Verifying your identity

Verify your identity using a valid form of Australian identification such as passport, driver’s licence, or Medicare card.

How we verify your identity

We use the Document Verification Service (DVS) to verify your identity.

You need to provide one verifiable form of identification. Examples of acceptable Australian identification are shown below. This includes how your name is shown on a Visa Grants Notice.

The DVS will verify your identity by matching your details on the identification document (ID). This includes any hyphens and apostrophes in your name. The DVS Privacy Statement can be viewed at Privacy Statement – Identity Verification Services.

Your personal details must match exactly what’s shown on your identification.

We don’t keep a record or copy of your identification but we do keep some of your personal information obtained from your card or document.

To find out more about what data we keep, refer to our Privacy Policy.

Troubleshooting name issues

Learn how to troubleshoot some of the common problems our customers encounter whilst using the DVS in the video below.

Visit our Student name and the USI webpage to ensure your name matches your USI for enrolment, accessing records, and graduation.
 

Driver's licence

Your driver's licence must be current, valid and issued by an Australian State or Territory to be used for identification. An expired drivers’s licence from some states and territories can be used to verify in DVS.

The following details on the driver’s licence must match to verify in DVS:

  • given name(s)
  • family name
  • date of birth
  • licence number
  • card number
  • State of issue.

Licence examples

Driver's licence ACT

Front:

Image of the front of an Australian Capital Territory driver's licence highlighting where to locate family name, first name, licence number and date of birth.

Driver's licence NSW

Front:

Image of the front of a New South Wales driver's licence highlighting where to locate family name, first name, licence number and date of birth.

Driver's licence NT

Front and back:

Image of the front of a Northern Territory driver's licence highlighting where to locate family name, first name, licence number and date of birth.
Image of the back of a Northern Territory driver's licence highlighting where to locate the card number.

Driver's licence QLD

Front and back:

Image of the front of a Queensland driver's licence highlighting where to locate family name, first name, licence number and date of birth.
Image of the back of a Queensland driver's licence highlighting where to locate the card number.

Driver's licence SA

Front and back:

Image of the front of a South Australia driver's licence highlighting where to locate family name, first name, licence number and date of birth.
Image of the back of a South Australia driver's licence highlighting where to locate the card number.

Driver's licence TAS

Front and back:

Image of the front of a Tasmania driver's licence highlighting where to locate family name, first name, licence number and date of birth.
Image of the back of a Tasmania driver's licence highlighting where to locate the card number.

Driver's licence VIC

Front and back:

Image of the front of a Victoria driver's licence highlighting where to locate family name, first name, licence number and date of birth.
Image of the back of a Victoria driver's licence highlighting where to locate the card number.

Driver's licence WA

Front and back:

Image of the front of a Western Australia driver's licence highlighting where to locate family name, first name, licence number and date of birth.
Image of the back of a Western Australia driver's licence highlighting where to locate the card number.

Australian passport

You can verify your ID with an Australian passport if it is current or the expiry date is within the last 3 years.

To use an Australian passport the following details must match to verify your ID using the DVS:

  • family name
  • given name(s)
  • date of birth
  • gender
  • document number.

Australian passport example

These fields are marked in red in the example passport below.

Non-Australian passport (with Australian visa)

Non-Australian citizens intending to study in Australia require a visa issued by the Australian Government. The visa must be current and valid. You must land in Australia and pass through customs before you can use your non-Australian passport and visa as ID to create or update a USI.

If you have not been issued with an Australian visa, you will not be able to use your non-Australian passport.

If you are currently not in Australia, please contact your education or training provider and let them know you will provide a USI when you arrive.

Name must be entered as it appears in the visa or passport interpretation. If you have an accent (diacritic) in your name, refer to the bottom of your passport to see how this has been interpreted (e.g. ä may be interpreted to read 'ae').

The following details on the non-Australian passport must match to verify your ID:

  • family name
  • given name(s)
  • date of birth
  • passport number
  • country of passport.

New Zealand students

Students from New Zealand cannot use their New Zealand passport as a form of ID to create a USI until they land in Australia and go through customs.

Non-Australian passport example: People’s Republic of China

Hong Kong passports

If you have a Hong Kong passport, you may have to select the country of issue as China if your details are not verifying.

Australian birth certificate

A birth certificate can refer to either an original document or a certified copy issued by an Australian State or Territory.

