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Introduction of Multifactor Authentication in HITS/eCAF password requirements
Changes to HITS
The Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) is required to improve system security measures by 30 June 2023. Therefore, additional security features are being introduced into the HITS and eCAF systems.
On 30 June 2023, Multifactor Authentication (MFA) will be implemented in HITS. There will be a new step after entering the user’s login credentials, where users will need to select Send Code to their verified phone number. The code must be entered into the HITS system for them to be logged in as normal.
The URL to log into HITS - Sign In - Employment Security Access Management (ecsn.gov.au) remains the same. Provider Security Contacts (PSC) will be required to log into eSAM to invite new users and as the eSAM log in process already includes MFA, no changes to the eSAM log in process are required.
Actions required before 30 June 2023
In preparation for this change, users should check and update their verified Phone Number and verified Email Address as these will be used when MFA is turned on. The information held in the verified phone number and verified email address screens is independent of the primary phone number and email address held in the My Details screen within eSAM.
To check and update the verified contact details, users will need to access the eSAM – Welcome page. From the Home Screen, users need to select the Username and Password tab and click on the following links:
- Reset your verified Phone Number
- Reset your verified Email Address.
Once these are accessed, there are instructions to assist users through the process.
Changes to eCAF
All eCAF passwords, excluding API accounts, will expire on 30 June 2023. From 1 July, users will be required to change their password when they log into eCAF, which must meet the new password rules.
New passwords should contain a minimum 14 characters or digits from at least 3 of the following parameters:
- lower case characters
- upper case characters
- digits (0-9)
- special characters (,”!@#$%^&*:;=|?[]{}\ /_)
If you require assistance or further advice, please contact us via VETStudentLoans@dewr.gov.au.
VET Historical Student Loans Issue – update for providers
As you may be aware, in early August 2022, some historical VET FEE-HELP (VFH) and VET Student Loan (VSL) loan records dating from 2017-2022, unexpectedly transferred to students’ Australian Taxation Office (ATO) accounts. We contacted affected providers with advice to share with affected students and uploaded affected student data into providers’ HELP IT System (HITS) accounts. Historical indexation has been waived for the period the loan did not appear on these student’s ATO accounts.
In November 2022, we announced that we had identified further historical student loan records that are still pending in our IT systems. While some loan records date back as far as 2009, most of these loans relate to study undertaken in 2021. Affected VFH debts from 2009-2016 will be waived in recognition of the age of the record and delay in identifying the records in our systems. The majority of affected records from 2017 onwards were transferred to students’ loan accounts at the ATO on 6 June 2023, and historical indexation will be waived in the coming months.
Advice was sent to affected providers on 7 June, and affected student data has been uploaded to provider’s HITS accounts. If you did not receive this advice and want to check if you’re an affected provider or if you have a question, please contact us via VETStudentLoans@dewr.gov.au.
We encourage you to support and engage with your students if they reach out to you. However, no action is required from providers or students. We have contacted affected students (email and SMS) with advice about their loan, how to check their ATO account, indexation waivers and other assistance avenues. Students with large value affected loans of more than $20,000 will also receive a follow-up call from the department, to ensure they have received their email and that they understand how to access further supports if required. Letters will be posted to students next week.
A small number of records will still require some additional analysis and IT remediation before they can be released to the ATO or waived. We may be in touch with providers to assist us in this loan remediation, including where records are missing critical data. These records will be waived or transferred to students’ loan accounts as soon as possible, and students will be contacted at that time.
In response to the historical loans issue, we commissioned an independent review of the causes of the issue. The Review of the VET Student Loans IT Issue is available on our website, and we support the review’s 11 recommendations.
More information about the VET historical loans issue can be found on Transfer of historical loan records for VET students.
Accurate, timely and complete reporting – compliance activity plan
We thank the many providers who report their data accurately and on-time, especially those who are up to date on recording unit and course outcomes. However, we continue to observe a large proportion of providers continuing to report incomplete and late student data across the VSL program. This includes reporting which is missing important fields, post-activity adjustments to previously reported data, reporting well after the training activity has occurred and failing to report unit and course outcomes in a timely manner.
Late reporting affects the transfer of student loans to the ATO, impacting on the student and resulting in a significant number of enquires to the department, ATO, or directly with their provider due to the confusion this causes.
