Improve the administration of student loans and enhance the security and privacy of data holdings.
The Government will provide $87.8 million over 5 years from 2022-23 (including $53.1 million in capital funding, and $2.0 million per year ongoing) to improve the administration of student loans and enhance the security and privacy of data holdings. Funding includes: * $42.2 million over 4 years from 2023-24 for the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to implement a new digital solution to support the efficient and effective administration of the VET Student Loans program * $36.9 million over 5 years from 2022-23 (and $2.0 million per year ongoing) for the Department of Education to optimise the Tertiary Collection of Student Information system to improve data quality, analytic support and the security of tertiary student loan records * $8.7 million over two years from 2023-24 for the Commonwealth Ombudsman and the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to extend the VET FEE-HELP student redress measures by one year to 31 December 2023. The Government will also forgo $5.4 million in receipts over 5 years from 2022-23 (and $15.5 million over two years to 2033-34) to support students affected by a delay in the transfer of some historical tertiary education loan records to the Australian Taxation Office. This will mean waiving the following debts for affected loans, as determined at the date of transfer to the Australian Taxation Office: * historical indexation, as well as indexation that will be applied on 1 June 2023 on loans issued prior to 1 July 2022 under the Higher Education Loan Program, the VET Student Loans program, the Trade Support Loans program and on loans issued in 2017 and 2018 under the VET FEE-HELP program * outstanding debt for VET FEE-HELP loans issued from 2009 to 2016. Partial funding for this measure has already been provided for by the Government. The cost of this measure will be partially met from savings identified in the 2023-24 Budget measures titled Education - reprioritisation and Employment and Workplace Relations - reprioritisation.