The average HECS debt sits at $23,685

As students try to manage rising costs of living, a ballooning HECS debt is just another cost hanging over their heads, student representatives said.

In June, HECS-HELP loans were indexed at 3.9 per cent, up from 0.6 per cent in 2021 and the highest rate in ten years.

The average HECS debt sits at $23,685, according to government figures, which means at the June indexation rate, that debt would have increased by around $924.

University of Wollongong Student Union education officer Sean McLachlan said HECS debts are something students are concerned about when heading into full-time work.

"The price of student debt increasing is just another burden being placed on students," Mr McLachlan said.

"Most students feel concern when they hear the fees for university are going up. Whether it's their HECS debt or the fees they've already committed to pay."

University of Wollongong students Harry and Kirralee said they were unaware of this year's indexation rate, and how it compared to previous years.

They also said indexation rates would be something they would like to have more communication from universities and government about, so they could understand what the increase means.

"It might be a lot of extra hours we have to put in in the future to be able to afford it," Harry said.

Despite some students' worries, experts said the yearly increase in HECS debt should not be a cause for concern.

Australian National University Emeritus Professor Bruce Chapman is one of the architects behind the HECS system.

Professor Chapman said the system is designed so the government can buy a student a university place that the student can pay back later.

"If you do OK in the labour market, you'll give the money back," he said.

Unlike a debt from the bank, a HECS HELP loan is interest free, and indexed once a year according to inflation.

"The reason why we index it to inflation is really to keep the value of money over time," he said.

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Professor Chapman said the indexation rate is nothing to be concerned about, as the true value of the debt remains the same.

He said nothing that happens now can change what students pay back in the short-run, as repayments are set by law according to your income.

"While it looks like a strange and tough increase now, if the wages follow, no one is better or worse off- it's just a number."

University of Wollongong Associate Professor Alfredo Paloyo said HECS debts are designed to consider whether you are experiencing hardship.

"We define that in the HECS system as falling below an income threshold," Professor Paloyo said.

"It's really sensitive to consumption hardship," he said.

"In the end, the government is not going to run after you - it's not like a bank."

He said the larger indexation rate this year may come as a shock as the inflation rate was very low pre-pandemic.