The ATO personal income statistics provide information on how much debt students and former students are holding. Although debt levels are increasing, the vast majority of HELP debtors (71 per cent in 2012-13) still owe $20,000 or less.

The modal amount of debt is below $10,000, with more than 40 per cent in this category in all years. However, this is a poor guide to what the typical student will end up borrowing, as it includes people who are early in the borrowing phase and towards the end of their repayment phase (plus probably quite a few people who did not borrow much in the times when HECS was much cheaper, but have not repaid).

The share of HELP debtors owing more than $40,000 has increased from 3.5 per cent to 5.6 per cent between 2010-11 and 2012-13, or just over 100,000 people in 2012-13.