Adjusting previously reported Units of Study can also be confusing for students, as they see their loan increaseunexpectedly with the ATO. This is alarming for students, especially those who have already repaid their loan.
As reported previously we will soon be ceasing to approve payments to providers where all required data has not been reported. More communication will come out ahead of the changes to stop payments where data is incomplete.
The department will be contacting providers who exhibit poor reporting practices to remind them of the importance of meeting their reporting obligations under the VSL scheme. Compliance action will be considered against those who do not meet an acceptable standard of data reporting. This may include non-payment of loans, sanctions and civil penalties.
VSL re-approval
Providers lapsing on 31 December 2023 and seeking further VSL approval.
In order for you to be approved to offer VSL for a further period, you must demonstrate that you continue to satisfy the course provider requirements set out in section 25 of the VET Student Loans Act 2016.
We will shortly be forwarding a new and simplified application form, together with a revised applicant guide, to all providers whose approval will lapse on 31 December 2023. Please ensure that key personnel within the organisation, are familiar with the VET Student Loans Act 2016 (VSL Act) and the VET Student Loans Rules 2016 (VSL Rules) prior to completing the form.
Additionally, the form will assess suitability requirements based on VET Student Loans data reported to the department. Therefore, it is essential to keep the data accurate, current and up to date. You will also be required to provide evidence of current Workers Compensation and Public Liability insurance.
We are requesting that you complete your applications within 5 weeks of receiving the form. This will provide sufficient time for us to assess your application. Providers and students will also have time to organise their circumstances for next year, well before the deadline. Any delays with the submission of a complete and valid application, or payment of the application fee, may impact the expected outcome date for the application.
We have developed a VSL provider eligibility (refresher) quiz to assist you prior to applying for a further approval period. The quiz is a useful way to refresh your knowledge of VSL program requirements for approved course providers. It also assists with understanding the information that will be required when completing an application. Providers are encouraged to take the quiz and submit a Notice to Apply for a further period before completing the application form.
Please note that providers completing the application form for a further approval period will be taken to have met their annual forecast requirements under section 116 of the VSL Rules, for the 2024 calendar year, as the application form will include the requirements for the annual forecast process.
Provider websites - information for students on how to withdraw from a course
A recent survey of newly enrolled students with a VET Student Loan indicated that 21% of students were not aware of how to withdraw from their course.
Your processes and procedures must be published on your website and easily accessible without login information. This includes procedures for how a student can withdraw from an approved course, or a part of an approved course and how a student can enrol in a part of an approved course where they have previously withdrawn from it.
Additionally, before enrolling a student in an approved course, you must give the student a range of information which is outlined at Section 98 of the VSL Rules. These obligations apply to all current and prospective students undertaking an approved course with a provider regardless of whether the student is accessing a VET Student Loan. They include providing information to the student on your website about how to access your procedures for withdrawal from the course and cancellation of enrolment (Section 98 (2)(m)(iii) of the VSL Rules). Failure to provide a student with information about withdrawal may result in compliance action being taken by the department (Section 50 of the VSL Act).
We would also like to remind you that the procedures for a student to withdraw from an approved course, or a part of an approved course, on or before the relevant census day must not involve financial, administrative or other barriers to the withdrawal. Your withdrawal procedure must not impede a student’s withdrawal on or before the census date for a unit or part of a course or whole course.
Student awareness of completing progression forms under VSL
A recent survey of newly enrolled students with a VET Student Loan indicated that 51% of students did not know that they must confirm their study status by completing a progression from.
You are required, under section 98 (2)(h) of the VSL Rules, to explain clearly to students:
- the importance of completing progression forms to communicate their agreement that the Secretary continue to use the VET Student Loan to pay their tuition fees, and
- that they need to complete and submit the form within 2 weeks of receiving the invitation email.
Failure to provide a student with information about completing progression forms may result in compliance action being taken by the department (Section 50 of the VSL Act).
We would remind you to ensure that you have processes in place for providing students with information on the importance of completing the progression form within the required timeframes, as the absence of a provider-initiated progression point will be taken to indicate the student is no longer a genuine student.
Subscribing to the VSL Provider Newsletter
Do you know someone who would like to subscribe to the VSL Provider Newsletter? The newsletter is how we let you know about program updates and reminders about the program administrative requirements. Let your colleagues know they can subscribe to the newsletter at VET Student Loans – subscribe.