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4 March 2025
James Webb
[FYI request #29988 email]
Dear James Webb
Thank you for your request made under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA), received on
7 February 2025. You requested the following:
1. What was the average amount of time it took for student to pay off their loan in 2005,
2010, 2015, 2020 and 2024?
2. How many borrowers paid back their loans in the above years compared to the active
number of borrowers at the time?
3. Please provide the average time it took in the above years to pay back loans for each
tertiary institution type e.g. university, polytechnic, private, two different types.
4. If possible, please provide the average time taken by qualification level e.g. certificate,
diploma, Bachelor’s, etc.
5. What is the average time for students to pay off their loan when they have not borrowed
any student living costs compared to any student living costs borrowed?
6. What is the average student living cost borrowed by students in the above years?
7. What was the average tuition cost in the above years?
8. What was the average amount collected from wages in the above years? Please note
where any policy changes were made that would affect these numbers e.g. Interest
free loans, threshold changes.
On 18 February 2025, Inland Revenue attempted to clarify the scope of your request and has
not received a response to date. I have therefore interpreted the request for the average time
taken for a student to pay off their loan to only include loans that were closed in the years
requested.
On 20 February 2025, we partially transferred your request concerning questions 4, 6 and 7 to
the Ministry of Education for response.
Item 1: What was the average amount of time it took for student to pay off their loan
in 2005, 2010, 2015, 2020 and 2024?
The customer numbers and averages will differ from Inland Revenue’s student loan annual
reports
(Student Loan Scheme Annual Reports | Education Counts) as loans closed are based on
the calendar year it was closed, not the financial year as per the annual report.
The increase in 2020 compared to previous years was due to Inland Revenue undertaking
account maintenance in preparation for it’s transition into a new software system. The new
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system now enables overnight closure of most accounts, meaning these cases can be reported
sooner.
The data in the tables below represent loans that have been paid in full, and excludes loans
closed due to write-offs for bankruptcy, death and fraud.
Table 1: Average amount of time taken for a student to pay off their student loan (as at 25
February 2025)
Calendar year closed
Customer count
Average months
Average years
2005
11,896
85.4
7.1
2010
16,404
102.7
8.6
2015
24,919
119.7
10.0
2020
40,971
142.4
11.9
2024
34,751
147.9
12.3
Grand total
128,941
129.2
10.8
Inland Revenue’s student loan annual report uses the median calculation to display the loan
closure data. I have provided this to you below for comparison.
Table 2: Median amount of time taken for a student to pay off their student loan (as at 25
February 2025)
Calendar year closed
Customer count
Median months
Median years
2005
11,896
84.0
7.0
2010
16,404
96.0
8.0
2015
24,919
109.0
9.1
2020
40,971
126.0
10.5
2024
34,751
133.0
11.1
Grand total
128,941
115.0
9.6
Item 3: The average time it took in the above years to pay back loans for each tertiary
institution type
Your request for information relating to item 3 is refused under section 18(g) of the OIA, as the
information is not held by Inland Revenue, and we do not believe it is held by another agency.
Item 5: What is the average time for students to pay off their loan when they have not
borrowed any student living costs compared to any student living costs borrowed?
The data is partially released to you in table 3 on the fol owing page. Living cost breakdown is
only available from April 2012, therefore your request for the average time for students to pay
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off their loan depending on if they have borrowed for living costs vs no living costs from before
April 2012 is refused under section 18(g) of the OIA, as the information is not held by Inland
Revenue, and we do not believe it is held by another agency.
Customers who had less than $20.00 living costs have been excluded and customers who
received living costs, which were later reversed or credited, have been excluded.
Table 3: Average amount of time taken for a student to pay off their student loan (as at 25
February 2025)
Customer count
Average months
Average years
Living costs
71,948
75.6
6.3
No living costs
85,346
46.0
3.8
Grand total
156,994
59.5
5.0
Inland Revenue’s student loan annual report uses the median calculation to display the loan
closure data. I have provided this to you below for comparison.
Table 4: Median amount of time taken for a student to pay off their student loan (as at 25
February 2025)
Customer count
Median months
Median years
Living costs
71,648
76.0
6.3
No living costs
85,346
39.0
3.3
Grand total
156,994
56.0
4.7
Information publicly available
Your requests for items 2 and 8 are refused under section 18(d) of the OIA, as the information
is publicly available on the Education Counts website:
Student Loan Scheme Annual Reports |
Education Counts
Right of review
If you disagree with my decision on your OIA request, you can ask an Inland Revenue review
officer to review my decision. To ask for an internal review, please email the Commissioner of
Inland Revenue at:
[email address].
Alternatively, under section 28(3) of the OIA, you have the right to ask the Ombudsman to
investigate and review my decision. You can contact the office of the Ombudsman by email at:
[email address].
If you choose to have an internal review, you can stil ask the Ombudsman for a review.
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Publishing of OIA response
We intend to publish our response to your request on Inland Revenue’s website
(ird.govt.nz) as
this information may be of interest to other members of the public. This letter, with your personal
details removed, may be published in its entirety. Publishing responses increases the availability
of information to the public and is consistent with the OIA's purpose of enabling more effective
participation in the making and administration of laws and policies and promoting the
accountability of officials.
Thank you again for your request.
Yours sincerely
K. Paterson
Kelly Paterson
Segment Management Lead, Customer and Compliance Services - Individuals
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