Australian businessman Mark Bouris, worth an estimated $200 million, has criticised his country's university student loan system, describing it as "the greatest con job in the world." Speaking on his podcast, Bouris argued that graduates leave university saddled with debt and no guarantee of employment, leaving many young Australians reluctant to take financial risks such as investing or starting businesses. His comments add a prominent business voice to mounting public debate over the affordability of higher education and the fairness of the HECS-HELP loan scheme.

Bouris, who completed his own degrees for free in 1979, contrasted his experience with that of his sons, who graduated in debt, and called for courses to be redesigned to better match workforce needs, criticising humanities subjects as offering poor job prospects. He suggested university should be free only for essential professions such as medicine, law and science. His remarks come as KPMG analysis shows Australians collectively owe $67.6 billion in HECS debt, with almost 2.4 million taxpayers holding an average balance of $28,500, and about half of all debt held by under-30s, even as rising costs push more students towards alternatives like free TAFE courses.