HECS Debts Increase by $1 Billion Due to Annual Indexation

The HECS debts of about 3 million students and graduates grow by a total of $1 billion on 2026-05-31. University graduates would save more than $3 billion in total over a decade if the Australian government changed the date of indexation on HECS debts. ” Moves are underway to expand the powers of Gold Coast council rangers to remove homeless people from state-owned land.

Advocates say the change could lock vulnerable people into an endless cycle of punishment. Home prices in Australia’s capital cities have begun to fall as high interest rates and inflation stretch buyer budgets. Experts predict the decline could wipe as much as 10% from values.

An Australian e-commerce retailer started using AI-generated models instead of real people to sell its products. The use of gas in Australia has peaked and entered a “structural decline,” according to a Grattan Institute report. The report states gas use in Australia must fall further if climate targets are to be met.

Israeli troops have captured a medieval clifftop castle in their deepest incursion into Lebanon in more than 26 years. WHO officials have urged community cooperation to help contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Protests have occurred over the handling of victims’ remains during the outbreak.

A daily pill can double survival time in patients with pancreatic cancer according to the results of a clinical trial. A Facebook whistleblower was forced to sit in silence on stage at an event at Hay festival after lawyers advised her not to speak due to ongoing legal action brought by Meta.

French police have detained 780 people involved in violent clashes after PSG defeated Arsenal to win the Champions League title.

Tony Abbott was appointed Liberal president. He lost his seat in the “teal” wave of 2019. June Oscar, a long-time women’s advocate and former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner, is a Bunuba woman.

The Melbourne Fringe board has rejected artists’ request for a “fair cut” of festival takings made in an open letter signed by almost 600 people. Peter Falconio’s mother has made a rare public plea 25 years after his outback murder. The opening of a metro rail line to Sydney’s new international airport now risks being delayed until 2028.

Today is a public holiday in ACT and WA. An inquest is scheduled in Melbourne into the deaths of two men killed in an aircraft collision over Port Phillip Bay. An inquest is scheduled in Melbourne after a man was ejected from a party in Canbourne and found dead in a nearby paddock days later.

Iga Świątek fell to Marta Kostyuk at the French Open. Teenager Rafael Jódar came from two sets down to set up an Alexander Zverev quarter-final. Josh Hazlewood took two wickets as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru retained their IPL title with victory over the Gujarat Titans.

Jonas Vingegaard completed a Grand Tour set with his Giro d’Italia triumph.