The Greens have announced plans to wipe $81 billion of and make university and TAFE free for all, a week after Labor announced its own plans for relieving financial pressures for students.
The Greens say someone on an average income who has an of $27,600 would save $5,500 each year under the scheme — "enough to cover more than six months' worth of groceries".
"It's time that young people were provided with relief from their debt sentence and money was put back into the pockets of those who need it most," the party said.
Data from the Australian Tax Office in September showed that the number of Australians with higher education loan program (HELP) debts of more than $100,000 had more than doubled since 2018-19, with nearly 57,000 Australians now living with those debts.
The plans are part of the party's cost of living plans, with the Greens saying young people are struggling to "afford a better life amidst great social inequality" due to high youth unemployment and record housing and living costs.
Mehreen Faruqi, the Greens' deputy leader and higher education spokesperson, posted on social media platform X on Monday that "student debt can't be fixed because student debt shouldn't exist" and that "if Anthony Albanese can go to uni for free, so should everyone else".
What is Labor's student debt plan?
The Greens' announcement comes a week after the government announced its own plans to eliminate $16 billion worth of student debt for around three million Australians by wiping 20 per cent of their loan.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the next election would be about cost of living pressures but also about "the next generation" and said if Labor wins the election, debt reductions will be the first piece of legislation it will bring before the federal parliament.
"This is about putting money back into your pocket and putting inter-generational equity back into the system," Albanese said.
"It's good for the cost of living, good for this generation and for generations to come."
According to modelling from the prime minister's office, students with the average HECS debt of $27,600 would have more than $5,500 taken off their loans, helping an estimated three million people.
Students with under $10,000 in debt would have under $2,000 wiped, while students with over $60,000 in debt would have over $12,000 of debt wiped.
While Labor's plan has received Greens support, they have also said the debt reductions "fall short of what's needed" and that, despite tweaks to indexation that fixed the rate to either inflation or wage growth, depending on which was lower, students are still locked in to debt hikes every year.
Referring to Labor's plans on Monday, the Greens said: "80% of a lifetime debt is still a lifetime of debt".
How could the cancellation of student debt happen?
The policy proposal falls under the Greens' so-called 'Robin Hood reforms' and they have said they will pay for the plan by "taxing big corporations that are profiting off price gouging during a cost of living crisis".
Writing on X, Faruqi said the Greens have "kept up the pressure on Labor to wipe student debt and it's clear they're more worried than ever before."
The Greens said the total debt scrapping would be a key issue on the table for negotiations in a hung parliament, with polls showing a minority government likely in the next term.
With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.
