The Victorian Student Number

The Victorian Student Number (VSN) is a randomly generated nine digit number assigned to students as a unique identifier.

If you are a student under 25 years of age, you will be given a VSN when you first register with the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA) for home schooling or first enrol with a Victorian education or training provider including a:

• Government school,
• Catholic school,
• Independent school,
• TAFE or other registered training organisation (RTO); or an
• adult, community and further education (ACFE) provider.

Most students receive their VSN at Foundation level. However, you can be allocated a VSN at any time up until you reach 25 years of age, for example if you have moved to Victoria from interstate or overseas. Your VSN is connected to your personal (related) information and remains unchanged when you enrol with different Victorian education or training providers.

Your VSN and related information is recorded on the secure database called the Victorian Student Register (VSR).

Purpose of the VSN

The VSN allows Victorian education or training providers to record and monitor the enrolment of students, and to track their progress through their school age years and beyond (if relevant). This enables student records to be accurately maintained. It also ensures that Victorian education or training providers have appropriate levels of resourcing and support to identify and assist students disengaged from the school system whilst they remain of compulsory school age.

The VSN also provides the Department of Education, the Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions, Victorian education or training providers, and other relevant organisations with a data set to conduct analysis and research that supports operational and policy decisions to improve the Victorian education system.

When your VSN is required

Your VSN is required to record your registrations with the VRQA for homeschooling and/or your enrolments with Victorian education or training providers. This is an automatic process as your VSN is assigned to you as soon as your first registration/enrolment is recorded on the VSR and is then shared directly between providers during all subsequent enrolment processes.

Your VSN is also required if you wish to complete the application process for entry to selective entry high schools.

Sourcing your VSN

You can source your VSN by requesting it directly from your current Victorian education or training provider or by checking their communications including:

• enrolment confirmations,
• academic reports and student identification cards: or
• student profile sections of school management platforms e.g., Compass.

If you are unable to source your VSN from your education or training provider and you are in Year 7 or above, then you may apply directly using your own email account to the VCAA by emailing vsr@education.vic.gov.au and include the following:

• completed Student Data Request form; and
• evidence of your identity in the form of a primary identity document such as your birth certificate or passport (attaching a scanned copy or screenshot of this document is acceptable). Once the VCAA has used this document to confirm your identity it will be disposed of under the specific guidelines contained in the Identity Verification Function, Retention and Disposal Authority: PROS 22/07.

The VCAA will assess and process your request with reference to Part 5.3A11,12 of the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (the Act) and the Secretary’s Guidelines on the Victorian Student Number.
Parents and guardians wishing to source a student’s VSN information on their behalf should contact the VCAA by emailing vsr@education.vic.gov.au.

For more information on the VSN see: The Victorian Student Number.

The VCAA Student Number

If you are a Victorian student, you will be given a VCAA Student Number when you first enrol in senior secondary schooling in the VCE or VET. The VCAA Student Number is a randomly generated 8 digit number ending with a letter character i.e. XXXXXXXXA. The first 2 digits represent your first enrolment year.

Your VCAA Student Number is generated when your personal information is collected by your home school and recorded on the Victorian Assessment Software System (VASS), which is managed by the VCAA.

Purpose of the VCAA Student Number

The VCAA Student Number allows the VCAA to securely maintain student personal details, enrolment and assessment information associated with the VCE, VCE(VM), VPC and VET qualifications and to identify students for their VCE examinations.

If you have at least one VCE Unit 3 and 4 enrolment, your VCAA Student Number is also used by the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) to verify your identity when calculating your Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR).

When your VCAA Student Number is used

You will see your VCAA Student Number on senior secondary documents including:

• Student Full Details Reports – these reports are printed and given to each senior secondary student at the beginning of the academic year to check that their personal details and enrolment information are correct
• Assessment documents for School-assessed Coursework (SACs) and School-assessed Tasks (SATs)
• Examination papers; and
• Final results documents including VCAA Statement of Results, Certificates, Statement of Marks and Statement of Study Score and VTAC ATAR Certificates.

You will need your VCAA Student Number to:

• apply for a VCE study with an enrolment restriction (EAL, VCE Second Languages and VCE Chinese Language, Culture and Society)
• Register for or access the VCE results and the Australian Tertiary Rank (ATAR) service
• order VCAA replacement results and certificates. Although the VCAA Student Number is not mandatory for the application process, confirming your VCAA student number will enable your application to be processed quicker.

Requesting your VCAA Student Number

If you wish to request your VCAA Student Number you must either:

• ask your home school or assessing school which will have your VCAA Student Number recorded along with your other personal information; or
• if you have difficulty contacting your home school or assessing school, you may apply directly to the VCAA at student.records@education.vic.gov.au. Your email to the VCAA must include:

1. your full name (as it appears on official identification documents)
2. your date of birth
3. a copy of one of your primary identification documents such as your birth certificate, passport, learner’s permit, driver’s licence or proof of age card.

The USI

The Unique Student Identifier (USI) is a unique identifier issued and managed by the Australian Government. The USI is comprised of a combination of 10 letters and numbers which is attached to an online record of any nationally recognised training and higher education qualifications (including VET qualifications) you may complete.

Purpose of the USI

The USI enables the collection and central recording of information about students’ training and study activity, as well as their movements within the VET and Higher Education systems.

When your USI is used

You need a USI to access your nationally recognised qualification certificates and statements of attainment for VET and Higher Education courses.

Requesting your USI

Unlike the VSN and the VCAA Student Number, the USI is not generated and maintained by the VCAA. To create a USI, you must log into the USI website and follow the steps.

To find out more about the USI, visit USI helpline.