On 13 April 2012, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to implement the Unique Student Identifier (USI) as part of the national reform agenda contained in the National Partnership Agreement on Skills Reform. The USI is intended to increase transparency in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) sector.
The USI is a mechanism that will enable a student to access a record of all accredited education and training undertaken and qualifications achieved by that individual over his or her lifetime. This will make it easier for students to find, collate and authenticate all their vocational educational attainments. The Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) also identified that a national USI would lead to better data that could assist the identification of emerging VET sector issues and trends in a more timely way for Registered Training Organisations, employers and governments.
A RIS was prepared by the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education/Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations and assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.