A is your individual education number issued by the government. It only takes 5 minutes to create, and once you create it, you have it for life.
If you have undertaken any vocational education or training (even a First Aid course) since 2015 you probably already have a USI.
A USI is your individual education number issued by the government. The Australian government introduced the USI to the Higher Education sector to manage students’ records from various education providers, nationally.
Eventually, the USI will replace the Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN) which most Higher Education students have now. This will allow a more seamless and effective way to record and manage Student Learning Entitlements and HELP loan debts.
You will need a USI in order to receive commonwealth financial assistance, and/or to obtain your qualification.
For more information about the USI process and/or privacy policy, visit the and the .
If you have undertaken any vocational education or training (even a First Aid course) since 2015 you may already have a USI.
If you do not have a USI, you can create one. To create a USI, you will need to have a valid form of identification on hand.
If you are travelling to Australia to study, you must land in Australia and go through customs before you can create a USI using your non-Australian passport and visa as a form of ID.
From 1 January 2023, all students studying in Australia, including international students, must provide ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app with their USI in order to apply to graduate and receive their award.
However, when you need to provide ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app with your USI depends on a number of factors, including your student type:
All new and returning domestic ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app students who are in a Commonwealth Supported Place and/or access a HELP Loan (HECS/FEE/SA/OS/VET HELP) will need to provide ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app with their USI by Census date of the first session they enrol in from 1 January, 2023. This also includes any ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app College student studying a ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app accredited course.
If you are travelling to Australia to study, you must land in Australia and go through customs before you can create a USI using your non-Australian passport and visa as a form of ID. Once you have your USI you must provide it to ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app.
If you are studying offshore (outside of Australia) for the entire duration of your course, you do not need a USI.
You must provide your USI directly to ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app. When setting up your USI account via the government portal, please do not select to provide permission to a provider. This will not give ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app access to your USI - you must provide it through one of the options below.
When you enrol online in your course, you’ll be prompted to enter your USI. You can choose to not provide a USI at this step, however you will need to tick the box to acknowledge that you will provide it at a later date.
New and returning students can provide their USI in SOLS by:
Note: ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app College VET students should provide their USI via ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app College processes and not via SOLS.
To create a USI, you will need to provide personal details and contact information. The information provided will help ensure duplicate USIs aren’t created and your education records are linked to your USI account.
You must ensure that your personal information in the USI portal matches your personal details held by ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app (e.g. name is consistent). If you have a Tax File Number (TFN), you should use the same verifiable identification document/s to apply for both your TFN and USI.
Visit the to find out what details are required to apply for a USI.
When you create a USI, you will be provided with information regarding the handling of your information. More details at
Your USI may have failed verification as your personal details at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app do not match those held by the Government in the USI Portal.
You need to ensure that your full name and date of birth details at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app in SOLS match exactly with your details in the .
We suggest using the same form of ID in the USI portal that matches your ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app details.
If your information in USI and/or ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app was based on an identification document that doesn't reflect the name you'd like to use, you need to resolve this with the relevant agency that issued that document (e.g. married or maiden names, preferred names, native or English names, commas, hyphens and spaces).
The USI we collect from you will be verified and disclosed back to the Government based on your enrolment at the University of ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app. The USI will eventually replace the existing Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN).
Your USI will be held securely by ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app against your student record and only utilised for the process of verifying your identity and study entitlements back to the Government.
Further information can be found on the ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app’s Privacy homepage at uow.edu.au/privacy/.
If you are required to provide a USI to ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app (refer to the above section ‘When do I need to provide ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app with my USI?’) and haven’t done so by the required date, you will be contacted accordingly as your enrolment may be impacted in one of the following ways:
If you are a Domestic student and do not have a USI, you will not be eligible for a . This may mean that to continue to study at ÌìÃÀ´«Ã½app, you could be faced with full, upfront fees without the government’s contribution. That could mean fees of over $500 per credit point required to be paid upfront.
If you have a genuine personal objection to being assigned a USI, you can .
Successful exemption will mean that you will not be eligible for Commonwealth Support or Assistance.
International students who will not be coming onshore for their entire course may also be eligible for an exemption.
If you decide to apply for an exemption, you will need to let your student administration office know: