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> The major criticism of the system is that students can just incur this debt then flee the country. Do you have any stats on how much HECS is lost in this man

> The major criticism of the system is that students can just incur this debt then flee the country. Do you have any stats on how much HECS is lost in this manner? I've not heard of this being a big problem. One of my friends is in this category - he got a PHD scholarship at a top institution in the UK and isnt likely to return to Australia anytime soon. But I'd have thought the overall impact of brain drain (Australia is generally not a good place for top end R&D [1][2]) would have a far greater impact on Australia's future than an unpaid $30k HECS debt. That all said, HECS is an amazing system and we are so lucky to have it here. I remember as a teenager when I first learnt that you had to pay upfront to go to college in the USA. I thought it was bullshit. What happens if you're poor? It seemed so ridiculously unfair that I thought it must be false. Oh the innocence of youth. edit: urgh, sorry about the paywall. Go via google and you'll bypass it. [1]: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/universities-in-top-500-leiden-research-ranking/story-e6frgcjx-1226623776420 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/universitie... [2]: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/brain-drain-must-be-halted-says-telstra-boss-david-thodey/story-e6frgakx-1226667127562 http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/brain-drain-mu...

NamTaf 13y ago
I don't, but I'd love to see some if anyone has any. The problem is that because the only interest on the loan is CPI, the HECS system is essentially a fixed pool of money that is temporary loaned to students then paid back, real-dollar for real-dollar. By not paying it back, it's essentially 1 student's volume of study that is lost out of that pool. I don't know how significant that 'leak rate' is though, so I can't put a figure on whether it's stressing the funds or not.
- AlexDanger 13y ago
  The only reason I suspect its not a big problem is neither political party seem to be whining about it. Perhaps the boom economy over the last few years has hidden the problem. Graduates from IT/Engineering/Geology had a very good chance of skyrocketing into a top income bracket after only 1-2 years on the job. In terms of NPV this accelerated repayment makes the pool of money larger. And vice versa in a slow economy. I'm quite certain the previous generation didn't see their income climb so fast relative to their years of experience.

NamTaf 13y ago

I don't, but I'd love to see some if anyone has any. The problem is that because the only interest on the loan is CPI, the HECS system is essentially a fixed pool of money that is temporary loaned to students then paid back, real-dollar for real-dollar. By not paying it back, it's essentially 1 student's volume of study that is lost out of that pool. I don't know how significant that 'leak rate' is though, so I can't put a figure on whether it's stressing the funds or not.

AlexDanger 13y ago
The only reason I suspect its not a big problem is neither political party seem to be whining about it. Perhaps the boom economy over the last few years has hidden the problem. Graduates from IT/Engineering/Geology had a very good chance of skyrocketing into a top income bracket after only 1-2 years on the job. In terms of NPV this accelerated repayment makes the pool of money larger. And vice versa in a slow economy. I'm quite certain the previous generation didn't see their income climb so fast relative to their years of experience.