Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) The * Secretary must, on the application of a person under subsection (5), determine that the person's * accumulated HELP debt is to be reduced in relation to a * course of study in education by a specified amount if:
(a) the Secretary is satisfied that the person:
(i) has been a * location - preferred HELP debtor (teacher) for a period of 4 years, or for periods within a continuous 6 year period that total 4 years; and
(ii) has met such other requirements (if any) as are specified in the HELP Debtor Guidelines (Teachers) for the purposes of this subparagraph; and
(b) the Secretary has not previously determined under this section that the person's accumulated HELP debt is to be reduced in relation to a course of study in education.
(2) If the * Secretary determines that a person's * accumulated HELP debt is to be reduced, the amount by which that debt is reduced is the amount equal to the lesser of the following:
(a) the sum of the amounts of * HECS - HELP debt and * FEE - HELP debt incurred by the person in respect of units of study:
(i) with a total * EFTSL value of not more than 5.0 * EFTSL; and
(ii) undertaken as part of the * course of study in education mentioned in subsection (1);
(b) the amount of the person's accumulated HELP debt at the start of the period of 4 years, or at the start of the first period of the periods totalling 4 years, referred to in subparagraph (1)(a)(i).
(3) To avoid doubt, subsection (2) may have the effect of reducing a person's * accumulated HELP debt for a financial year to less than zero.
(4) The * Secretary must, within the period specified by subsection (4A), notify the person of the Secretary's decision on that application. The notice must:
(a) be in writing; and
(b) if the Secretary has determined that the person's * accumulated HELP debt is to be reduced--state the amount by which that debt is to be reduced.
(4A) For the purposes of subsection (4), the period is:
(a) the period of 60 days after the day the * Secretary receives the application under subsection (5); or
(b) any longer period (not exceeding 6 months) determined in writing by the Secretary in relation to the application.
Note: The Secretary is taken to have made a decision to reject the application if the Secretary does not notify the person of the decision within the period specified by this subsection: see section 206 - 5.
(4B) If the notice states an amount by which the person's * accumulated HELP debt is to be reduced, the * Secretary must give a copy of the notice to the * Commissioner.
(5) A person may apply to the * Secretary for a determination under subsection (1) that the person's * accumulated HELP debt be reduced. The application must:
(a) be in writing; and
(b) be in the form (if any) approved by the Secretary and accompanied by the information (if any) required by the Secretary; and
(c) include the person's * tax file number; and
(d) meet any requirements specified by the HELP Debtor Guidelines (Teachers) for the purposes of this paragraph.