Loans with no interest are scams or non-existent. So when someone tells you that they don’t have interest on, say, a student loan, what they don’t realize is that there actually is interest — it is just being paid for by other people. This is true in the US, Australia, and everywhere else. Banks, governments, credit unions, etc. don’t just lend money for free: they are taking on the risk that someone won’t pay them back. And a promissory note is not just an agreement that they will be paid back, but that they will also be compensated for taking on that risk. IOW, you don’t EVER get awarded an interest-free loan from the government.