Unique Student Identifier (USI) is a unique educational reference number issued by the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

to all

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

students (including

universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

, TAFEs and independent tertiary colleges) for the purpose of collecting information about a student's training and study activity, and their movements within the VET and higher education systems in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The Unique Student Identifier is for life and is a requirement for all higher education students in studying Australia to obtain one. Both domestic and

international student International students or exchange students, also known as foreign students, are students who undertake all or part of their secondary or tertiary education in a country other than their own. In 2022, there were over 6.9 million international ...

s are included in the scheme, and the USI is independent of a University ID number as it is managed on a nationwide scale.

History

The concept of a national student registrar was first officially suggested by then Education Minister, Julia Gillard in 2010. It was proposed to be linked to the My School website for primary and high school students to keep track of their academic records. However, the proposal faced strong backlash from the opposition and public, mainly due to

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

reasons. In April 2012, the

Council of Australian Governments The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) was the primary intergovernmental forum in Australia from 1992 to 2020. Comprising the federal government, the governments of the six states and two mainland territories and the Australian Local G ...

(COAG) decided to implement the USI nationally to give VET students access to a complete record of their VET enrolments and achievements to better track their learning, even if they move between institutions for different courses. The government seeks this information to provide an important foundation for improving the performance of VET and higher education system and better meet the needs of students, education providers and employers. After discussions between

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and federal leaders followed by consultations with stakeholders, Commonwealth legislation was passed and the USI Registry System commenced in January 2015. The first issued USI was required to apply or enrol in any nationally registered VET courses. In December 2019, the

introduced the ''Student Identifiers Amendment (Higher Education) Bill 2019'' into Parliament, which seeks to amend the ''Student Identifiers Act 2014'' to extend the use of USI to all higher education students. From January 2021, new domestic and onshore international higher education students may apply for a USI. In January 2023, USI becomes mandatory, where higher education providers must not confer an award on an individual without a USI unless an exemption applies. Although the USI is now used throughout tertiary students, there is still strong advocacy for the identifier to extend its use to primary and high schools to combat the drop in school attendance rates. Key legislations that involve the implementation of the USI include: * ''Student Identifiers Act 2014'' * ''Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTO) 2015'' * ''Student Identifiers Regulation 2014'' * ''Student Identifiers (VET Admission Bodies) Instrument 2015'' * ''Student Identifiers (Exemptions) Instrument 2018''

Application

From 2023, it is a requirement for all higher education students in Australia to obtain a Unique Student Identifier. A USI is needed if an individual is: * A new or continuing domestic student undertaking nationally recognised training * A higher education student in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) or graduating in 2023 and beyond * An international student studying in Australia for any part of their course The only exception is if the individual has been granted an exemption, is an international student completing all of their studies outside of Australia, or if an Australian student is studying overseas and is not with an Australian education provider. A USI is essential to receive a statement of attainment, qualification, or an award. It is also a must when applying for higher education support such as HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP and Research Training Program (RTP) funding. The USI also gives VET students an online record of their nationally recognised training in the form of a VET transcript. This can be used when they are applying for a job, seeking a credit transfer or as proof of prerequisites when undertaking further training. The USI will stay with the student for life. All students will need to provide their USI while enrolling in any higher education courses. For students who are unable to create one, some training organisations are able to create a USI for students with their permission.

Format

The USI is a randomly generated

alphanumeric Alphanumericals or alphanumeric characters are any collection of number characters and letters in a certain language. Sometimes such characters may be mistaken one for the other. Merriam-Webster suggests that the term "alphanumeric" may often ...

9-digit code with an additional

check digit A check digit is a form of redundancy check used for Error detection and correction, error detection on identification numbers, such as bank account numbers, which are used in an application where they will at least sometimes be input manually. It ...

. As is the case with many identification numbers, the USI includes a check digit for detecting erroneous numbers. However, the

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of Rigour#Mathematics, mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algo ...

is undisclosed due to

security Security is protection from, or resilience against, potential harm (or other unwanted coercion). Beneficiaries (technically referents) of security may be persons and social groups, objects and institutions, ecosystems, or any other entity or ...

reasons and is only available on request to education and training providers.

References

{{Australian Identity Documents Education in Australia Identity documents of Australia

History

Application

Format

See also

References