fair Work Amendment (Protecting Penalty and Overtime Rates) Bill 2025, which protects workers' penalty rates. I do so because it's an important bill for my electorate, especially, and for everyone's electorate as it amends the Fair Work Act 2009 to legislate protections to ensure that penalty and overtime rates in modern awards cannot be reduced or substituted by another term that would reduce employees' take-home pay. Our workers, who rely on overtime and penalty rates, deserve nothing less. That's why I'm supporting this bill and why all of us on this side are supporting the bill. In the electorate of Adelaide there are approximately 8,925 people employed in the retail industry and 6,328 employed in construction industries.”
“This government has also established the Commonwealth Prac Payment from 1 July 2025 to support about 68,000 eligible teaching, nursing, midwifery and social work students while they are completing their compulsory practical training at university. I am so proud that this Albanese Labor government will cut the student debt by 20 per cent. What this means is that the 28,520 students and graduates in my electorate of Adelaide with a HECS or student debt, including VET and TAFE loans, will enjoy an average saving of $5,825 per person. This shows that we on this side of the House are building Australia's future. Most of us in this chamber are aware it takes a lot of time, hard work and sacrifice to save or pay off $5,825.”
“We've also locked free TAFE into law, as I spoke about earlier. This landmark policy has already seen more than 650,000 enrolments across the country, with 170 courses already completed. What we'll see through this in TAFE is more engineering skills, more mechanics and more trades, which we desperately need, especially in South Australia with our submarine building and shipbuilding. We will need more trades. I'm very proud that in SA we've set up a TAFE specifically training people for the submarine builds plus the shipbuilds that are taking place. We're going to need to train thousands of people in the near future.”
“I think it's important to give people the opportunity to be able to study, which then gives them a pathway to skills that will allow them to fill positions that we need, especially in health, but also in other areas. It will also allow them to turn their lives around. We know that the easiest way out of poverty is through education. Through research that's been done throughout the world and here in Australia, we know that if you want to turn someone's life around and break the cycle of poverty, it's education that does it. We should be doing everything we can in this place to ensure we put all the levers in place to be able to assist that because, after all, we're here to help people do better in their lives. We know that to build Australia's future productivity and prosperity, we need to educate and upskill more Australians.”
“In the last few years I've always been asking what the TAFE fees are, and they've been in the thousands, which would prevent people who are in the situation I was in from going to TAFE. When I was at TAFE I was married with one or two kids—I can't remember how many I had at the time—and a mortgage. I was able to work full time and go to TAFE part time, paying $30 a semester. That is what changed my life. Through the policies of successive governments over the years, we've put up a barrier to that. We've put up a barrier to people wanting to change their lives for the better, because of the costs that are associated with it. So this will go a long way.”
“This will go a long way to removing that barrier and giving people more of an opportunity to study, go on and fill those skills that we require in this nation. The policy absolutely promotes intergenerational fairness, recognising that quality education can change lives and noting that the rising cost of tertiary education over recent decades has coincided with increasing demands for higher qualifications. I'll give you an example; I mentioned this the other day in debate on the private member's motion. When I left high school, I went on to university. I dropped out very early; I found it very boring. A few years later, I went back to TAFE and found a course that suited me. At the time, the fees for TAFE were approximately $30 a semester.”
“But it is absolutely vital that we as a nation continue to produce world-class health professionals who are working in our health system, who save lives and care for the vulnerable with health issues, as well as teachers to educate the next generation, agriculturists to produce our food and professionals in many other vital fields, all of which have a pathway that leads through tertiary studies. This bill will help this to become a reality. Many Australians are wary of entering these fields, as they are worried about being able to pay off that student debt. That's what I hear from many people, especially parents who are contemplating, together with their children, the future in year 12 et cetera. I've heard that discussion many times. People are wary because of that debt that they'll accrue during the course of their studies.”
“Currently, once you earn above the minimum repayment threshold of $54,000 you pay a percentage of your entire wage as repayment. Under these changes, students and graduates will only pay a percentage of their wage above the minimum repayment threshold. For example, right now if you earn $70,000 you'll pay $1,750 each year, and under these changes you'll pay only about $450. That's a saving of $1,300 per year in payments, which means you can still pay off more if you want to—there's no prevention of that, and no-one can stop you from doing that, and I'm sure some people will pay more.”
“That's an extra $5,520 for all those students, which will go back into the economy, generating jobs, helping the local economy et cetera. All up, it'll cut student debt by more than $16 billion. The legislation makes it clear that this cut will be backdated to 1 June 2025, before this year's indexation occurred. The policy applies to uni students, vocational education students and some apprentices. The bill also makes important structural changes to the way the repayment system works. It raises the minimum amount you have to earn before you have to start making repayments from $54,000 and 2024-25 to $67,000 in 2025-26. It also replaces the current repayment system with a new marginal repayment system, and the current system is based on your entire income.”
“Of course, in January 2026 the University of SA and the University of Adelaide will be merging to create a new university, Adelaide University, which will have its flagship campus in the city of Adelaide, right in the heart of my electorate. As the electorate is home to so many educational institutions, I'm constantly hearing from students and from constituents who were students how they are worried about the student debt, including parents, who come to see me to talk about their kids who are studying and how many years it will take for them to pay off the debt. That's why we're making these changes, slashing 20 per cent off every student's debt. The average student debt today is about $27,600, and this legislation will cut that debt by about $5,520.”
“Whether they're just starting off in their career, saving for a home or juggling a mortgage and a young family, every single dollar counts, and this will go a long way for those people who have a HECS debt. In my electorate of Adelaide, 37.2 per cent of constituents aged 18 and over have a level of educational attainment of a bachelor's degree or higher, and we have a number of educational institutions in the electorate, including Torrens University, Adelaide University, the University of South Australia and many other institutions. Therefore, I have one of the highest numbers of students in Australia in my electorate—as I said, the university campuses on North Terrace, City West and City East campuses, and of course the third-oldest university in Australia, the University of Adelaide.”
“I'd like to begin by congratulating the Minister for Education for making good on the promise made regarding this policy and cutting student debt by 20 per cent, which was our No. 1 priority at the commencement of the 48th Parliament. That was the promise that was made to the Australian public, to Australian students who had HECS debt, and our commitment at the last federal election. I'm very pleased to see this as the very first bill being debated in this House. We know that this bill will improve the lives of more than three million Australians who have student debt, and not just them but also their families and their local communities.”