As tertiary education has become increasingly essential to employment outcomes, financial security, and meeting the demands of the future economy, the importance of affordable or free tertiary education increases. Instead, education is getting more expensive. Tuition fees have increased significantly since their introduction, and debts are growing and taking longer to repay. The context of high inflation and declining real wages HELP indexation and low repayment thresholds are putting an unnecessary financial burden on already disadvantaged Australians. The Government should consider abolishing indexation on educational loans and increasing the threshold for repayments.