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Student status

Last updated: 15/07/2026

Capturing and reporting a student’s progress is central to the VET Information Standard and marks a change to status-based reporting that will provide richer insights into the VET pathways students take and their learning journeys.

What is student status

Student status defines the various stages of a student’s training, from enrolment through to conclusion, at both program and subject level.

INFORMATION ELEMENT: Student status

There are five program-level statuses:

Registered

Commenced

Cancelled

Deferred

Concluded

For subject enrolments, four statuses apply:

Registered

Commenced

Cancelled

Concluded

Explore Student status transitions

Download the Student status diagram (displayed below)

Reporting student status and changes to data

Importantly, each time a student’s status changes the RTO must report the change. For example, if the student status for a program enrolment changes from registered to deferred this must be reported within the reporting period.

Find out more about transactional reporting

If multiple changes occur for a single student within the same reporting period, each of these changes must be reported. For example, if the student status for a program enrolment has changed from registered to deferred, and then the student subsequently cancels their enrolment in this program both the deferral and the cancelled status would be reported within that reporting period.

In addition, an accompanying student activity date is required for each change in student status; for example, the date a student moves from registered to deferred.

RTOs are also required to provide any changes to previously provided information to maintain the accuracy and completeness of student records. The reporting of these changes over the student’s training journey is referred to as transactional reporting.

Student status defined

Reporting Registered and Commenced

There are some subtle differences between reporting a student with a student status of registered as opposed to commenced. The following table provides some guidance on what is expected.

Scenarios

Scenario	Outcome
A student has registered their interest in a program and/or subjects but has not yet been placed into a class by the RTO.	Not required to be reported under the VET Information Standard.
A student has registered their interest in a program and/or subjects, and the RTO has enrolled them into their program and first semester subjects but have not participated in any learning / assessment activities.	Registered under the VET Information Standard.
A student has registered their interest in a program and/or subjects, and the RTO has enrolled them into their program and first semester subjects and has undertaken an orientation session with the student.	Registered student.
A student has registered their interest in a program and/or subjects, and the RTO has enrolled them into their program and first semester subjects and has commenced learning activities and/or undertaken their first assessment.	Commenced.

Reporting student status reason (Deferred & Concluded status)

When reporting the student status of either deferred or concluded, RTOs must incorporate a student status reason. This reason provides additional information about why a student has paused or concluded their studies.

INFORMATION ELEMENT: Student status reason

Reasons for deferral include:

Deferral pre-commencement

Deferral post–commencement

Reasons for concluding at a program-level include:

Successful completion

Unsuccessful completion

Formal withdrawal

Informal withdrawal

RTO closed

Not applicable

Note: student status reasons at subject-level also include the credit transfer applied reason.

Student status reasons defined

Key rules and scenarios – Student status

Continuing students

In the VET Information Standard, a student’s status, such as commenced, is maintained until a change occurs. An RTO does not need to report a student record where there has been no change to:

The student status, or

To data previously reported for that student record.

Deferral

Deferral applies to a program enrolment only. When a student commences a subject within a program enrolment and then defers their study, RTOs must report the student record in the following way:

The program enrolment:

Student status = Deferred, and
Student status reason = Deferred post-commencement.

The subject enrolment:

Student status = Concluded.
Student status reason = Formal withdrawal.

Reporting subject-level outcomes

Subject enrolment outcomes are captured through the concluded student status and its associated student status reasons.

Can I change a Concluded student status

No, as concluded is considered a final status. When this status has been applied to a student’s program or subject enrolment, this indicates the end of the student’s enrolment and therefore a student cannot transition back to another student status. Refer to Program enrolment transitions and Subject enrolment transitions in the accordion below for valid transitions between student statuses.

In circumstances where the concluded student status has been reported in error, the error must be corrected to accurately reflect the student’s actual state. Additional information on providing updates and corrections is provided under updating information in the VET Information Standard.

Reporting student status at program and subject levels

Under the VET Information Standard, information elements are required to be reported at different stages of a student's journey. The following tables, displayed within an accordion below, provide a more detailed explanation of student status reporting requirements. The tables show the first student status these elements are expected to be reported under, by using a reporting requirement type. For usability, this information has been separated into contextual groupings.

Mandatory	The element is always required for the designated Student status.
Contingent	The element is required for the designated Student status and a particular condition must be met or an error will occur.
Allowable	The element may be submitted for the designated Student status without any conditions needing to be met.
Not allowed	The element cannot be submitted as part of this Student status.
Not applicable	The element has already been submitted at a prior Student status.

