Lazaris and Secretary, Department of Employment

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the application of Mr Lazaris for remission of his HECS-HELP debt, with the Secretary of the Department of Employment as the respondent. Mr Lazaris sought remission on the basis of special circumstances arising from the loss of his employment.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether Mr Lazaris faced "special circumstances" that would justify the remission of his HECS-HELP debt. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess whether the circumstances relied upon by Mr Lazaris were beyond his control, did not have their full impact until after the census date for the relevant units of study, and made it impracticable for him to complete the requirements for those units.

The Tribunal noted that Mr Lazaris relied heavily on the loss of his employment as the special circumstance. His employment as a junior software developer was terminated on 10 August 2021, after a probationary period, with his last day of employment being 17 August 2021. The census date for the relevant units was 27 June 2021. The Tribunal accepted that the termination of employment was beyond Mr Lazaris's control and that its impact occurred after the census date. However, while accepting that the loss of employment caused anxiety, strain, and a loss of self-confidence, the Tribunal found that Mr Lazaris had not provided sufficient evidence, such as medical documentation, to demonstrate that these impacts made it impracticable for him to complete the requirements for his units of study.