Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan: Amount & Repayment
Key takeaways
- AASL (formerly the Trade Support Loan) lends up to $27,048 in total for 2026-27, paid monthly in arrears, interest-free but indexed.
- You repay through your tax return only once repayment income exceeds $69,528 (2026-27), at the same marginal rates as HECS-HELP; the HECS calculator applies directly.
- Completing your apprenticeship earns a 20% discount; balances that existed on 1 June 2025 also received the one-off 20% cut, but the sequencing of the two is not published.
- Indexation runs on 1 June at the lower of CPI or WPI (2.8% in 2026) on amounts unpaid for more than 11 months.
- If you also hold HECS-HELP, the ATO repays HELP first and AASL last, so your apprenticeship loan indexes for longer.
The Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan (AASL) is an interest-free, indexed government loan of up to $27,048 in total for 2026-27, paid monthly in arrears to eligible apprentices. You repay it through the tax system only once your repayment income passes the ATO compulsory repayment threshold ($69,528 for 2026-27), using the same marginal rates as HECS-HELP, and finishing your apprenticeship earns a 20% discount on the loan.
Because the ATO applies identical thresholds and rates to AASL and HELP, you can estimate your AASL repayment with the HECS calculator; there is no separate AASL tool on this site, and none is needed. This guide covers eligibility, the instalments, how repayment and indexation work, the two different 20% reductions, and how AASL compares with HECS-HELP, VET Student Loans and the Student Start-up Loan. Figures are from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) and ATO pages opened on 28 October 2026. It is general information, not financial advice; confirm your own position with your Apprenticeship Network Provider and the ATO.
What the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan is
Formerly the Trade Support Loan
AASL is the renamed Trade Support Loan. The ATO's study and training loan rates page still lists it as 'Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan (AASL) - previously known as Trade Support Loan (TSL)', and a lot of employer and training-provider pages have not caught up, so if a search turns up 'TSL' or 'trade support loan' it is the same scheme. The loan is governed by the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Act 2014, the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans Rules 2023 and the AASL Determination (No. 2) 2025, all listed on the DEWR program page.
Who runs it: DEWR, Apprenticeship Network Providers and the ATO
Three bodies are involved. DEWR owns the program and its guidelines. Apprenticeship Network Providers, the contracted organisations that sign up apprentices (BUSY At Work is one example), handle applications and the six-monthly opt-in through the Apprenticeships Data Management System (ADMS). The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) records the debt as a study and training support loan and collects repayments through your tax return, the same way it collects HECS-HELP. If you want the official overview, DEWR's page is the place to start: DEWR: Australian Apprenticeship Support Loans.
Who is eligible
A Priority List qualification
Eligibility is tied to the Australian Apprenticeships Priority List, the DEWR list that decides which apprenticeship and traineeship qualifications can access the loan. If your qualification is not on it, the loan is not available, whatever your trade. The list changes, so check the current version before assuming either way.
Citizenship, residence and study mode
As listed by BUSY At Work (an Apprenticeship Network Provider, page opened October 2026), applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent visa holders living in Australia, and full-time, part-time and school-based apprentices can all access the loan. If you are under 18 a parent or guardian is involved in the application. BUSY's page is a provider summary rather than the legislation, so confirm the current rules on apprenticeships.gov.au or with your own Network Provider before you rely on them.
Opting in every six months
The loan is not paid automatically for the life of the apprenticeship. BUSY At Work describes instalments paid monthly in arrears for up to six months at a time, with the apprentice opting in through ADMS (the online process has run since March 2024). You decide each half-year whether you want the next block of payments, which is the main lever for borrowing less than the cap.
How much you can borrow
DEWR puts the lifetime cap at $27,048 for 2026-27, paid monthly in arrears. DEWR states that figure for 2026-27; check the current year's cap before you plan around it. The monthly amounts step down over the apprenticeship: more in the first year when wages are lowest, less by the fourth. DEWR's page does not publish the monthly split; the figures below are as listed by BUSY At Work in October 2026 and the annual totals are our arithmetic on those figures. Confirm the instalment for your year with your Network Provider.
| Item | Amount | Source / note |
|---|---|---|
| Total loan cap, 2026-27 | $27,048 | DEWR program page (official) |
| Year 1 monthly instalment | $901.61 | As listed by BUSY At Work, Oct 2026 (about $10,819 a year) |
| Year 2 monthly instalment | $676.20 | BUSY At Work (about $8,114 a year) |
| Year 3 monthly instalment | $450.80 | BUSY At Work (about $5,410 a year) |
| Year 4 monthly instalment | $225.40 | BUSY At Work (about $2,705 a year) |
| Payment frequency | Monthly in arrears, opt in each six months | DEWR; BUSY At Work (ADMS) |
The four annual totals add to roughly $27,048, which matches the DEWR cap, so a full four-year draw-down uses the whole entitlement. Taking only the first two years, for example, would borrow about $18,900 and leave the rest unused.
