Student Loan Scheme Amendment Act 2014

The Student Loan Scheme Amendment Bill (No 3) was introduced into Parliament on 19 August 2013, receiving its first reading on 27 August 2013, its second reading on 13 February 2014 and the third reading on 6 March 2014. It received Royal assent on 7 March 2014.

The new legislation brings into effect three key measures to:

• enable Inland Revenue to request an arrest warrant for borrowers who persistently default on their student loan obligations and attempt to leave the country;
• speed up repayments from compliant overseas-based borrowers by imposing fixed repayment obligations and adding two new thresholds to the overseas-based borrower repayment rules; and
• enable Inland Revenue to amend the information-sharing agreement with the Department of Internal Affairs to obtain the contact details of all overseas-based student loan borrowers who apply for a passport rather than just those in default.

The new legislation also contains a number of remedial amendments that align the student loan scheme with the treatment of other tax types and measures to ensure the law works as intended.

The new legislation amends the Student Loan Scheme Act 2011.