Overview
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Objective
Upon Completion of this KB the User will understand how to submit an electronic Commonwealth assistance form (eCAF) request to the Government via Paradigm on behalf of a student.
Assumptions
- The Student has already been accepted into a Course and has been enrolled into units with a Census date in the future
- The Student has declared their intention to defer course fees to the Government
- eCAF type determined from HEIMS e490 field on the course enrolment record
- The system will use the minimum (closest) unit enrolment census date that has not yet elapsed
Implications
The eCAF (Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form) supersedes the need to have students complete paper based forms for both FEE-HELP and HECS-HELP. Previously other eCAF methods were accepted by HEIMS but these are being phased out. Providers are therefore required to submit eCAF information either directly into the HEIMS eCAF portal or via the Paradigm eCAF integration.
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Student applies to study course, indicated that they wish to apply for Fee-HELP /HECS-HELP and provides evidence of Academic suitability - ATAR score, transcripts, SOA, or other documentation to prove eligibility. (These are required by the Government and providers are required to keep these documents as evidence of acceptance suitability)
Student is accepted then enrolled into units / subjects.
The provider then submits details to HEIMS that the student should be sent an invitation to complete an eCAF .
The student is then sent an email with an Encrypted PASS-KEY to complete the required information including a valid Tax File Number (TFN)
Key terms and concepts
The list below demonstrates the key fields that need to be filled for
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Field Name | Description | Sample Data |
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ECAF | Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form, More commonly known as Fee-Help Form or HECS-HELP form | |
FEE-HELP | Fee-Help is a loan Scheme that assists eligible students to pay all or part of their tuition fees. This loan is subject to 25% Government loading | For more information on Fee-Help click here |
HECS-HELP | HECS-HELP is a loan scheme to help Commonwealth Supported students to pay their student contribution amounts through and loan or upfront discounts. This loan has no Government loading | |
API | Application Programming Interface. Part of a server that receives and requests and sends responses. Here it is a programmed link between Paradigm and the HEIMS / Government E-CAF System | Login details received from the Government to link Paradigm to the E-CAF portal |
HEIMS Census date | The date after which a student incurs a debt for the unit(s) of study in which they have been enrolled This date can not be set less than 20% of the duration of the teaching period as outlined in the HESA and AIP | |
HITS provider code | Each provider is given a Unique 4 digit identifying code that is used in HEPCAT / HITS, this data is stored in the provider tab in Paradigm. | |
Element Numbers | Unique identifiers of required data / questions asked by the Government in order to provide accurate data on Students, Courses, units and providers. These are used with in Paradigm and HEPCAT to help in ensuring data integrity across all providers. A full list can be viewed | A full list of these can be viewed here. Each Element number refers to a data field within Paradigm. However not every field has an elements. These fields contain non-reportable data. |
HEIMS Course code | E307 - The code assigned by the provider to uniquely identify a course of Study. This code is used in HEPCAT reporting | |
CHESSN Number | A commonwealth Higher Education student number (CHESSN) is a 10 digit number provided by the Australian Government to all students who are in receipt of either HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP. It is a unique number that remains with the student regardless of if they change institutions. This means that HELP debts can be tracked to ensure that the student does not exceed their allocation. |
Workflow
Application process flowchart
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Enabling the Paradigm eCAF integration integration
Paradigm has the capability of submitting an electronic eCAF on behalf of a student. This functionality requires a specific type of access to the eCAF website called "API System Access". Providers wishing to implement a direct integration between Paradigm and the government eCAF site must complete the following form:
https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/government-ecaf-api-system-access-request-form
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Note that the completed form should be emailed to HEenquiries@education.gov.au |
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In the event that you forget the eCAF API password then you must request assistance from the HEIMS Helpdesk (https://heimshelp.education.gov.au/support/contact). The password you receive from the HEIMS Helpdesk is temporary and must be changed before it can be used within Paradigm. Please visit https://ecaf.education.gov.au/provider and enter the API username and the temporary password. The eCAF site will then request you to enter a new password. This new password must then be confirmed with the Silverband support team to ensure that the Paradigm to government eCAF integration is fully operational.
Further reading
This section of the KB contains links to any further related information that would be helpful for the purpose understanding this topic.
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