How repayment works: same thresholds as HECS
The ATO's study and training loan page (updated 13 October 2026) applies one set of thresholds and rates to HELP, VSL, SFSS, SSL, ABSTUDY SSL and AASL. Nothing is deducted while your repayment income is at or below the minimum repayment income: $67,000 for 2025-26 and $69,528 for 2026-27. Above that, from 1 July 2025 the system is marginal: you pay a percentage of the income above the threshold, not a percentage of your whole income. The ATO's own example is a $80,000 earner paying $1,950 (15% of the $13,000 above $67,000) in 2025-26, against $2,800 under the old 3.5%-of-everything rate.
Repayment income is wider than your wage: taxable income (excluding assessable First Home Super Saver released amounts) plus reportable fringe benefits, total net investment loss, reportable super contributions and exempt foreign employment income. An apprentice on award wages is usually below the threshold during the apprenticeship, so for most apprentices repayment starts after they qualify.
| Repayment income (2026-27) | Marginal band | Compulsory repayment (illustration) |
|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | At or below $69,528 | $0 |
| $70,000 | 15c per $1 over $69,528 | $70.80 |
| $90,000 | 15c per $1 over $69,528 | $3,070.80 |
| $130,000 | $9,028 + 17c per $1 over $129,717 | $9,076.11 |
| $190,000 | 10% of total repayment income | $19,000 |
These are computed from the ATO 2026-27 table and assume AASL is your only study loan; a repayment can never exceed what you owe, so a $19,000 figure against a $27,048 balance is possible but a $19,000 figure against a $5,000 balance is not. Tell your employer you have a study loan on the TFN declaration (NAT 3092) or a withholding declaration (NAT 3093) so extra PAYG is withheld; the ATO only applies that withheld amount to the loan after you lodge your return and the compulsory repayment is worked out. If you lodge a return with repayment income above the threshold and no extra tax was withheld, expect a bill.
Indexation and the two 20% reductions
Indexation on 1 June, lower of CPI or WPI
AASL carries no interest, but the ATO indexes the part of the loan that has been unpaid for more than 11 months on 1 June each year. Since the law change applied from 1 June 2023, the rate is the lower of the Consumer Price Index and the Wage Price Index; the Department of Education notes that this reset the 2023 rate from 7.1% to 3.2% and the 2024 rate from 4.7% to 4%. The 2026 rate is 2.8%. DEWR's AASL page confirms the same cap applies to apprenticeship loans.
| Year (1 June) | Indexation rate | Indexation on a $27,048 balance (illustration) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 2.8% | $757 |
| 2025 | 3.2% | $866 |
| 2024 | 4.0% (originally 4.7%) | $1,082 |
| 2023 | 3.2% (originally 7.1%) | $866 |
| 2022 | 3.9% | $1,055 |
| 2021 | 0.6% | $162 |
| 2020 | 1.8% | $487 |
| 2019 | 1.8% | $487 |
| 2018 | 1.9% | $514 |
| 2017 | 1.5% | $406 |
| 2016 | 1.5% | $406 |
| 2015 | 2.1% | $568 |
| 2014 | 2.6% | $703 |
| 2013 | 2.0% | $541 |
Rates are from the ATO indexation page (updated 13 October 2026); the right-hand column simply multiplies each rate by today's cap to show what a year of indexation costs on a full loan. In practice only amounts unpaid for more than 11 months are indexed, so a loan still being drawn down is indexed on less.
The 20% completion discount
DEWR states that apprentices who successfully complete their apprenticeship receive a 20% discount on their loan amount. On a full $27,048 draw-down that is $5,409.60 off, leaving $21,638.40 before indexation. The discount depends on completion, not on when you repay, so an apprentice who leaves the trade before finishing keeps the whole debt.
The one-off 20% cut for debt at 1 June 2025
Separately, the Universities Accord (Cutting Student Debt by 20 per cent) Bill 2025, passed in July 2025, cut all study and training loan balances that existed on 1 June 2025 by 20%. DEWR confirms this applied to AASL debt and was backdated before the 2025 indexation, so indexation ran on the lower amount. The Department of Education reports the measure benefited over 3 million Australians and removed over $16 billion of HELP and other student debt, with AASL holders among those listed; the ATO says processing is complete and refunds were issued where accounts went into credit. Anyone who first drew AASL after 1 June 2025 did not receive it.