Program enrolment
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Student status
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Registered	Cancelled	Commenced	Deferred	Concluded
Financial category		Contingent when financial type is reported	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Financial type			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
International student type	International student data recorded at program level	Contingent for a program enrolment when student has a permanent address with a country code not in Australia, and none of the student's other enrolments has an International student type code recorded	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Parchment issued date			Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed	Allowable
Participant involvement type	Third-party involvement type recorded at program level	Contingent when third-party details of training organisation identifier, training organisation name and ABN are provided for the program enrolment	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Scheduled completion date			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Student activity date	Program activity dates	Contingent for each student status in a program enrolment	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
Student status reason	Reason for program status	Mandatory when Student status is 'deferred' Contingent when Student status is 'concluded' unless a superseding program enrolment was reported alongside the concluded program enrolment	Not allowed	Allowable	Not allowed	Mandatory	Contingent
Study reason	Program enrolments only		Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Training contract identifier		Contingent on 'concluded' when training relationship type is 'enrolment in a traineeship' or 'enrolment in an apprenticeship' Contingent on all other student statuses when client identifier - apprenticeships is reported on student, and no other program enrolments have a Training contract identifier	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Training relationship type	Program relationships	Contingent when training contract identifier is reported	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent

Subject enrolment
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Student status
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Registered	Cancelled	Commenced	Concluded
Financial category		Contingent when financial type is reported	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Financial type			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
International student type	International student data recorded at subject level	Contingent for a program enrolment when student has a permanent address with a country code not in Australia and none of the student's other enrolments has an International student type code recorded	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Learning channel type		Contingent when predominant learning channel is submitted	Contingent	Contingent	Mandatory	Not applicable
Learning delivery type		Contingent when predominant learning delivery is submitted	Contingent	Contingent	Mandatory	Not applicable
Participant involvement type	Third-party involvement type recorded at subject level	Contingent when third-party details of training organisation identifier, training organisation name and ABN are provided for the subject enrolment	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Predominant learning channel		Contingent when each learning channel is submitted	Contingent	Contingent	Mandatory	Not applicable
Predominant learning delivery		Contingent when each learning delivery is submitted	Contingent	Contingent	Mandatory	Not applicable
Predominant training venue		Contingent for each subject enrolment location	Contingent	Contingent	Mandatory	Not applicable
Scheduled completion date			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Scheduled start date			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Student activity date	Subject activity dates	Contingent on each change in student status in a subject enrolment	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory	Mandatory
Student status reason	Reason for subject status	Contingent when student status is 'concluded' unless a superseding subject enrolment was reported alongside the concluded subject enrolment	Not allowed	Allowable	Not allowed	Contingent
Study reason	Subject-only enrolments		Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Subject assessment type			Allowable	Allowable	Mandatory	Not applicable
Training venue type		Contingent when any subject enrolment location detail is reported	Contingent	Contingent	Mandatory	Not applicable
VET in School indicator			Allowable	Allowable	Mandatory	Not applicable

Program
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Student status
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Registered	Cancelled	Commenced	Deferred	Concluded
Nominal hours			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Occupation identifier		Contingent when program or subject reference number is not on Training.gov.au	Contingent	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Program field of education code		Contingent when program or subject reference number is not on Training.gov.au	Contingent	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Program level of education		Contingent when program or subject reference number is not on Training.gov.au	Contingent	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Program or subject reference number			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Program or subject name		Contingent when program or subject reference number is not on Training.gov.au	Contingent	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Program type		Contingent when program or subject reference number is not on Training.gov.au	Contingent	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Vocational education indicator		Contingent when program or subject reference number is not on Training.gov.au	Contingent	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable

Subject
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Student status
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Registered	Cancelled	Commenced	Deferred	Concluded
Nominal hours		Contingent when a subject does not have a value in NCVER's list of agreed hours	Contingent	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Program or subject reference number			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Program or subject name		Contingent when program or subject reference number is not on Training.gov.au	Contingent	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Subject field of education code		Contingent when program or subject reference number is not on Training.gov.au	Contingent	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Vocational education indicator		Contingent when program or subject reference number is not on Training.gov.au	Contingent	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable

Training organisation
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Student status
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Registered	Cancelled	Commenced	Deferred	Concluded
ABN	Third-party organisations associated with an enrolment	Contingent when participant involvement type has been recorded and both training organisation name and training organisation identifier are blank	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Training organisation identifier	Third-party organisations associated with an enrolment	Contingent when participant involvement type has been recorded and both training organisation name and ABN are blank	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Training organisation name	Third-party organisations associated with an enrolment	Contingent when participant involvement type has been recorded and both ABN and Training organisation identifier are blank	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent

Delivery location
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Student status
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Registered	Cancelled	Commenced	Deferred	Concluded
Country of address code			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Delivery location identifier			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Delivery location name			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Postcode		Contingent when country code indicates address is in Australia	Contingent	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
State code			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Suburb or town name			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable

