Crackdown on student loan dodgers abroad

Australians living overseas can no longer dodge their student loans under new laws forcing them to pay up no matter where they reside.

From January 1, anyone with a Higher Education Loan Program or Trade Support Loan debt living overseas and earning more than the minimum repayment threshold of $54,126 will be required to notify the Australian Taxation Office to arrange repayments.

There was previously no obligation for offshore residents to repay the debts.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham said non-repayment of debts from students living overseas has cost taxpayers up to $800 million since the loan scheme started in 1989, with $20 to $30 million lost each year.

He said recouping the debts would ensure the scheme was fairer and more sustainable.

"As well as making the scheme fairer and more equitable, the government's changes will improve the sustainability of the scheme with taxpayers to benefit by $150 million over the next decade," he said on Friday.