{"id":"F2021L01365","name":"Student Identifiers (VET Exemptions) Instrument 2021","slug":"student-identifiers-vet-exemptions-instrument-2021","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":null,"makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":441020,"registerId":"F2021L01365-fast-fetch-1775956454527","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-12","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Student Identifiers (VET Exemptions) Instrument 2021","content":"---\nmeta-content-style-type: text/css\nmeta-content-type: application/xhtml+xml; charset=utf-8\n---\n\n?xml version=\"1.0\" encoding=\"utf-8\" standalone=\"no\"?>\n\n![Commonwealth Coat of Arms of Australia](image.001.jpeg)\n\n \n\nStudent Identifiers (VET Exemptions) Instrument 2021\n\nI, Stuart Robert, Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business, make this legislative instrument under section 53 of the Student Identifiers Act 2014.\n\nDated 22 September 2021\n\nStuart Robert\n\nMinister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nContents\n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1  Name\n\n2  Commencement\n\n3  Authority\n\n4  Definitions\n\n5  Schedules\n\nPart 2—Exemptions given by Commonwealth Minister\n\n6  Purpose of Part 2\n\n7  Exemptions\n\nPart 3—Exemptions given by Registrar\n\n8  Purpose of Part 3\n\n9  Matters to consider for exemptions given by Registrar\n\nPart 4—Application and transitional provisions\n\n10  Request for exemptions before, on or after commencement of this instrument\n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nStudent Identifiers (Exemptions) Instrument 2018\n\n \n\n \n\n \n\n \n\nPart 1—Preliminary\n\n1  Name\n\n  This instrument is the Student Identifiers (VET Exemptions) Instrument 2021.\n\n2  Commencement\n\n (1) Each provision of this instrument specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\n- Commencement information\n- Column 1 Column 2 Column 3\n- Provisions Commencement Date/Details\n- 1. The whole of this instrument The day after this instrument is registered.\n\n\nNote: This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument.\n\n (2) Any information in column 3 of the table is not part of this instrument. Information may be inserted in this column, or information in it may be edited, in any published version of this instrument.\n\n3  Authority\n\n  This instrument is made under subsections 53(3) and 53(9) of the Student Identifiers Act 2014.\n\n4  Definitions\n\nNote: A number of expressions used in this instrument are defined in section 4 of the Act, including the following:\n\n1.       Commonwealth Minister;\n2.       Ministerial Council\n\n\n(b) registered training organisation;  \n\n(c) Registrar;\n\n(d) student identifier;\n\n(e) VET.\n\n  In this instrument:\n\nAct means the Student Identifiers Act 2014.\n\nAustralian citizen has the same meaning as in the Australian Citizenship Act 2007.\n\nAVETMISS has the same meaning as in the National VET Data Policy.\n\nNational VET Data Policy means the document by that name, endorsed by the Ministerial Council, as in force on the date of commencement of this instrument.\n\nNote: The National VET Data Policy could in 2021 be viewed on the Department of Education, Skills and Employment’s website.\n\nNational VET Provider Collection has the same meaning as in the National VET Data Policy.\n\nVET qualification has the same meaning as in the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011.\n\nVET statement of attainment has the same meaning as in the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011.\n\nVET student has the same meaning as in the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011.\n\nVET student loan has the same meaning as in the VET Student Loans Act 2016.\n\nvisa holder has the same meaning as in the Migration Act 1958.\n\n5  Schedules\n\n  Each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to this instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to this instrument has effect according to its terms.\n\n \n\nPart 2—Exemptions given by Commonwealth Minister\n\n6  Purpose of Part 2\n\n  This part sets out, for the purposes of subsection 53(3) of the Act, the exemptions specified by the Commonwealth Minister in relation to the prohibition in subsection 53(1) on a registered training organisation issuing a VET qualification or VET statement of attainment to an individual who has not been assigned a student identifier.\n\n7  Exemptions\n\n  Subsection 53(1) of the Act does not apply in relation to:\n\n (a) a registered training organisation, where the following sections in the National VET Data Policy provide that the registered training organisation is exempt from the requirement to collect and submit AVETMISS compliant data to the National VET Provider Collection:\n\n (i) sections 5.3 and 5.4 (National security, border protection and policing exemption); or             \n\n (ii) sections 5.5 and 5.6 (Delivery of emergency or safety community services exemption); or\n\n (b) an individual who:\n\n (i) is not an Australian citizen or visa holder and has completed outside of Australia, all the requirements to be issued the VET qualification or VET statement of attainment; or\n\n (ii) has completed all the requirements for the VET qualification or VET statement of attainment before 1 January 2015.\n\n \n\nPart 3—Exemptions given by Registrar\n\n8  Purpose of Part 3\n\n  This part sets out, for the purposes of subsection 53(7) of the Act, the matters that the Registrar is to have regard to when making a decision on an individual’s request for an exemption from the prohibition in subsection 53(1) of the Act on a registered training organisation issuing a VET qualification or VET statement of attainment to an individual who has not been assigned a student identifier.