The student loan debt of nearly three million Aussies is set to rise today as part of the government's annual indexation. HECS-HELP debt gets indexed every year on June 1 against the consumer price index (CPI) to make sure the loan is keeping pace with inflation.

Yahoo Finance has been inundated with messages from Aussies all across the country about how the debt has impacted them. Some have put off going to university altogether because they are worried about accumulating debt, while others have delayed buying a home or even starting a family due to the loan.

Sadly for them, their HECS pain is about to get worse.

Are you affected by HECS debt? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com

This year's indexation is 4.7 per cent, which is the second-highest amount in a decade, and will cause the average HECS debt of $26,000 to go up by $1,200.

The government has announced a measure that could wipe $3 billion from peoples' HECS debts, however, that's yet to pass through parliament.

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The change would see student loan indexation be tied to whatever is lower out of CPI or the wage price index (WPI). If that was brought in before today, this year's indexation would have been 4 per cent, while last year's humungous 7.1 per cent jump would've only been 3.2 per cent.

The government said it would also backdate this plan to June 1, 2023, which would give people even more credit in their accounts.

This came after Teal MP Dr Monique Ryan launched a petition that attracted nearly 300,000 signatures and called on the government to change the way HECS was indexed.

"I think that was only the first step really, and there's a whole lot that's left to do on HECS that the government has indicated they're considering and that they will hopefully put on the agenda in the next short while," she told Yahoo Finance.

Recent data showed that 2.9 million Aussies have HECS-HELP debt and their collective loan amount was $78.2 billion in 2022–23.

How will the government's HECS plan affect my debt amount?

If Labor is able to get its plan legislated then it could take off a decent dent in your HECS debt amount, but that depends on how much you've racked up.

*Actual credit amount will vary depending on individual circumstances including repayments made during the year. All HELP debts that were indexed in 2023 and are subject to indexation on June 1, 2024 will receive an indexation credit.