You can run, but you can no longer hide from the bill for your theatre studies degree.
The Australian senate passed a law Monday night that will require all Australians living overseas to pay their student loans. The Student Loans (Overseas Debtors Repayment Levy) Bill 2015 puts an end to halcyon days when you could find fame and fortune in New York or London while not paying a dime towards your Australian university degree.
Previously, Australians who became overseas residents were able to access a loophole, escaping any obligation to pay the money they borrowed from the government to finance their studies unless they return home.
In an online statement, Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham said an estimated A$30 million ($21 million) was lost each year as graduates moved overseas.
"Until now, people who took out a loan under the Higher Education Loan Programme (HELP) or a Trade Support Loan (TSL) and moved overseas were under no obligation to repay their debt as long as they remained offshore residents," Birmingham said.
"The Turnbull Government is committed to ensuring the future sustainability of Australia’s student loans scheme and to ensuring it is fair for all Australians."
The law is expected to recover A$150 million (US$106 million) over the next 10 years.
From January 2016, all students who owe money for their graduate or post-graduate studies will be required to get in touch with the Australian Taxation Office each year to declare their foreign income. If that amount is over A$54,126 (US$38,135), the minimum earnings threshold for repayment, they'll have to pay up starting in the 2017 financial year.
Sorry, guys. Maybe just stay home?