Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Student Loan Scheme Act 2011

Interest, relief, penalties and offences, rights of objection, and rights to challenge - Relief - Different types of relief

145: Application for different types of relief for borrower

You could also call this:

"How to ask for help with your student loan payments"

You can ask for different types of help if you have a student loan. You, or someone acting for you, can ask for:

  1. Help with late payment interest. This means you might not have to pay as much extra money if you're late with your payments.

  2. Help with penalties. If you've been charged extra money for not following the rules, you might be able to get some of that money back.

  3. Help if you're having money problems. You can ask for this help for the current year, any past year, or even for next year. But if you want help for next year, you need to ask before 31 March of this year.

  4. Help to pay your loan back in smaller amounts over time.

To ask for help with late payment interest or money problems, you need to tell the Commissioner in a way they're okay with.

If you want to pay your loan back in smaller amounts, you need to follow some special rules when you ask.

Remember, you can ask for more than one type of help if you need it.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

This page was last updated on

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3180316.

Topics:
Education and learning > Higher educationMoney and consumer rights > Banking and loans
Previous

144: Power of Commissioner in relation to small amounts, or

"The government can ignore very small amounts of student loan money"

Next

146: Commissioner may grant relief from late payment interest, or

"You can ask for help to cancel some late payment interest on your student loan"

Part 4Interest, relief, penalties and offences, rights of objection, and rights to challenge
Relief: Different types of relief

145Application for different types of relief for borrower

  1. A borrower, or a person on a borrower's behalf, may apply for 1 or more of the following:

  2. relief from late payment interest (see section 146):
    1. relief from a penalty (see section 146A):
      1. hardship relief for the current tax year, any prior tax year, or the next tax year (see section 147):
        1. financial relief by entry into an instalment arrangement (see section 154).

          1. An application under subsection (1)(a) must be made by notifying the Commissioner in a manner acceptable to the Commissioner.

          2. An application under subsection (1)(b)—

          3. must be made by notifying the Commissioner in a manner acceptable to the Commissioner:
            1. that relates to hardship relief for the next tax year must be made on or before 31 March in the tax year that immediately precedes the tax year for which relief is sought.

              1. An application under subsection (1)(c) must be made in accordance with section 154(1).

              Compare
              Notes
              • Section 145(1)(ab): inserted, on (applying for 2013–14 and later tax years), by section 60 of the Student Loan Scheme Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 10).