TYJD and Secretary, Department of Education, Skills and Employment

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the application of TYJD (the applicant) for re-crediting of her HECS-HELP debt against a decision by the Secretary, Department of Education, Skills and Employment. The applicant sought remission of her debt, arguing that she had not applied for it within the prescribed application period and that this requirement should be waived due to special circumstances.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary issues. First, whether the applicant had made her application for remission of her HECS-HELP debt before the end of the applicable application period, as stipulated by subparagraph 36-20(1)(f)(i) of the relevant Act. Second, if the application was not made within the period, whether the requirement to apply within that period should be waived on the grounds that it was not possible for the applicant to make the application within that timeframe, pursuant to subparagraph 36-20(1)(f)(ii) of the Act.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not made her application for remission of her HECS-HELP debt within the required application period, which extended for 12 months after the end of the study periods for Semester 1 and Semester 2 of 2014. The applicant's application was submitted in April 2020, significantly after the expiry of these periods. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant did not satisfy the requirement under paragraph 36-20(1)(f) of the Act. As this threshold was not met, it was unnecessary for the Tribunal to consider whether special circumstances applied to the applicant.

The decision under review was affirmed.