Data Collections
Higher Education eNews
- printer friendly version -
November 2013
www.heimshelp.deewr.gov.au
OS-HELP Forum
We had over 100 attendees at our OS-HELP Forum on 22 October. Thanks for your support and, as promised,
here’s the complete Q and A.
OS-HELP Forum Q and A
We have also included the link to our OS-HELP power point presentation.
OS-HELP Forum Presentation
If you have any further questions relating any aspect of the changes to OS-HELP please don’t hesitate to
contact us. The following contact details will help you to find the right people to assist you with your query:
Data and Reporting:


HEIMS.datacollections@deewr.gov.au
Telephone: (02) 6240 7487
Asian Century/ legislation:

cgs@innovation.gov.au
Payments and Estimates:

fep@innovation.gov.au
General administration enquiries:

tsenquiries@innovation.gov.au
Gender X – How do we report?
What does the introduction of gender code X mean for your reporting and do you need to do anything to
prepare?
What does this change mean for providers?
The Australian Government has recently introduced the Guidelines on the Recognition of Sex and Gender.
Some providers have queried what this means for them now. There is no requirement under Higher Education
Support Act 2003 (HESA) that gender code X must be used for the 2014 reporting year. You do not need to
change your systems or your processes for 2014.
You (ie, providers and tertiary admission centres) submit personal information about your applicants or
students to the department which is stored in an Australian government system - HEIMS. This means over the
next three years you will need to incorporate the new guidelines in the way you do business under HESA.
In response to the guidelines, the department has updated the HEIMS systems so that from the next system
release in December 2013 it will allow the code X to be reported. This system upgrade will allow you to
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Data Collections
Higher Education eNews
- printer friendly version -
November 2013
www.heimshelp.deewr.gov.au
implement the requirements of the guidelines over the next three years at a time that suits your planning
commitments.
When planning the implementation of gender code X, you will need to consider a number of factors including
how you may update your application and enrolment forms and student systems to incorporate the change.
The department is also considering the impact and we will provide updates during the implementation period.
Keeping in mind that some providers may choose to implement the change in the coming year, we are
considering an update to the coding notes to Gender code (element 315) to clarify the use of code X. Below is
a link to a draft copy of this element. We would appreciate your feedback.
Currently HEIMS supports the use of the value U when a student requests not to be identified as male or
female. From the next system release U will no longer be an accepted value. It will be replaced by the code X.
Draft Element 315 in Word Document format
http://heimshelp.deewr.gov.au/sites/heimshelp/News/Documents/DRAFT%20Element%20315%20Gender%2
0Code.docx
Draft Element 315 in PDF format
http://heimshelp.deewr.gov.au/sites/heimshelp/News/Documents/DRAFT%20Element%20315%20Gender%2
0Code.pdf
Losing money to invalidated units of study?
Need to understand the HELP entitlement calculations (SELS) and how they affect your funding? Join us this
Today at 2-3pm AEST for everything you need to know about SELS.
Are any of your students close to using all their FEE-HELP or VET FEE-HELP entitlement or have they actually
exceeded their HELP limit? Do you need to better understand the output alert notices you receive and what it
means when a unit of study is invalidated or adjusted? Our webinar on HELP entitlement calculations (or SELS
as it is sometimes called) will explain the entitlement calculation processes, including the output alert notices
you receive.
We will also discuss the reports available in HEIMS Online to help you monitor your students’ entitlements and
explain what invalidated and adjusted units of study really mean for your organisation. If a student has a unit
of study invalidated or adjusted because they don’t have sufficient HELP entitlement left to pay the fees your
organisation will not receive funding for these amounts.
We let you know about students who are close to or have exceeded their HELP entitlement limits through the
output alert notices. This information is also available to students through myUniAssist. This is a special site for
students on the department’s Study Assist website that helps them keep track of how much they have
borrowed under the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP).
If you are aware of how the entitlement calculations work you will be able to minimise the risk of having your
HELP payments reduced. So book yourself into our webinar and gain the knowledge you need on entitlement
calculations.
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Data Collections
Higher Education eNews
- printer friendly version -
November 2013
www.heimshelp.deewr.gov.au
Webinar: Student HELP entitlement calculations & output alert notices
Date: Thursday 7 November 2013: 2-3 pm
Register now: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/856363750
Reporting for Rookies webinar
No reporting experience? No understanding of what comes next? No problem! If you are just starting to report
data join us for this webinar.
If you are a newly approved provider just beginning to report data to the department this webinar will help
you work out what you need to do to get started. It will cover all the important information you need to know
to start preparing for your first submissions. This includes the information you need to collect about your
students and courses and the processes you need to have in place to manage your reporting. We will discuss
the CHESSN allocation process and the resources available to help you through this journey. There are also
some tips and tricks to make reporting as simple as possible for you.
Webinar: Reporting for Rookies
Date: Thursday 14 November 2013: 2-3 pm
Register now: https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/473108038 Sounds fantastic doesn’t it? Book your seat
today and take a look at our Reporting for Rookies page on HEIMSHELP while you’re there.
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