At the Australia–New Zealand Leaders’ meeting held in February 2013, it was agreed that officials from Australia and New Zealand would work together to investigate the possible implementation of a reciprocal student debt recovery scheme on a without-prejudice basis. Following the Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ meeting held in February 2014, the Ministers welcomed progress on work to set up a mechanism to share data to assist New Zealand to recoup unpaid student loans in Australia, with the option of New Zealand providing reciprocal assistance should Australia adopt an overseas-based borrower regime in the future. In August 2014, Cabinet agreed that New Zealand officials would enter into formal negotiations with their Australian counterparts in relation to an agreement to exchange information to assist in the recovery of student loan debt [CAB Min (14) 26/22 refers]. There is a concern that the status quo is not sufficient, as there is no official political commitment between Australia and New Zealand to assist in the recovery of student loan debt. As mentioned above, Australia has previously signalled an intention to cooperate with New Zealand in the recovery of student loan debt; however, this intention is not currently formalised in any manner. Assistance in recovery of student loan debt in Australia would be beneficial to New Zealand, as there is a high level of student loan default held by borrowers currently residing in Australia. Problem definition The problem addressed in this RIS is limited to implementation of an agreement following negotiations with Australian officials, as Cabinet approved these negotiations in August 2014. This RIS therefore identifies the implementation options available for an agreement for the assistance in the recovery of student loan debt between Australia and New Zealand. After formal negotiations with Australian officials, which took place in September to December of 2014, it has been decided that the type of agreement that is acceptable to both jurisdictions is an Arrangement. An Arrangement is of less than treaty status and instead embodies a moral and political commitment. In this context, this RIS is concerned with how to progress the exchange of information between Australia and New Zealand to assist with the recovery of New Zealand student loan debt held by borrowers residing in Australia. This RIS does not consider a legally binding agreement (treaty) as an option. Formal negotiations with Australian officials have indicated that their preferred option for an international instrument is an Arrangement. OBJECTIVES The objectives are to: (a) Support an information exchange between the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Inland Revenue in relation to New Zealand student loan borrowers residing in Australia.
At the Australia–New Zealand Leaders’ meeting held in February 2013, it was agreed that officials from Australia and New Zealand would work together to investigate the possible implementation of a reciprocal student debt recovery scheme on a without-prejudice basis. Following the Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ meeting held in February 2014, the Ministers welcomed progress on work to set up a mechanism to share data to assist New Zealand to recoup unpaid student loans in Australia, with the option of New Zealand providing reciprocal assistance should Australia adopt an overseas-based borrower regime in the future. In August 2014, Cabinet agreed that New Zealand officials would enter into formal negotiations with their Australian counterparts in relation to an agreement to exchange information to assist in the recovery of student loan debt [CAB Min (14) 26/22 refers]. There is a concern that the status quo is not sufficient, as there is no official political commitment between Australia and New Zealand to assist in the recovery of student loan debt. As mentioned above, Australia has previously signalled an intention to cooperate with New Zealand in the recovery of student loan debt; however, this intention is not currently formalised in any manner. Assistance in recovery of student loan debt in Australia would be beneficial to New Zealand, as there is a high level of student loan default held by borrowers currently residing in Australia. Problem definition The problem addressed in this RIS is limited to implementation of an agreement following negotiations with Australian officials, as Cabinet approved these negotiations in August 2014. This RIS therefore identifies the implementation options available for an agreement for the assistance in the recovery of student loan debt between Australia and New Zealand. After formal negotiations with Australian officials, which took place in September to December of 2014, it has been decided that the type of agreement that is acceptable to both jurisdictions is an Arrangement. An Arrangement is of less than treaty status and instead embodies a moral and political commitment. In this context, this RIS is concerned with how to progress the exchange of information between Australia and New Zealand to assist with the recovery of New Zealand student loan debt held by borrowers residing in Australia. This RIS does not consider a legally binding agreement (treaty) as an option. Formal negotiations with Australian officials have indicated that their preferred option for an international instrument is an Arrangement. OBJECTIVES The objectives are to: (a) Support an information exchange between the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and Inland Revenue in relation to New Zealand student loan borrowers residing in Australia.