HITsa Training and Employment – Policy and Procedure

Unique Student Identifier (USI)

No:                  HITP0063/4

Issued:             20.11.2014

Reviewed:       28.01.2022

Purpose: 

All students are required to supply a Unique Student Identifier (USI).  Without this USI HITsa Training and Employment is unable to issue certificates for nationally recognised training completed.

Areas affected: 

HITsa Training and Employment staff and sites

General:

When enrolling into training client must provide HITsa Training and Employment with a USI. If the client does not have a USI at the point of enrolment HITsa Training and Employment will ask the client to create this USI or allow HITsa to create on the client’s behalf.

If a client does not have a valid USI then HITsa can not issue any accredited results until they gain one, even if they are competent in whichever relevant unit.

This is the procedure that HITsa Training and Employment will follow when applying for a USI on your behalf, including what information will be collected from you and how this information will be used during the process.

When applying on your behalf to the Student Identifiers Registrar for a USI, HITsa Training and Employment will provide to the Registrar the following items of personal information about you

  • your name, including first or given name(s), middle name(s) and surname or family name as they appear in an identification document
  • you date of birth, as it appears, if shown, in an identification document
  • your city or town of birth
  • your country of birth
  • your gender
  • your contact details

When HITsa Training and Employment applies for a USI on your behalf, the Registrar will verify your identity. The Registrar will verify your identity through the Document Verification Service (DVS) managed by the Attorney-General’s Department which is built into the USI online application process if you have documents such as a Medicare card, birth certificate, driver licence, Australian passport, citizenship document, certificate of registration by descent, ImmiCard or Australian entry visa.

If you do not have a document suitable for the DVS and HITsa Training and Employment is authorized to do so by the Registrar, we may be able to verify your identity by other means. If you do not have any of the identity documents mentioned above, and we are not authorized by the Registrar to verify your identity by other means, we cannot apply for a USI on your behalf and you should contact the Student Identifiers Registrar.

 

In accordance with section 11 of the Student Identifiers Act 2014 Cth (SI Act), HITsa Training and Employment will securely destroy personal information which we collect from you solely for the purpose of applying for a USI on your behalf as soon as practicable after the USI application has been made or the information is no longer needed for that purpose, unless we are required by or under any law to retain it.

 

The personal information about you that HITsa Training and Employment provides to the Registrar, including your identity information, is protected by the Privacy Act 1988 Cth (Privacy Act). The collection use and disclosure of your USI are protected by the SI Act.

If you ask HITsa Training and Employment to make an application for a student identifier on your behalf, HITsa Training and Employment will have to declare that HITsa Training and Employment has complied with certain terms and conditions to be able to access the online student identifier portal and submit this application, including a declaration that HITsa Training and Employment has given you the following privacy notice:

You are advised and agree that you understand and consent that the personal information you provide to us in connection with your application for a USI:

  • is collected by the Registrar for the purposes of:
    • applying for, verifying and giving a USI;
    • resolving problems with a USI; and
    • creating authenticated vocational education and training (VET) transcripts;
  • may be disclosed to:
    • Commonwealth and State/Territory government departments and agencies and statutory bodies performing functions relating to VET for:
      • the purposes of administering and auditing Vocational Education and Training (VET), VET providers and VET programs;
      • education related policy and research purposes; and
      • to assist in determining eligibility for training subsidies;
    • VET Regulators to enable them to perform their VET regulatory functions;
    • VET Admission Bodies for the purposes of administering VET and VET programs;
    • current and former Registered Training Organisations to enable them to deliver VET courses to the individual, meet their reporting obligations under the VET standards and government contracts and assist in determining eligibility for training subsidies;
    • schools for the purposes of delivering VET courses to the individual and reporting on these courses;
    • the National Centre for Vocational Education Research for the purpose of creating authenticated VET transcripts, resolving problems with USIs and for the collection, preparation and auditing of national VET statistics;
    • researchers for education and training related research purposes;
    • any other person or agency that may be authorised or required by law to access the information;
    • any entity contractually engaged by the Student Identifiers Registrar to assist in the performance of his or her functions in the administration of the USI system; and
  • will not otherwise be disclosed without your consent unless authorised or required by or under law.

Privacy policies and complaints

You can find further information on how the Registrar collects, uses and discloses the personal information about you in the Registrar’s Privacy Policy http://usi.gov.au/Pages/privacy-policy.aspx. The Registrar’s Privacy Policy contains information about how you may access and seek correction of the personal information held about you and how you may make a complaint about a breach of privacy by the Registrar in connection with the USI and how such complaints will be dealt with.

You may also make a complaint to the Information Commissioner about an interference with privacy pursuant to the Privacy Act, which includes the following:

  • misuse or interference of or unauthorised collection, use, access, modification or disclosure of USIs; and
  • a failure by Us to destroy personal information collected by you only for the purpose of applying for a USI on your behalf.

For information about how HITsa Training and Employment collect, uses and discloses your personal information generally, including how you can make a complaint about a breach of privacy, please refer to HITsa Training and Employment’s privacy policy which can be found on our website www.hitsa.com.au

Procedure end