Objective
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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 a course, indicated that they wish to apply for Fee-HELP /HECS-HELP and provides the 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 by the institution 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
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Please note: Obtaining a CHESSN and Help balance have also been included in this flowchart to demonstrate the process. This doesn’t replace the CHESSN workflow just precedes it. Also obtaining Help balances needs to be done periodically to reflect the students current help balance. |
Application process flowchart
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The table below outlines the key fields that need to be completed as part of the eCAF workflow:
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. This replaces the paper based forms and other internal electronic forms. | |
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 |
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
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How to Submit an eCAF for completion
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How to Retrieve an eCAF
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How to Enable the Paradigm eCAF integration
Paradigm has the capability of submitting an electronic eCAF on behalf of a studentrequest to the government for the student to fill out and must be done prior to the first census date of the student's studies that they are wanting to defer to the government. This functionality requires a specific type of access to the eCAF website called called "API System Access". Providers wishing to implement a direct integration between Paradigm and the government eCAF site must complete must complete the following form: https://docswww.educationdese.gov.au/documents/vet-student-loans/resources/government-ecaf-api-system-access-request-form.
Once the request is approved, you will receive from the government a set of testing credentials from the government and a series of steps that you must complete before receiving live system access. After successfully completing all of the above steps you will receive a final set of access credentials from the government. These should be forwarded to the Silverband support team as per the instructions above. We will then ensure team so our team can confirm your site is directed to use the live eCAF system and ready to be used in a production capacity. You can update the eCAF API credentials as needed (if expires) via the paradigm interface. Read more: https://silverband.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/PKB/pages/368574486/Update+eCAF+API+Login#How-to-set%2Fupdate-the-eCAF-password-via-the-Interface%5BinlineExtension%5D |
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In the event that you forget the eCAF API password then you must request assistance from the HEIMS eCAF Helpdesk (https://heimshelpwww.educationtcsisupport.gov.au/support/contact). The password you receive from the HEIMS eCAF 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. |
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