‘It’s obscene’: ATO still chasing $2bn in student debt from controversial 1990s loan scheme
by Caitlin Cassidy from World news | The Guardian on (#6B2Q3)
More than 140,000 people who traded welfare payments for loans are still repaying them decades later
The Australian government is still chasing $2bn of debt from more than 140,000 former low-income students who traded away their right to welfare under a loan scheme two decades ago for its unfairness.
The student financial supplement scheme (SFSS), which operated for a decade from 1993, enticed tertiary students to take out low-cost" loans by giving up benefits including youth allowance, Austudy or the pensioner education supplement.
Sign up for Guardian Australia's free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup
Continue reading...