\n\n9  Matters to consider for exemptions given by Registrar\n\n  When making a decision under subsection 53(6) of the Act, the matters to which the Registrar must have regard under subsection 53(7) of the Act are as follows:\n\n (a) the purpose of VET students being assigned student identifiers;\n\n (b) the impact of not being assigned a student identifier on the individual;\n\n (c) whether the individual will, or is likely to, apply for VET student loan or other financial assistance for which having a student identifier is a requirement; and\n\n (d) whether the individual understands the consequences of not being assigned a student identifier, including that the individual will not be eligible for a VET student loan where an application for the loan is made on or after 1 January 2021.\n\n \n\nPart 4—Application and transitional provisions\n\n10  Request for exemptions before, on or after commencement of this instrument\n\n (1) Section 9 of this instrument applies in relation to the Registrar’s consideration of a request on or after the commencement of this instrument, regardless of when the request was made to the Registrar under subsection 53(5) of the Act.\n\n (2) Despite the repeal of the Student Identifiers (Exemptions) Instrument 2018 by Schedule 1 to this instrument, subsection 53(1) of the Act shall continue to not apply in relation to an individual who met the conditions in paragraph 8(c) of the Student Identifiers (Exemptions) Instrument 2018 before the commencement of this instrument.\n\n \n\n\n\n\n \n\nSchedule 1—Repeals\n\nStudent Identifiers (Exemptions) Instrument 2018\n\n1  The whole of the instrument\n\nRepeal the instrument.\n\n \n\n \n","sortOrder":0}],"analysis":{"flash_summary_failed":{"failed":true,"reason":"A positive credit balance is required for all requests, including BYOK, so fallback providers remain available. Add credits at https://vercel.com/d?to=%2F%5Bteam%5D%2F%7E%2Fai%3Fmodal%3Dtop-up to continue.","source":"analysis-cron"},"kimi_summary":{"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The instrument maintains the same scope as its predecessor (the 2018 Exemptions Instrument which it repeals). It continues to serve the narrow purpose of specifying exemptions from the USI requirement for VET qualifications. The 2021 version adds clarity about VET student loan eligibility dates and updates references, but does not expand beyond the original intent of providing targeted exemptions for specific categories of students and training organisations."},"complexity_factors":["Short instrument: only 10 substantive sections plus a repeal schedule","Minimal defined terms: 8 definitions in section 4, mostly referencing external legislation rather than creating new concepts","Simple structure: clear Part-based organisation with explicit purposes stated for Parts 2 and 3","Limited conditional logic: exemptions in section 7 use straightforward 'or' alternatives rather than nested conditions","External referencing: relies heavily on definitions from 4 other Acts and the National VET Data Policy, but these are standard incorporations by reference","No exceptions to exceptions: the exemption framework is flat without layered carve-outs"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument creates limited exceptions allowing registered training organisations to issue VET qualifications without a USI. The Minister can automatically exempt courses tied to national security, border or policing work, emergency and community safety training, international students who completed training wholly overseas, and learners who finished before 1 Jan 2015. The Registrar may grant individual exemptions after weighing the USI’s purpose, hardship, and potential VET student loan impacts — preventing USI technicalities from blocking certain sensitive, older, or overseas completions."},"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":4,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"The instrument repeals the 2018 exemptions instrument (Schedule 1) but preserves pre-existing individual exemptions granted under paragraph 8(c) of that instrument (s10(2)). It restates and narrows the Commonwealth exemptions by linking them to specific National VET Data Policy sections (s7(a)) and clarifies Registrar decision criteria including explicit consideration of VET student loan eligibility and the 1 January 2021 loan-date consequence (s9, s10(1))."},"complexity_factors":["Cross-references to multiple external instruments and statutes (Student Identifiers Act 2014, National VET Data Policy, National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011, VET Student Loans Act 2016, Migration Act 1958) (see s4 definitions and s7)","Discretion delegated to the Registrar with specified matters to consider (s9) creating case-by-case assessment workload","Ties to policy documents (National VET Data Policy) requiring interpretation of policy sections to determine exemption applicability (s7(a))","Transitional and saving provision preserving certain pre-commencement exemptions from the repealed 2018 instrument (s10(2) and Schedule 1)","Operational compliance burden on RTOs to determine when AVETMISS reporting exemptions mean they may issue qualifications without identifiers (s7)"],"plain_english_summary":"This instrument specifies when a person or a registered training organisation (RTO) may be issued a VET qualification or statement of attainment without a student identifier. It exempts RTOs already excused from AVETMISS reporting under specified National VET Data Policy sections and individuals who completed qualifications overseas or before 1 January 2015 (s7). The Registrar can grant individual exemptions after assessing loan eligibility and the consequences of not having an identifier (s9, s10(1)), which may affect access to VET student loans (s9(c),(d))."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/student-identifiers-vet-exemptions-instrument-2021","history":"/api/acts/student-identifiers-vet-exemptions-instrument-2021/history","analysis":"/api/acts/student-identifiers-vet-exemptions-instrument-2021/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/student-identifiers-vet-exemptions-instrument-2021/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/student-identifiers-vet-exemptions-instrument-2021/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/student-identifiers-vet-exemptions-instrument-2021/documents"}}