Australians are set to be hit with the biggest indexation increase to HECS and HELP debts in over a decade.
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Almost three million people with government-funded university and higher education debts will have to repay more when the annual indexation rate was applied on June 1.
Those with debts have seen a 3.9 per cent surge, a rise on last year's rate of just 0.6 per cent.
Miriam Cullen, a NSW Central West-based naturopath and nutritionist, has a much larger HECS debt compared to most university students, as she studied at a private college with less subsidies from the government.
She believes the rise will see a large percentage of young people's salaries diverted to repay HECS debts.
"I realise that the increase in the HECS interest rate reflects inflation as well as wage growth, however the increase in interest rate exceeds the wage growth," she said.
"This means a large percentage of young people's salary will be diverted to HECS."
With the general cost of living going up, Ms Cullen, who lives in Bathurst, said the rise in the interest rate is just another sting for young people.
"With the cost of living increasing in so many areas such as groceries, petrol, electricity, cost of housing, it is difficult for young people to get ahead," she said.
"Whilst a small increase in HECS interest may not seem like much, it means longer time making repayments and less money in the bank.
"Not to mention, lenders do look at our HECS debt when applying for a home loan, as our HECS debt will have effects on our income. As if it isn't hard enough to get our foot in the door of the housing market."
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While Ms Cullen said she is concerned with the interest rate increase, she considers herself lucky to live in a country where tertiary education is accessible for everyone.
"I realise that the HECS interest rate increase reflects the rise in interest rates and inflation, however it seems that the HECS interest rate increase exceeds that of other rate increases," she said.
"I am concerned if the interest rates continue to increase at this rate, prolonging the amount of time that it takes young people to pay off their debts.
"In saying all of this, I feel very blessed to live in a country where tertiary education is accessible to everyone, no matter their financial status. I deferred and changed my degree twice, and this would not have been possible had I not had the opportunity to defer my university fees also.
"Whilst this rate increase is disappointing because it means longer time paying off debt, we are still very lucky to have the opportunity to divert our fees altogether, with no pressure to make repayments until we hit the income threshold."
Ms Cullen studied at Torrens University's Australasian College of Natural Therapies for her DipHSc (Nutritional Medicine) and BHSc (Naturopathy), one of the few universities in Australia that offered this course.
HECS (Higher Education Contributions Scheme) was first introduced by the Hawke Labor Government in 1989.
