Summary

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The majority voted in favour of a motion to read the bill for a third time. Giving a bill a third reading is parliamentary jargon for passing a bill, so this means the bill is passed in the Senate and will now be sent back to the House of Representatives, where our MPs will decide on whether they agree with the Senate amendments.

What is the bill's main idea?

The bill was introduced to, among other things:

  • set a lower minimum repayment threshold of $45,000 per year with a repayment rate of one per cent
  • introduce a combined lifetime HELP loan limit of $150,000 for students studying medicine, dentistry and veterinary science courses, or $104,440 for all other students that is indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI);
  • change the indexation factor for HELP repayment thresholds from Average Weekly Earnings (AWE) to the CPI.

Votes Passed by a small majority

Nobody rebelled against their party.

Party Votes
Cory Bernardi SA Australian Conservatives Yes
Australian Greens (100% turnout) 0 Yes 9 No
Andrew Bartlett Queensland No
Richard Di Natale Victoria No
Sarah Hanson-Young SA No
Nick McKim Tasmania No
Lee Rhiannon NSW No
Janet Rice Victoria No
Rachel Siewert WA No
Jordon Steele-John WA No
Peter Whish-Wilson Tasmania No
Australian Labor Party (84% turnout) 0 Yes 21 No
Catryna Bilyk Tasmania No
Carol Brown Tasmania No
Doug Cameron NSW No
Kim Carr Victoria No
Anthony Chisholm Queensland No
Patrick Dodson WA No
Alex Gallacher SA No
Kristina Keneally NSW No
Chris Ketter Queensland No
Gavin Marshall Victoria No
Jenny McAllister NSW No
Malarndirri McCarthy NT No
Claire Moore Queensland No
Deborah O'Neill NSW No
Helen Polley Tasmania No
Louise Pratt WA No
Lisa Singh Tasmania No
David Smith ACT No
Glenn Sterle WA No
Anne Urquhart Tasmania No
Murray Watt Queensland No
Jacinta Collins Victoria Absent
Don Farrell SA Absent
Kimberley Kitching Victoria Absent
Penny Wong SA Absent
Centre Alliance (100% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Stirling Griff SA Yes
Rex Patrick SA Yes
Nigel Scullion NT Country Liberal Party Yes
Derryn Hinch Victoria Derryn Hinch's Justice Party No
Sue Lines WA Deputy President No
Lucy Gichuhi SA Independent Yes
Tim Storer SA Independent Yes
Steve Martin Tasmania Independent No
Fraser Anning Queensland Katter's Australian Party Absent
David Leyonhjelm NSW Liberal Democratic Party Yes
Liberal National Party (100% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Matthew Canavan Queensland Yes
James McGrath Queensland Yes
Liberal Party (78% turnout) 18 Yes 0 No
Simon Birmingham SA Yes
Slade Brockman WA Yes
David Bushby Tasmania Yes
Michaelia Cash WA Yes
Jonathon Duniam Tasmania Yes
David Fawcett SA Yes
Concetta Fierravanti-Wells NSW Yes
Mitch Fifield Victoria Yes
Jane Hume Victoria Yes
Ian Macdonald Queensland Yes
Jim Molan NSW Yes
James Paterson Victoria Yes
Marise Payne NSW Yes
Linda Reynolds WA Yes
Anne Ruston SA Yes
Zed Seselja ACT Yes
Dean Smith WA Yes
Amanda Stoker Queensland Yes
Eric Abetz Tasmania Absent
Richard Colbeck Tasmania Absent
Mathias Cormann WA Absent
Lucy Gichuhi SA Absent
Arthur Sinodinos NSW Absent
National Party (100% turnout) 3 Yes 0 No
Bridget McKenzie Victoria Yes
Barry O'Sullivan Queensland Yes
John Williams NSW Yes
Nick Xenophon Team (100% turnout) 2 Yes 0 No
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party (150% turnout) 3 Yes 0 No
Brian Burston NSW Yes
Peter Georgiou WA Yes
Pauline Hanson Queensland Yes
Scott Ryan Victoria President Yes
Brian Burston NSW United Australia Party Absent
Totals (88% turnout) 36 Yes – 33 No