The short answer is: no

While the Higher Education Contributions Scheme (HECS) has been changed to a more palatable acronym; HELP (Higher Education Loan Program), the concept is still the same – the Government lends you money to fund your University education and you repay that money back over time.

The beauty of HELP is that the loan is interest free, so there’s no rush to pay it off.

Of course, the loan amount is adjusted each year with inflation, in line with everything else, so the real value of the loan remains the same.

It is important to note that there are bonuses awarded if you make voluntary repayments to the HELP loan. While the bonuses used to be quite attractive (previously you would have received a 20 per cent bonus if you made a voluntary payment of $500 or more to the loan), over the years the bonus has been whittled down so that you now only receive a 5 per cent bonus on voluntary payments over $500.

If you’re able to accumulate some extra savings, you’d be better off putting your money towards other things like reducing credit card debt or saving for a home.

Fear not though, the loan will repay itself over time as you start earning income. Once you start earning over $49,000 per annum, 4 per cent of your income goes toward payment of the loan. This percentage increases the more you earn until you are repaying the maximum rate of 8 per cent each year when you start earning over $91,000 per annum.

So while your HELP debt can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, since it is an interest free loan, there is no real incentive to pay it off early. Put it on the back-burner and let it sort itself out over time.