Miscellaneous technical amendments

Disclosure of information to StudyLink

Section 207 of the Student Loan Scheme Act 2011

The amendment clarifies that Inland Revenue may disclose information to StudyLink (which administers student loan applications) to verify that an applicant for a student loan does not have an unpaid amount on their student loan that makes them ineligible for a student loan.

Application date

The amendment applies from the day after Royal assent, being 8 March 2014.

Filing dates for six-monthly GST filers

Section 84 of the Student Loan Scheme Act 2011

The amendment to section 84 corrects a drafting error in the Student Loan Scheme Amendment Act 2013 that caused changes to payment dates for six-monthly GST filers to apply only for the 2012-13 tax year. This amendment corrects the error so it applies for the 2013-14 tax year onwards.

Application date

The amendment applies from the day after Royal assent, being 8 March 2014.

Deductions for borrowers in default only

Section 4 of the Student Loan Scheme Act 2011

The amendments to section 4 clarify the treatment of deductions for borrowers who are in default only. Under the previous rules, salary or wage deductions made for borrowers whose entire loan balance is in default could not be used to repay default amounts owed by the borrower. This is because such deductions could only be used to repay assessment amounts for that year. This amendment allows these deductions to be used to offset the borrower's default.

Application date

The amendment applies from 1 April 2012.