What is not published: how the two discounts are sequenced
Neither DEWR nor the ATO page explains the order in which the one-off cut and the completion discount were applied for an apprentice who held a balance on 1 June 2025 and completed later. If that is you, check your ATO account in myGov for the actual entries rather than assuming, and ask the ATO if the figures look wrong.
AASL vs HECS-HELP vs VET Student Loans vs Student Start-up Loan
All four are Commonwealth study and training loans collected by the ATO under the same thresholds, but they differ in who gets them, whether a discount exists and where they sit in the repayment queue. The ATO applies your compulsory repayment to loans in a fixed order: HELP first, then VSL, SFSS, SSL, ABSTUDY SSL and finally AASL. An apprentice who also has a HECS-HELP debt from an earlier degree repays the HELP balance in full before a dollar reaches the AASL.
| Feature | AASL | HECS-HELP | VET Student Loans | Student Start-up Loan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who | Apprentices in Priority List occupations | Students in Commonwealth supported places | Students in approved VET courses (see our VET Student Loan eligibility guide) | Students receiving eligible study payments (see our Student Start-up Loan guide) |
| Interest | None | None | None | None |
| Indexation | 1 June, lower of CPI/WPI (2.8% in 2026) | Same | Same | Same |
| Repayment threshold 2026-27 | $69,528 | $69,528 | $69,528 | $69,528 |
| Completion discount | 20% on completing the apprenticeship | None | None | None |
| One-off 20% cut (1 June 2025 balances) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Order of repayment | 6th (last) | 1st | 2nd | 4th |
Should you take the loan? A borrow-only-what-you-need framework
On its terms AASL is hard to beat: no interest, income-contingent repayment and a 20% completion discount. It is still debt that grows at the indexation rate while it sits unpaid, and the ATO will collect it from the first year your repayment income clears the threshold. A practical way to decide:
- Work out the monthly gap between award wages and essential costs (tools, transport, rent). Opt in for the six-month blocks that cover a genuine gap and skip the ones that do not; the six-monthly opt-in exists for that reason.
- Assume you will complete. The 20% discount turns $27,048 into about $21,638; if you are unsure you will finish, the full amount stays and indexes.
- Check the first qualified-year wage for your trade against $69,528. If it clears the threshold, repayments start that year at 15c in the dollar above it.
- If you already carry a HECS-HELP debt, remember it is repaid first. Your AASL balance will index for longer, so borrow less.
Run your expected first-year wage through the HECS repayment calculator to see whether you would repay anything in 2026-27; the thresholds and rates are the same for AASL. Confirm eligibility and current instalments on apprenticeships.gov.au, and treat this page as general information rather than advice.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Australian Apprenticeship Support Loan interest-free?
Yes. No interest is charged. The balance is indexed by the ATO on 1 June each year at the lower of CPI or WPI (2.8% in 2026), on the part of the loan that has been unpaid for more than 11 months, so the debt still grows while it sits unpaid.
Do I have to repay AASL if I don't finish my apprenticeship?
Yes. The debt stays on your ATO account and is repaid through your tax return once your repayment income exceeds the threshold ($69,528 in 2026-27). You also lose the 20% completion discount, which only applies to apprentices who successfully complete.
Does the 20% completion discount apply automatically?
DEWR states that apprentices who successfully complete their apprenticeship receive a 20% discount on their loan amount. Completion is recorded through your Apprenticeship Network Provider and the training contract; check your ATO account via myGov afterwards to confirm the reduction has been applied, and contact the ATO if it has not.
Can I pay the AASL off early?
The loan sits on your ATO account like a HELP debt. This page does not verify the current voluntary repayment rules, so confirm them with the ATO before paying a lump sum. Whether paying early is worthwhile depends on the indexation rate (2.8% in 2026) against what the money could otherwise do; remember the 20% completion discount applies to the loan amount on completion.
Does AASL affect my HECS repayment?
Your compulsory repayment is calculated once from your repayment income regardless of how many study loans you hold. The ATO then applies it to loans in a fixed order: HELP first, then VSL, SFSS, SSL, ABSTUDY SSL and AASL last. Holding both means the HELP debt clears first while the AASL balance keeps indexing.
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Open the calculatorThis article is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are approximate and change over time — always verify with a qualified professional or the official source before making a decision.
Written and reviewed by the HECS Debt Calculator editorial team. Facts checked against primary sources; see the reference above.