USI in higher education | Unique Student Identifier

From 1 January 2023, all higher education students, including those who commenced prior to 2021, must have a USI to:

be eligible for a Commonwealth supported place (CSP) and Commonwealth financial assistance (HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, OS-HELP, SA-HELP)
to graduate and receive their award.

Offshore international students do not require a USI if they completed all their study outside of Australia.

Offshore international higher education students do not require a USI if they completed all their study before 1 January 2023 and are not in Australia at the time of conferral.

A USI is a student's lifelong education number.

What do students need to do?

Students who are commencing study in 2021 should:

check if they already have a USI (from previous vocational education or training)
get a USI as soon as possible
provide their USI to their Tertiary Admissions Centre or Higher Education Provider when requested.

What do Higher Education Providers need to do?

Higher Education Providers need to:

encourage new students to apply for a USI as soon as possible
request and record the USIs of commencing students on enrolment
ensure any student commencing in a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) has provided a USI prior to census date
ensure the CAF or eCAF includes the student’s USI
report the USI as part of the DESE reporting cycle.

Read more in our Higher Education Provider FAQs.

Message 3:

Think you might already have a USI? If you have completed any VET or TAFE courses, you may already have a USI. Check if you have one now.