Your tertiary admissions centre (TAC), or your higher education provider, will allocate you a CHESSN as part of the admission application process, when you request FEE-HELP assistance.
You will be asked to consent to personal, identifying data being provided to the Australian Government (Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) and the Tax Office) for the allocation of a CHESSN and the management of your Commonwealth assistance when you apply for admission.
Providers are required to comply with Commonwealth privacy legislation when handling personal information relating to your Commonwealth assistance. There are strict penalties for officers of providers and the Australian Government who misuse this personal information.
Providers must have grievance procedures for non-academic matters which can be used by students for dealing with complaints about their providers misusing this personal information. Providers must also have a procedure to allow you to access your personal information.
You will be notified of your CHESSN in your Commonwealth Assistance Notice (see How can I check if the calculation of my FEE-HELP debt is correct?).