Verify USI

This page contains instructions on how to verify a student's USI in Paradigm.

Overview

Once a student has been issued with a USI, it remains with them for life, and the same USI can never be issued to any other person. It also gives you an online record of your vocational education and training (VET) undertaken in Australia. Any student at university, TAFE or doing other nationally recognised training, needs a USI. Without one, the student can't get Commonwealth financial assistance or your qualification or statement of attainment.

If a student provides a USI, you must verify that it is both complete and genuine. This article will guide you on how to verify a USI that has been provided by a student within Paradigm.

What is a Unique Student Identifier (USI)?

The USI (Unique Student Identifier) is required for all VET-level students receiving nationally recognised training to comply with Government reporting requirements. The USI is an initiative of the Australian Government to ensure that students can access their student records even if providers cease to trade. As of 22 May 2017, students can use their USI to obtain a transcript of their units of study. The USI transcript currently holds data for units of study from 2015 to now.

More details here.

BE ADVISED:

Always check for any government-issued update on compliance related to the Unique Student Identifier (USI) requirements here.

Paradigm Requirements to Gain Access to the USI Service

As a Provider, you need to either have access to an existing key or obtain a new M2M key for your institution, for USI generation. This will enable Paradigm to gain access to the USI Service.

Refer to the workflows in this knowledge article for the instructions: USI (Unique Student Identifier)

Workflow

The instructions below will help you with verifying the student's USI in Paradigm.

1. Load the student's record, see Search a Student record.

2. Click on the Student Details option in the side menu. Move down the side menu and click the USI Edit option and check the details of the student record.

NOTE:

Only two fields USI Student Number and Given Names are editable, the remaining fields are read-only.

3. Click the Verify USI button to verify the student’s USI.

The system not only verifies the USI number but also crosschecks other fields: student’s Given Name, Family Name, and DOB to ensure that they match with the details for the USI number as they have been recorded on the USI service website.

You will see either Success or Error responses.

✅ Success	❌ Error
If it’s verified, you will see a green successful message at the top of the screen.	You will see a red error message against each invalid field that the government could not verify or match.