On 1 January 2019, the following changes came into effect:

• Tampon tax (GST on sanitary products) scrapped;

• Voluntary crackdown begins on credit card providers to protect consumers who cannot pay-off their credit card debt or who cannot afford an increased limit;

• Higher Education Loan Program:

  • New lifetime caps prevent students repeating courses or continually enrolling in new courses.

  • New loan limits: Increase in fee assistance for students studying medicine, dentistry and veterinary science courses with increases in their loan limit from an estimated $130,552 in 2019 to a new limit of $150,000. $104,440 for all other students.

Corinne Kirk
EGU | Partner & Senior Accountant