Student loan data sharing Bill passes

Tertiary Education, Skills and Employment Minister Steven Joyce and Revenue Minister Michael Woodhouse have welcomed the passing of a Bill which will help Inland Revenue contact more student loan borrowers in Australia.

The Taxation (Residential Land Withholding Tax, GST on Online Services and Student Loans) Bill includes an information sharing agreement with the Australian Tax Office which will ensure that Kiwis fulfil their student loan obligations.

“The new measure will enable an information exchange with Australia, providing Inland Revenue with the contact details of borrowers living in Australia,” Mr Joyce says. 

“Since 2010 the Government has been running an overseas-based borrower compliance initiative. A range of measures are used to target borrowers in default, and this is on track to reach its current target of lifting payments by overseas-based borrowers by $100 million a year. This is just another tool Inland Revenue can use.”

“Around 70 per cent of overseas-based borrowers are in default on their loans and the majority of overseas-based borrowers live in Australia. This new agreement will be a significant step forward in speeding up the repayment of the estimated $3.25 billion borrowed by those living offshore,” Mr Woodhouse says.

“Most loan borrowers do the right thing and make repayments on time – this change will just help to ensure a higher level of compliance from borrowers living in Australia.”