Persistent non-repayers Publications
Publication Details
This report analyses the characteristics of student loan persistent non-repayers. They are student loan borrowers who left study in 2006 with a leaving debt of at least $20 and who, as New Zealand-based borrowers, made no repayments in three or more consecutive years during the 10 tax years 2007/08–2016/17.
Author(s): Loan Pham, Tertiary Sector Performance Analysis, Ministry of Education
Date Published: April 2019
Date Updated: October 2025
Summary
This report analyses the following characteristics of student loan persistent non-repayers in New Zealand: demographic, main activity prior to study, last year of study, post-study activity, student loan profile, and student loan profile by overseas status.
Our analysis finds that persistent non-repayers in New Zealand make up 25% (8,280 people) of all leavers who left study in 2006 with a leaving debt. They are more likely to:
- study qualifications at below degree level
- have not completed the last studied qualification
- have their main activity prior to study as ‘on a benefit’
- have post-study activity as ‘never employed’ or as ‘always on a benefit’.
While most persistent non-repayers made some repayments during the 10 years considered, 29% (2,439 people) made no repayments at all. They account for 7.3% of all leavers with a leaving debt.
The bulk of this analysis spanned the 10 tax years 2007/08–2016/17. However, a check of the repayment status for the 8,280 persistent non-repayers at the end of the 2017/18 tax year shows that 17% had fully repaid their loan, 4.1% had their loan written off due to bankruptcy or death and 22% were repaying.
Update (April 2021):
Repayment status of persistent non-repayers by the end of the 2019/20 tax year.
During the two tax years 2018/19-2019/20, a further 462 persistent non-repayers fully repaid their loan and 114 had their loan written off due to bankruptcy or death.
By the end of the 2019/20 tax year, 1,833 persistent non-repayers had fully repaid their loan and 450 had their loan written off due to bankruptcy or death. Together they account for 28% of all persistent non-repayers. Of the 5,997 persistent non-repayers who still had a loan as at 31 March 2020, 30% made some repayments in the 2019/20 tax year.
Update (October 2022):
Repayment status of persistent non-repayers by the end of the 2020/21 tax year.
There were 8,280 student loan borrowers who left study in 2006 with a leaving debt of at least $20 and who, as New Zealand-based borrowers, made no repayments in three or more consecutive years during the 10 tax years 2007/08–2016/17.
During the 2020/21 tax year, a further 270 persistent non-repayers fully repaid their loan and 3 had their loan written off due to bankruptcy or death. This means that of the original population 2,103 have since fully repaid and 453 had had their loans written off. Together they account for 31% of all persistent non-repayers.
Of the 5,724 persistent non-repayers who still had a loan as at 31 March 2021, 28% made some repayments in the 2020/21 tax year.
Update (March 2023):
Repayment status of persistent non-repayers by the end of the 2021/22 tax year.
During the 2021/22 tax year, a further 306 persistent non-repayers fully repaid their loan. No further deaths or bankruptcy occurred. This means that of the original population 2,409 have since fully repaid and 453 had had their loans written off. Together they account for 35% of all persistent non-repayers.
Of the 5,418 persistent non-repayers who still had a loan as at 31 March 2021, 28% made some repayments in the 2020/21 tax year.
Update (March 2024):
Repayment status of persistent non-repayers by the end of the 2022/23 tax year.
During the 2022/23 tax year, a further 285 persistent non-repayers fully repaid their loan. No further deaths or bankruptcy occurred. This means that of the original population 2,694 have since fully repaid and 453 had had their loans written off. Together they account for 38% of all persistent non-repayers.
Of the 5,133 persistent non-repayers who still had a loan as at 31 March 2023, 30% made some repayments in the 2022/23 tax year.
Update (October 2025):
Repayment status of persistent non-repayers by the end of the 2024/25 tax year.
During the 2024/25 tax year, a further 351 persistent non-repayers fully repaid their loan, and three had their loan written off due to death or bankruptcy. This means that of the original population of 8,280 non-repayers, 3,045 have since fully repaid (37 percent) and 456 had had their loans written off. Together they account for 42% of all persistent non-repayers.
Of the 4,782 persistent non-repayers who still had a loan as of 31 March 2025, 27 percent made some repayments in the 2024/25 tax year. The percentage of persistent non-repayers who did not make a payment was 58 percent in the 2017/18 tax year, and 42 percent in the 2024/25 tax year.
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