ECAF
Objective
This page provides a detailed workflow on how to submit an electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form (eCAF) request to the Government via Paradigm on behalf of a student.
Complexity: Medium to High
Page Contents
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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 GovernmentÂ
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
Background information
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 eCAF portal or via the Paradigm eCAF integration.
The order of processing an application is important when using the Government's Online eCAFÂ portal. If a student has enrolled into the unit(s) that a census date was not allocated, then the system will not allow transmission of the details for the student invitation. The institutions application process might need to be updated or altered in order to allow for the required information to be gathered prior to the eCAFÂ submission.
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
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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Be advised
A Student must enrol in a unit of study with a Census date in the future before submitting an eCAF to the Government. Students must return the completed form prior to the census date to obtain a valid form / enrolment.
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 Â - 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. |
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Workflow
Useful External links
eCAF student portal:Â https://ecaf.education.gov.au/home
eCAF provider portal:Â https://ecaf.education.gov.au/provider
Government eCAF fact sheet:Â https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/ecaf-fact-sheet
Further reading
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Student - Add New (Paradigm Knowledge Base)
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Units (Student Section) (Paradigm Knowledge Base)
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Commonwealth Assisted Student File - HELP Due (DU) (Paradigm Knowledge Base)
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