northernbird

Plus I hope they are a bright spark because certainly here in WA the ATAR ranking to get into a Veterinary degree is very high and exceptionally competitive.

Amazulu

My MBA is costing about $10k a year which I can defer with HECS.

I'm paying for my son to go to school, but if he wants to go to university he's on his own as I ain't paying!

Famous 5

From next month two of mine will be away at uni. As they are living away from home, our arrangement is that we pick up the cost of college (accommodation/food), transport and books and they put their tuition fees on HECS. The oldest has a part-time job to cover the cost of incidentals and his social life and I expect the younger one will do something similar, although has the benefit of a scholarship.

It's not ideal for them to start their working lives with debts, but if we were to fund living costs and tuition fees we wouldn't have much of a life. Both have friends with parents who pick up the bill for everything, but most of their friends have to put their tuition fees on HECS so they are not unusual.

canadaeh

I paid for my Uni with HECS. I wouldn't say it's starting off life with debt. I hardly notice the HECS payments.

It's a fantastic system, and if you don't find a job or have one that pays you a wage under the threshold then you don't pay until you start, or it stops if you lose your job etc... Then automatically starts again when you're back working.

You really don't notice it. Friends in the UK notice and struggle with their debts so not sure how it works there.

Japonica

I'm starting a degree program as a PR (we can't apply for citizenship until after August) so we have to pay full domestic fees upfront. Ouch.

odyssey

I think most australian children pay their own fees. Its good I think - to teach children financial responsibility.

I will hopefully have saved enough to pay mine through college if they want to go. Id like to pay their fees, rent, telephone, petrol, books ha ha and they can get a job to go and get drunk, buy nice clothes and work hard. Sort of like I did. My view is that life is full of boring responsibilities for too long and if I can give them an education, a driving license, their first car and good morals and manners then I will be happy.

dave99

HECS fees are only repaid once someones earning. The only way they get the money back is by taking it from your pay through tax.

So an interesting idea could be for someone to put it all on HECS then leave the country, they would have to repay nothing. The debt would still be there but it couldnt be collected.

I asked about this and it was confirmed the only way they can take it is from earnings or voluntary payments

canadaeh

Yep, exactly. When I went overseas I asked about them taking it from my pay and they said they couldn't only take it from my Australian pay, they said don't stress once you come back it automatically starts again - which it did.

I asked can't people just leave and not come back and they said yes, but most do come back eventually, for a range of reasons. So it always works out.

breezeboylan

My friends daughter has just come over to study as a foreign student so doesn't even have PR. She only pays each semester up front. Are you not able to do this and then once you have citizenship HECS the rest?

Japonica

Yeah, we are doing that. One semester at a time. Still, part time studies is nearly 5K per semester for my program.