Haliem and Secretary, Department of Education

This matter concerned an appeal by Ms Haliem against a decision by the Secretary, Department of Education, regarding the remission of her HECS-HELP debt. The dispute centred on whether Ms Haliem qualified for debt remission due to special circumstances affecting her ability to complete certain units of study.

The Tribunal was required to determine if Ms Haliem met the cumulative criteria for special circumstances under section 97.30 of the Act. Specifically, it needed to assess whether her circumstances were beyond her control, whether their full impact occurred on or after the census date for the units, and whether these circumstances made it impracticable for her to complete the unit requirements during the relevant study period.

The Tribunal found that Ms Haliem's circumstances, arising from a family dispute that led to Supreme Court proceedings, were indeed abnormal, uncommon, unusual, and beyond her control. It was satisfied that the full impact of these circumstances, particularly the realisation of the impending court case, occurred after the census date of 31 March 2022, when she received notice of appearance on 4 April 2022. The Tribunal also concluded that these circumstances made it impracticable for her to complete the requirements for the units. Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the original decision and remitted the matter with a direction that Ms Haliem was entitled to a re-credit of her HECS-HELP debt.