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Student Loan Scheme Act 2011

Repayment obligations of borrowers - New Zealand-based borrowers' repayment obligations for salary or wages - Standard deductions resulting in significant under-deductions or over-deductions

63: Commissioner determines what is significant under-deduction or significant over-deduction

You could also call this:

"The Student Loan Boss decides when mistakes in repayments are big enough to worry about"

The Commissioner decides what counts as a big mistake in taking out too little or too much money for your student loan repayments. They set the rules for what's considered a big mistake, and these rules might be different for taking out too little versus too much.

When the Commissioner makes these rules, they think about two main things. First, they want to make sure the student loan system works properly. Second, they consider what resources they have available to manage this.

The Commissioner can look at more than one mistake at a time when deciding if it's a big problem. They might also set different rules for different time periods.

Every year, before March 31, the Commissioner will let you know what they've decided is a big mistake for taking out too much money in the next tax year. This way, you'll know what to expect.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3180150.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Banking and loansEducation and learning > Higher education
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62A: Commissioner may notify employers when loan balance close to zero, or

"The government can tell your work to take less money for your student loan when you're almost done paying it"

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64: Standard deductions are full and final unless significant error, or

"Money taken from your pay for student loans is final unless there's a big mistake"

Part 2Repayment obligations of borrowers
New Zealand-based borrowers' repayment obligations for salary or wages: Standard deductions resulting in significant under-deductions or over-deductions

63Commissioner determines what is significant under-deduction or significant over-deduction

  1. The Commissioner must determine the thresholds (which may differ) for what is to be treated as a significant under-deduction or a significant over-deduction.

  2. The Commissioner must exercise his or her discretion under subsection (1)—

  3. in order to maintain the integrity of the student loan scheme; and
    1. having regard to the resources available to the Commissioner.

      1. A determination under subsection (1) may—

      2. take into account the cumulative effect of 2 or more under-deductions or over-deductions from a borrower's salary or wages; and
        1. be set by reference to 1 or more time periods.

          1. The Commissioner must, on or before 31 March each year, inform borrowers of the threshold determined by the Commissioner for significant over-deductions for the next tax year.