University graduates will have to pay back their student loan debts when they start earning $45,000, after the government's higher education reforms scraped through the Senate on Monday night.



Under the current system, people who take out HECS loans to pay for their university degrees do not have to start paying them back until they are earning more than $54,000 a year.

The legislation that passed the Senate last night, 34 votes to 33, means from July 1 next year graduates will start paying back their debt once they earn $45,000.

The debt is paid back at a rate of 1% of their income, or the equivalent of about $450 a year or $8.60 per week.

Tasmanian Nationals senator Steve Martin crossed the floor to vote with Labor and the Greens against the changes. The former independent senator — who replaced Jacqui Lambie earlier this year — flagged his opposition to higher education reforms in his first speech.

"Some would say I'd be crossing the floor against my party; however, I see it as staying true to my word," Martin said.



Martin reasoned that the lower threshold would stop prospective students from undertaking tertiary education, especially in Tasmania.



"Students are one of Australia's most precious resources and we should invest in them," he said.

But Martin's dissent wasn't enough to defeat the bill, as the government had secured the eight crossbench votes required to pass the legislation, including Cory Bernardi, Brian Burston, Centre Alliance's Stirling Griff and Rex Patrick, One Nation's Pauline Hanson and Peter Georgiou, David Leyonhjelm, and Tim Storer.

In defending her backing of the legislation in June, Hanson said graduates would just have to have fewer coffees each week.