Student
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Student status
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Registered	Cancelled	Commenced	Deferred	Concluded
At school indicator			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Client identifier - apprenticeships		Contingent when student has a program enrolment and training relationship type is 'enrolment in an apprenticeship' or 'enrolment in a traineeship'	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Contingent
Country of birth code			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Date of birth			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Deceased indicator			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not applicable
Disability type			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Family name		Contingent when first given name is blank	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
First given name		Contingent when other given name is populated Contingent when family name is blank	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Gender			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Highest school level completed			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Indigenous status			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Labour force status			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Language spoken at home			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Other given name			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Person title			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Previous qualifications achieved			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Student identifier			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Survey availability			Mandatory	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable	Not applicable
Survey non-contact reason		Contingent when survey availability is 'not available' unless they are an international student type of 'international offshore' or if the deceased indicator is 'yes'	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Unique student identifier		Contingent when a student has a program enrolment with a parchment issued date and a program or subject reference number that is on Training.gov.au, unless the program enrolment is marked with international student type of 'international offshore'	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Contingent

Student location data grouping
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Student status
Element name	Collected for	Reporting conditions	Registered	Cancelled	Commenced	Deferred	Concluded
Building property name			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Building type		Contingent when postcode is not blank and when flat or unit details is populated	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Country of address code		Contingent when international student type is reported and other address data has been reported as permanent address	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Email address primary		Contingent when survey availability is reported as 'available'	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Email address secondary			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Flat or unit details			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Floor level number			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Home telephone number			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Lot number			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Mobile telephone number			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Post box or bag number			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Postal delivery type			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Postcode			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
State code		Contingent when other address data for postal address is reported	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Street name		Contingent when street property number has been reported	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent	Contingent
Street property number			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Street type			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Suburb or town name			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable
Work telephone number			Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable	Allowable

Student status from	Student status reason	Student status to	Student status reason	Same Student activity date allowed?
No enrolment		✎Registered	Is blank	-
✎Registered	Is blank	▶Commenced	Is blank	Yes
✎Registered	Is blank	✕Cancelled	Is blank	No
✎Registered	Is blank	✕Cancelled	Not applicable	Yes
✎Registered	Is blank	❚❚Deferred	Deferral pre-commencement	No
❚❚Deferred	Deferral pre-commencement	✕Cancelled	Is blank	No
❚❚Deferred	Deferral pre-commencement	▶Commenced	Is blank	No
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	Formal withdrawal	Yes
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	Informal withdrawal	No
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	Successful completion	Yes
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	Unsuccessful completion	Yes
▶Commenced*	Is blank	✓Concluded	Is blank	Yes
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	Not applicable	Yes
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	RTO closed	No
▶Commenced	Is blank	❚❚Deferred	Deferral post-commencement	Yes
❚❚Deferred	Deferral post-commencement	▶Commenced	Is blank	No
❚❚Deferred	Deferral post-commencement	✓Concluded	Formal withdrawal	No
❚❚Deferred	Deferral post-commencement	✓Concluded	Informal withdrawal	No
❚❚Deferred	Deferral post-commencement	✓Concluded	Not applicable	No
❚❚Deferred	Deferral post-commencement	✓Concluded	RTO closed	No
❚❚Deferred*	Deferral post-commencement	✓Concluded	Is blank	No

*This scenario would only occur if a superseding subject enrolment was reported alongside this conclusion. BRDG00072 enforces that Student status reason is reported in all other cases.

Student status from	Student status reason	Student status to	Student status reason	Same student activity date allowed?
No enrolment		✎Registered	Is blank	-
✎Registered	Is blank	▶Commenced	Is blank	Yes
✎Registered	Is blank	✕Cancelled	Is blank	No
✎Registered	Is blank	✕Cancelled	Not applicable	Yes
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	Credit transfer applied	Yes
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	Formal withdrawal	Yes
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	Informal withdrawal	No
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	Successful completion	Yes
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	Unsuccessful completion	Yes
▶Commenced**	Is blank	✓Concluded	Is blank	No
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	Not applicable	Yes
▶Commenced	Is blank	✓Concluded	RTO closed	No

**This scenario would only occur if a superseding subject enrolment was reported alongside this conclusion. BRDG00161 enforces that the Student status reason is reported in all other cases.

Student status

ON THIS PAGE

What is student status

There are five program-level statuses:

Registered

Commenced

Cancelled

Deferred

Concluded

For subject enrolments, four statuses apply:

Registered

Commenced

Cancelled

Concluded

Explore Student status transitions

Reporting student status and changes to data

Student status defined

Reporting Registered and Commenced

Scenarios

Reporting student status reason (Deferred & Concluded status)

Reasons for deferral include:

Deferral pre-commencement

Deferral post–commencement

Reasons for concluding at a program-level include:

Successful completion

Unsuccessful completion

Formal withdrawal

Informal withdrawal

RTO closed

Not applicable

Student status reasons defined

Key rules and scenarios – Student status

Continuing students

Deferral

Reporting subject-level outcomes

Can I change a Concluded student status

Reporting student status at program and subject levels

Important links