Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Dunne vows tough line with student debt defaulters

Updated at 6:03 am on 21 December 2010

Revenue Minister Peter Dunne says Inland Revenue (IRD) will continue to take a tough line with student loan defaulters living in Australia.

About $2 billion of the total student loan debt of about $10 billion is owed by people living overseas.

Last week the Government changed the law to give the IRD the power to recall loans in cases of serious non-compliance.

IRD hopes to take 10 test cases against loan defaulters in Australia.

Mr Dunne says that thanks to information-sharing with Immigration since 2008, the IRD knows where people are and has been making direct contact with them.

In many cases, he says, there's a positive response, with about $250,000 collected in Australia in just the last month.

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