Every year on 1 June, the ATO indexes your HECS-HELP balance. The indexation is applied to whatever you owe on that date — so a voluntary payment in May reduces the balance the rate gets applied to.

The CPI / WPI cap (since 2023)

Following the 2023 indexation shock (an initial 7.1% rate that wiped out a year of repayments for many people), the Government legislated a cap: indexation is now the lower of CPI or the Wage Price Index. The 2023 rate was retrospectively reduced from 7.1% to 3.2%, and 2024 from 4.7% to 4.0%, with credits applied to HELP accounts in late 2024.

When does a voluntary payment make sense?

A pre-1-June voluntary payment of $1,000 at a 3% indexation rate avoids exactly $30 of indexation. That's a guaranteed 3% return on the money — but only on the indexation event, not annually. Compare against your offset account rate (often 6%+) or other uses of the cash before deciding.

When is the 2026 rate confirmed?

The ATO publishes the official rate in late May, based on March 2026 quarter CPI (released by ABS late April) and December 2025 quarter WPI. Until then, the rate slider on this calculator lets you stress-test plausible outcomes (2–4%). Visit the ATO indexation rates page for the confirmed figure.