Loan account, balance, interest
For every Student Loan you take out, we set you up a loan account once your loan is approved. The loan account keeps track of your transactions. You will also get regular loan statements showing your transactions, including interest and the balance.
On this page:
The Student Loan account
We will set up a loan account for you once your loan is approved. This is an account that keeps track of your transactions.
In most cases, your loan account with StudyLink will run for 52 weeks from the day you start your course - unless your course finishes before 31 December in which case it will close on 31 December.
Each loan account closes on 31 December following your course end date. You can't use your loan once your loan account has closed.
After your loan account has closed, your loan balance will transfer to Inland Revenue on 28 February the following year.
Inland Revenue will be responsible for collecting repayments from you until your Student Loan is paid back.
You need to take out a new loan (and open a new loan account) for every year of your studies.
You can have more than one loan account
In some cases you may have more than one loan account. If you are studying more than one course, and your second one starts before the other one finishes, you may have two loan accounts.
You'll need to sign a new loan contract (we'll send this to you) and pay the administration fee for every loan account you open.
Student Loan administration fee
You'll need to pay a $50.00 administration fee every time you open a loan account.The fee is added to your loan as soon as you use it. Once your loan is approved and your loan account opened, you will be able to use your loan.
Interest free Student Loans
Any Student Loan borrower who has been in New Zealand for 183 or more consecutive days will be eligible for an interest free Student Loan.
Interest charged will still show on your statements, but will automatically be written off by Inland Revenue at the end of the year. Inland Revenue will send you confirmation of the write-off after April.
Interest is charged daily from the first day that you use your loan until you have repaid the loan in full.
The interest rate is 6.8% pa. Rates are reviewed on 1 April each year.
Go to the Inland Revenue website for more information on interest-free student loans.
How to check your loan balance
You'll get regular loan statements that show your transactions, interest charges and loan balance.
The final loan statement will be sent to you after your loan account has been closed.
It will show:
- your loan balance as at 31 December
- the interest charged
- all your transactions for the year
- the date your loan will transfer to Inland Revenue.
You can check your loan balance or ask for another statement at any time by using your MyStudyLink account.
What to do if you don't agree with your loan balance
While your loan is still with us, there's a standard process for disputing your loan balance. It's important you follow it so things can be sorted out as soon as possible.