When using a birth certificate as a form of ID please note:

  • state refers to the state or territory in which the birth was registered
  • the registration number is a unique number (location differs on each state and territory certificate)
  • date of registration is the date that the birth was registered
  • year of registration is the year the birth was registered
  • date printed is the date the birth certificate was printed (not all birth certificates have this information)
  • certificate number must be the same as that shown on the birth certificate.

Extract birth certificates or commemorative birth certificates are not accepted as a verifiable identification.

Location of required information shown on the examples below:

Birth certificate ACT, SA and NT

Birth certificate NSW and VIC

Birth certificate QLD and TAS

Birth certificate WA

Medicare card

If using a Medicare card to verify your identification, check:

  • your card is valid – the expiry date appears at the bottom of the card shown as 'VALID TO'
  • you have entered the 10 digits for the Medicare card number
  • you select the correct individual reference number next to your name on the Medicare card
  • the right card colour is selected – there are 3 colours you can choose from green (default), blue or yellow.

Medicare cards cannot be used to update personal details.

When using this identification to create your Unique Student Identifier (USI), you must:

  • use a valid concession card
  • include your Customer Reference Number (CRN)
  • be the primary cardholder (person listed at the top of the card).

Examples are shown below for:

Pensioner Concession card

Health Care card

Commonwealth Seniors Health card

Citizenship certificate

A citizenship certificate is issued by the Australian Government and is proof that someone born outside Australia is an Australian citizen.

You can verify a USI with the following citizenship certificates:

  • certificate of naturalisation
  • certificate of registration
  • declaratory certificates
  • evidentiary certificates
  • certificate of registration by descent.

Some citizenship certificates do not verify with the DVS. This can include declaratory judgements that are issued with or without a formal certificate.

Using your citizenship documents to verify your USI

The following details on the citizenship document must match to verify in the DVS:

  • given name(s)
  • family name
  • date of birth
  • stock/acquisition or evidence number
  • acquisition date.

The document must not be void or cancelled within the Department of Home Affairs systems.

Partial dates of birth are accepted (i.e. MM/YYYY or YYYY) on citizenship certificates. If a partial date of birth is recorded on the certificate, then you must enter the partial date to verify.

The certificate number and acquisition date apply to all the people on the certificate (e.g. children under 16 years of age).

If a child or spouse is endorsed on the citizenship certificate, enter the date of endorsement in the date of acquisition field. The date of endorsement is found in the endorsement section of the certificate.

Stock Number or an Evidence ID

Different citizenship certificates have a different type of number reference for the document. Some of the common formats are listed below, reference on the certificate as either Stock number or Evidence ID.

  • Stock number: located on the top at the back of the citizenship certificate. On some older certificates it is located in the bottom left-hand corner. Stock number examples: ACC 123456, CDM 1234, ACS 1234, CAS1234.
  • Evidence ID: found on the bottom left-hand corner on the front of the citizenship certificate after the words “Evidence No:” or “No.”. It is 11 digits in length and always has a 0 at the front. Evidence ID example: 012345678901.

Note older citizenship documents with a certificate number with an alpha-numeric number e.g. PA12345678N are not verifiable via the DVS.

Citizenship certificate example

Example citizenship certificate front:

Example citizenship certificate back:

ImmiCard

The following types of ImmiCard are able to be used to verify a USI:

  • evidence of immigration status (EIS) ImmiCard
  • permanent resident evidence (PRE) ImmiCard
  • residence determination ImmiCard (RDI).

You must supply the following:

  • given name(s) (insert a hyphen for single name identity)
  • family name
  • date of birth
  • card number (9-character alphanumeric field. Format: AAA111111).

Expired ImmiCards will verify unless cancelled by the Department of Home Affairs.

ImmiCard example

Aviation and Maritime Security Identification cards

It is important that the name details you enter match exactly what is printed on your Aviation or Maritime Security Identification card (ASIC/MSIC).

The Aviation or Maritime Security Identification card must be current and valid.

There are 2 types of Maritime Security Identification cards distinguished by colours:

  • blue
  • white.

There are 3 types of Aviation Security Identification cards distinguished by the colours:

  • red
  • grey
  • white.

Temporary Aviation Security Identification cards may not verify through DVS. The temporary card issued to you may not have been added to the national register at the time of verification. Temporary cards can be identified by a capital ‘T’ appearing to the right of the photograph.

Example of a Maritime/Aviation Security Identification card

Example of the details shown on a Maritime Security Identification Card
Did you find the information you were looking for on this page?

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connections to land, sea and communities. We pay our respects to them, their cultures and their Elders; past, present and emerging.