As you are aware there is a requirement in the AQTF to use the unique student identifier in condition 6.
COAG gave its in-principle support for the introduction, from 2012, of a national unique student identifier for the VET sector that is capable of being fully integrated with the entire education system.
Here is an update and a link to the progress of the scope.
The Ministerial Council for Tertiary Education and Employment at its meeting of 28April 2010 agreed, in principle, the minimum scope of application for a Unique StudentIdentifier (USI) as it applies to the VET sector. It was agreed that that in order to maximise the benefits of a USI and establish a credible long term cost/ benefit, this minimum scope should include that:
- it is of national scope and application and covers the operation of all RTOs
- it applies at all AQF levels,
- it encompasses public and private RTOs regardless of whether a provider or its students are publicly or privately funded,
- it applies to international students enrolled in any AQF qualification with an Australian training provider whether onshore or off‐shore,
- it applies across all accredited programs
This scope requires that there must be clear and definable benefits for the clients that fall within its scope (students, education and training providers, researchers and policy makers and funding administrators).
You can view the discussion paper by clicking here.