Three million university students and graduates will have some reprieve from huge rises in their student loans due after the repayment thresholds were revised to match indexation.

Under the new schedule from July 1, students won’t have to start repaying their Higher Education Loans Program loans, commonly known as HECS, until they earn $51,550, up from $48,361. At that level, they must repay 1 per cent of their annual income.