Australia HECS Payoff Calculator

Anyone with a HELP (formerly HECS) debt who wants to see, in years, what their compulsory repayments plus any voluntary payments actually achieve — and whether indexation is outrunning their payments.

People with multiple study loans, overseas repayment obligations, or income that changes sharply year to year. The simulation holds income and voluntary payments flat, so a real payoff path will differ.

Each 1 June your HELP balance is indexed by the lower of CPI or wage growth. Indexation is not interest, but it still grows the balance. Enter the latest ATO rate — the default in the tool is an editable example, not a forecast.

If your compulsory repayment is close to the year's indexation amount, most of the payment is absorbed by indexation. That is the most common reason a balance looks stuck — and why the tool shows the payoff horizon, not just the yearly payment.

Yes — every voluntary dollar reduces the balance that future indexation is charged on, so it shortens the payoff time and reduces total indexation. The tool lets you compare a payoff time with and without voluntary payments.

Below $69,528 of repayment income in 2026–27 there is no compulsory repayment, but indexation still applies — so the balance can still grow while you pay nothing.

No. It is a planning simulation using the published 2026–27 repayment scale. Your ATO account and myGov statement show your actual balance and repayments.

Use the Australia HECS Payoff Calculator above: When will your HELP debt actually be gone — with or without extra payments? Free Australia HECS/HELP payoff calculator — enter your balance, repayment income, voluntary repayments and indexation rate to estimate your payoff time under the 2026–27 marginal repayment scale. Planning estimate only — confirm with the ATO. Estimate only — not tax, legal or immigration advice. Rates change; confirm the current figure with the official authority (CRA, Revenu Quebec, ATO, your state revenue office, IRCC or IRD) before you rely on it.