Inland Revenue

Where do I go to get help?

1. The student loan is an unsecured loan. You do not have to provide an asset (e.g. a house or a car) as security that can be seized if you don’t make payments.
Glossary: unsecured loan
A loan which is not secured against any of the borrowers assets and hence is more risky than a secured loan. In order to compensate for this, the lender will charge a higher interest rate.
Glossary: asset
An asset is a useful or valuable person or thing. In financial terms it's an item that can be converted into cash such as bank deposits, shares or property.

What if I am made bankrupt?

Your Student Loan will be written off. However bankruptcy has serious personal and financial consequences:

Once you earn over a certain amount a year (the 'repayment threshold' currently set at $18,148 before tax), you must start making repayments, even if you're still studying.

What fees do I pay?

You'll need to pay a $50 administration fee every time you apply for a student loan. The fee is added to your loan as soon as you use it.

StudyLink is a service of the Ministry of Social Development responsible for Student allowances, Student loans and Unemployment Benefit Student Hardship.