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Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Recording ISSP Scholarships in the Higher Education Information Management System

The Department of Education and Training collects higher education data through the Higher Education Information Management System (HEIMS) database. This data is used by the NIAA to administer the ISSP.

To ensure that the ISSP operates correctly, higher education providers must ensure that that all students who are commencing, continuing or being offered a Commonwealth Scholarship are reported to HEIMS in the timeframe and in line with the standard reporting requirements specified on HEIMSHELP. This data is used to determine Indigenous Student Success Program (ISSP) funding allocations.

Recording ISSP Scholarships

Higher Education Providers in receipt of ISSP funding must record both new and Preserved ISSP Scholarships in HEIMS.

The categories of ISSP scholarships in the HEIMS database are:

Name

HEIMS code

Detail

Purpose

Indigenous CECS

A

Indigenous Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship

To record both new and Preserved ISSP Scholarships

Indigenous CAS

B

Indigenous Commonwealth Accommodation Costs Scholarship

To record both new and Preserved ISSP Scholarships

CECS-Indigenous Enabling

5

Indigenous Enabling Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship

Do not use (code no longer valid under the ISSP)

CAS-Indigenous Enabling

6

Indigenous Enabling Commonwealth Accommodation Scholarship

Do not use (code no longer valid under the ISSP)

CAS-Indigenous Payment

7

Indigenous Access Scholarship (IAS)

Do not use (code no longer valid under the ISSP)

Timeframes for reporting in HEIMS

Under the ISSP program, the timeframes for reporting scholarships in HEIMS are:

  • 22 January for scholarships offered in the first half of the academic year
  • 15 June for scholarships offered in the second half of the academic year

However, it is recommended that providers enter the information into HEIMS as soon as possible after the offer or award of the scholarships. Students identified in reports that are submitted every day past the due date are increasingly likely to have been paid a disqualifying Centrelink scholarship.

Disqualifying Scholarships

Students cannot receive both an ISSP Scholarship and a Centrelink Scholarship that are provided for the same purpose:

  • An ISSP Indigenous Commonwealth Education Costs Scholarship cannot be provided to students in receipt of a Centrelink Student Start-up Scholarship or Student Start-up Loan.
  • an ISSP Indigenous Commonwealth Accommodation Costs Scholarship cannot be provided to students in receipt of a Centrelink Relocation Scholarship or Accommodation Scholarship.

Scholarship officers will need to check the scholarship status of students whose data is entered after the HEIMS reporting timeframes above. This can be done by a scholarships officer:

  • calling Centrelink on 13 24 90 with the student present to give the attending officer permission to obtain a verbal confirmation that a Centrelink scholarship has not been received; or
  • faxing Centrelink on 1300 074 608. A confirmation phone call/email will be received from Centrelink.

Assuming Centrelink confirms that no scholarship has been paid, the university scholarships office can then offer or pay the student an ISSP scholarship. Centrelink will record the action on their customer record (this makes the student ineligible for a Centrelink scholarship and future payment does not occur). If, however, a Centrelink scholarship has been paid, then the scholarships office cannot offer an ISSP scholarship until the student specifically requests that Centrelink recover the disqualifying Centrelink scholarship payment.

Centrelink will access HEIMS data periodically and will have the ability to check whether a student is in receipt of a new or Preserved ISSP Scholarship.

Getting more help

For general information on ISSP scholarships, please email: issp@pmc.gov.au.

For specific advice on using the HEIMS database Providers can access the following support:

Commonwealth Scholarships toolkit

HEIMS User Guide

HEIMS Helpdesk: (02) 6240 7487

Email: heims.datacollections@education.gov.au

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