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Budget 2008: Students

Budget 2008 brings more student allowances, more scholarships and more loan support to students. The Labour-led government is continuing our commitment to help ease the burden on students as they invest in the knowledge and skills to drive New Zealand forward.

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While in Government, Labour has controlled fee rises that were spiralling out of control in the 1990s. We have increased the eligibility of student allowances. We have made it much easier for students to earn while they learn without losing their allowance. And in 2005 we introduced the hugely popular zero interest policy on student loans.

Budget 2008 brings another big boost to give students an extra hand while they study.

12,000 additional students will benefit from a student allowance when the parental income threshold increases by 10 per cent to $82,000 for living away from home.
Lowering the age limit for parental income testing of student allowances to 24, and lifting the maximum rate of student allowances for those aged 24 to the level for students aged 25 years and above (benefiting more than 5,000 students a year).
The student loan living component will be indexed for inflation, rising initially to $155 per week on 1 January 2009.
There will be 50 per cent more Bonded Merit Scholarships, bringing the new total to 1,500 per year.

And we’re not done yet. As students continue to talk with us about their issues, we will continue to act to improve support.

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