Transitioning to TCSI

To support providers and their staff, the TCSI Suppport team is hosting onboarding webinars. It is critical to the success of each provider's transition that a representative attend each of these sessions.

Please register now for these webinars using the links found on the Webinars to support onboarding to TCSI page.

The new TCSI provider journey map was released at the 2019 Roadshow along with the transition checklist. Download your copy to support planning at your organisation as we all transition to TCSI.

PRODA is the authentication method for TCSI and facilitates the secure access to government services online.

The PRODA registration for TCSI page has steps designed to assist you to register your organisation.

The TCSI – testing for providers page includes information on how you can test your TCSI compatible solution at different stages of the project.

Higher Education Providers

The key dates for transitioning to TCSI are:  

December 2020 – TCSI is scheduled for release to production. Providers may choose to begin using their TCSI solution to report the remainder of their 2020 records.

January 2021 – Open uptake. All providers can commence transitioning to TCSI for their 2021 student data.

31 March 2021 – Transition to TCSI is complete. All providers have adopted event based reporting using TCSI.

Providers should plan to adopt their TCSI solution well before the due date to ensure they have adequate time to implement their system and manage any unforeseen challenges.

HEPCAT will not be used for student reporting after a provider transitions to TCSI.

VET Student Loan Providers

Please see VSL Data Reporting Updates.

HEIMS holds the authoritative source of information on higher education in Australia and therefore it is important that the value of this dataset is not lost or overlooked. Therefore, verified data will continue to be stored for statistical purposes, providing the evidence base for publications and policy‑making. In line with current practice, verified data cannot be revised.

HEIMS also holds critical live data that supports ongoing administration. As we move to TCSI, we need to make sure we take the critical live information with us.

Please refer to the attachment below for greater detail around how each element will be treated.

1. Attend the onboarding webinars

Ensure that someone from your organisation registers to attend or view the recordings of the onboarding webinars. The team will monitor registrations to make sure providers are aware of the transition process and steps that need to be completed before transitioning to TCSI.

2. Complete the CEO/VC confirmation

The confirmation will be sent after a member of your organisation has viewed the finalisation webinar (3 March webinar). The email will go to the CEO contact listed in the contact section of the HELP IT system (HITS). To check or update these details, please access HITS. Vice Chancellors will be contacted using the contact details on the Universities Australia website.

The primary and secondary contact for TCSI will also be emailed when the declaration is sent to the CEO/VC, so they can follow up within their organisation and double check the email address.

The CEO or VC can delegate the confirmation by emailing the unique link to their team member. Please return the confirmation at least 2 working days before your transition date to allow the process to be kicked off. Delays in completing the declaration will delay onboarding.

The declaration includes the following pages:

Page 1:

Page 2:

Page 3: Screen for dual providers shown. Only one date will be requested for VET and higher education providers:

Page 4:

Page 5: Concludes the form directing the respondent to TCSI Support.

3. What if our date changes?

Please send an urgent email to TCSIsupport@dese.gov.au requesting a later transition date. This will trigger a new confirmation email to the CEO/VC and onboarding will not proceed until the confirmation is received.

4. Wait for departmental processing

Your HEPCAT access will be restricted from 5pm, Canberra time, on your transition date. It then may take three to five days for departmental processing to be completed before you can interact with TCSI in production. An email will be send to the primary and secondary TCSI contacts at your organisation to inform them that the processing is complete.

5. Start reporting

Work with your TCSI developer or log in to TCSI Data Entry to begin reporting. Remember to start small and check as you go. 

VET Student Loans collection

HEPCAT access will be removed for all VET files in HEPCAT after a provider has transitioned to TCSI. This will occur at 5.00pm (AEDT) on the date nominated by the organisation's CEO/VC or their delegate.

Higher Education collections

Higher education providers approved to offer HELP loans will have their HEPCAT access restricted at 5.00pm (AEDT) on the date nominated by the organisation's CEO/VC or their delegate. The following file types will remain accessible in HEPCAT following a provider's transition to TCSI:

• Past Course Completions (PS) file - for awards that were determined up to 31 December 2020.
• University staff collection for the 2021 reporting year
  • Full-time and Fractional Full-time (FT) file
  • Actual Casual (CA) file
  • Estimated Casual (EC) file
  • Staff Concordance (FC) file
• University Applications and Offers collection for the 2021 reporting year
  • Application Details (AD) file
  • Preference Details (PD) file
  • Offer Details (OD) file
• Non-university staff collection for the 2021 reporting year
  • PIR Staff (PSF) file - see HEIMSHELP

The above HEPCAT accesses will be removed once the collections have been reported and verified.

Provider Information Request higher education providers

PIR providers will continue to report in HEPCAT for the 2021 reporting year. Check out the reporting resources available from HEIMSHELP.

To support transition and data matching at your organisation, the department is making a data extract available. This will show all the data that has been migrated from HEIMS to the TCSI database up to the day your extract is processed.

Our TCSI Data Extract Request form is now available for you to select a range of data reported and migrated to TCSI.

You can choose a single file type for your extract:

• CSV (comma separated values, delimited by "tabs")
• JSON (JavaScript object notation)
• XML (extensible markup language)

You will also need to confirm the email address for the person requesting the data extract. The email must match an active HEIMS user and this person will be responsible for following the same terms and conditions for accessing the data extract as they must for any other HEIMS application (e.g. HEIMS Online).

The department will send an invitation link to the nominated email address and you will need to either register an account or login if you are a previous user of this system. Step by step instructions on how to download your files are provided in the "Guide on how to access your migrated data". You can follow up with TCSIsupport@dese.gov.au if you haven’t received a link within 5 working days.