Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number (CHESSN)

All Monash students receive an 8 digit Monash Student Identification Number that is printed on the Monash Student ID Card.

However, students in a Commonwealth supported place or who successfully apply for FEE-HELP, will also receive a 10 digit national student number (CHESSN) which they will retain for life, in a similar way to a Tax File Number.

The CHESSN will be used at all Australian universities. Students will need a CHESSN to log onto a government database called HEIMS. This database is similar to the my.Monash portal but, because it is a national database, it will contain information for a specific student from all the Australian institutions at which the student has been: HECS, Commonwealth Supported, accessing PELS or accessing FEE-HELP.

Students will use it to manage their own higher education requirements such as:

• checking the level of deferred student contribution amount debt if using HECS-HELP,
• checking the level of deferred tuition fees, and the $80,000 limit for all courses except medicine, veterinary science and dentistry which has a limit of $100,000, if using FEE-HELP, and
• monitoring consumption of Student Learning Entitlement

If a student does require a CHESSN the University will obtain it on their behalf and will notify the student of the CHESSN via the Commonwealth Assistance Notice (CAN) which will be issued within 28 days of the first census date for which the student is enrolled.