Two things collided in FY2025-26:
1. The repayment system changed on 1 July 2025. HECS moved from a flat percentage of your whole income to a tax-bracket-style marginal system — nothing on the first $67,000, then 15c per dollar above it. For most incomes that means a smaller compulsory repayment than the old system.
2. Payroll didn't catch up until 24 September 2025. The ATO's new STSL withholding tables only took effect in employer payroll systems from that date. Every pay between 1 July and 23 September 2025 had HECS withheld at the old, higher rates — and there was no back-adjustment through payroll.
The ATO reconciles the difference when you lodge: your actual repayment is assessed under the new rules, the amount withheld all year is compared against it, and the excess comes back inside your normal tax refund. The ATO itself notes many people will see exactly this.
→ Estimate your refund with the free calculator — enter your income and the STSL total from your income statement.
It's not a separate payment — it lands inside your normal tax return outcome. Lodge from 1 July 2026; most returns process in about two weeks. If you use a tax agent you may lodge later, but the reconciliation is the same.
Your income statement in myGov shows the year's study loan withholding, or sum the "STSL" line on your payslips.
They reduce your balance, but they don't reduce the compulsory amount assessed in your return. That surprises people every year.
Yes, in specific situations: salary packaging (fringe benefits get grossed up into your repayment income), investment losses added back, second jobs where no STSL was withheld, or reportable super contributions. The repayment calculator itemises all of these.