Data and rules
Mapping between AVETMISS and VET Information Standard
AVETMISS to VET Information Standard mapping guidance is available through the VET Information Standard website for registered training organisations and student management system (SMS) suppliers to understand how NCVER and governments will interpret AVETMISS data compared with VET Information Standard data.
The guidance includes API resource information and logical mapping between the two standards.
Specifically, this documentation
Includes all national AVETMISS 8.0 VET provider collection elements
Does not show mapping for VET Information Standard elements or classifications that are new and did not form part of AVETMISS reporting
Does not include AVETMISS 8.1 updates – these will be added closer to the effective date of 1 January 2027
Is not a conversion tool
Is not intended to represent any conversions NCVER may do on AVETMISS data in future
May provide multiple options for mapping. Where a direct one-to-one mapping is not apparent, these are labelled as ‘complex mappings’. In these instances AVETMISS data cannot be converted to compliant VET Information Standard data. RTOs and SMS suppliers should use these mappings as a guide, with the focus being on aligning the appropriate elements or classifications that best represent the characteristic of the student and/or enrolment.
SMS suppliers can use the mapping to:
identify where existing AVETMISS fields and classification values are represented in the VET IS and STARS APIs
assess changes required to their data model by understanding where existing AVETMISS data can be reused or where it must be transformed, reclassified, split or combined
reduce the risk of inconsistent interpretation during implementation (and any potential rework).
STARS rules catalogue
The STARS rules catalogue is the authoritative reference for the validation and data quality rules applied by the VDS APIs.
The updated rules catalogue has been published on September 24, 2026.
It includes
VET Information Standard (VET IS) rules, identified by an official Rule ID, and
system‑based validation rules implemented by STARS
15 national data quality rules implemented by STARS.
The catalogue is intended to give SMS suppliers visibility of:
which validation rules are currently enforced,
which rules are planned or upcoming, and
how each rule behaves in different submission scenarios.
The catalogue focuses on business and behavioural validation rules.
Structural validations - such as required fields, data types, formats, and basic schema constraints - are defined and enforced through the OpenAPI specification and are not always repeated here. Structural validations are only included in the catalogue where they also exist as formal VET IS rules or where the rule behaviour cannot be fully described through the OpenAPI specification alone.
Together, the STARS rules catalogue and the OpenAPI specification describe the full validation model applied by the VDS APIs.
Reference and classification data
Reference and classification data is now available through the reference and classification data APIs and is no longer provided in downloadable files.
Developers and integrators must use the Reference and classification data API – Usage guide to access authoritative datasets. The APIs support full and incremental (watermark-based) synchronisation, enabling consumers to maintain up-to-date local copies efficiently.
To support this transition, a sample script is provided on this page to demonstrate how to retrieve data from the APIs and construct equivalent .csv datasets where required.
Important notes
Reference data CSV files are no longer distributed or maintained
Consumers must retrieve data via the APIs
The provided script demonstrates how to rebuild CSV extracts if required.
Script for reference & classification data export
The following scripts provide a simple way to extract reference and classification data from the Vet Provider Reference Data APIs or Classification API and export them as CSV files.
The scripts are pending an update to accommodate the extraction of classification data.
The scripts:
Connect to the API using a bearer token
Handle pagination automatically
Retrieve all available reference datasets
Save each dataset as a CSV file in a local output directory
The scripts are designed to work out‑of‑the‑box with the Vet Provider API but can be adapted for other APIs with similar patterns.
Prerequisites
Before running the script, ensure the following:
PowerShell 7+ is installed (recommended for improved TLS support and error handling)
You have access to the API endpoint
You have obtained a valid Bearer Token from the authentication service (should be common for all APs - link to elsewhere?)
Configuration
Update the following fields in the script before running:
1. Base URL
Set the API base URL -
To download from the STARS Production system
$BaseUrl=”https://api.vetdata.edu.au/svc”
To download from the STARS Client Integration system
$BaseUrl=”https://api.vetdata.edu.au/cin/svc”
2. Authentication headers
Insert your bearer token:
Replace <your-token-here> with the token obtained from the auth endpoint
Keep the word "Bearer" and the space before the token
3. Output settings
OutputFolder: Directory where CSV files will be saved
CollectionPrefix: Prefix used in exported file names
ChangedSince: Filters data updated since the specified date (default = last 10 years)
Running the script
Execute the script from a PowerShell terminal:
Output
After successful execution:
Each reference dataset is saved as an individual CSV file
Files are written to the configured output folder
Filenames include the collection prefix and date stamp for traceability
Example:
Important notes
Reference and classification data CSV files are no longer distributed or maintained
Consumers must retrieve data via the APIs
The provided script demonstrates how to rebuild CSV extracts if required.
Reference data from STARS
Source: This data is © Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Australia (CC BY-ND 3.0 AU).
Reconciliation and declarations use reporting period values. For these functions, a reporting period must be supplied.
Reference data from training.gov.au (TGA)
Source: training.gov.au, the Australian Government's National Training Register. This data is © Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0 Australia (CC BY-ND 3.0 AU).
Program
A list of program reference numbers that are sourced from training.gov.au. Programs can be qualifications, accredited courses or skill sets.
Registered training organisation
A list of registered training organisations (RTOs) that are sourced from training.gov.au.
RTO Program scope
The program scope for a registered training organisation's (RTO's) registration, showing the list of programs that a registered training organisation (RTO) is approved to deliver, sourced from training.gov.au. This includes only currently approved programs and is used to validate an RTO against the programs they report.
RTO Subject scope
The subject scope for a registered training organisation’s (RTO’s) scope of registration, showing the subjects that a regulator has explicitly and implicitly approved for the RTO to deliver, sourced from training.gov.au. This informs validation rules that check an RTO against the subjects they are reporting.
Specialisation
A list of programs and their specialisations, as sourced from training.gov.au. Allows identification of specisalisations when a specialisation code is reported as a product reference number.
Subject
A list of subject reference numbers that are sourced from training.gov.au. Subjects can be units of competency or accredited units/modules.
Superseded program
A list of superseded programs, and their corresponding superseding program, sourced from training.gov.au. The table is used for validation when reporting that one program enrolment has superseded another.
Superseded subject
A list of superseded subjects, and their corresponding superseding subject, sourced from training.gov.au. The table is used for validation when reporting that one subject enrolment has superseded another.
Reference data from the ABS
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics. This data is © Commonwealth of Australia and licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
Country
A reference list of countries recognised by the Australian Government, sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This table is used for determining valid codes for country elements.
State
Australian state and territory codes used for geographic classification, reporting, and validation.
Field of education
A reference list of education classified by field, sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The table is used to ensure that field of education codes reported are valid, consistent, and aligned with Australian standards.
Level of education
Education level classifications aligned to the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF), used to categorise programs.
ANZSCO occupation mapping
Mappings between training programs or subjects and occupation classifications, linking training delivery to occupational outcomes.
Occupation
A reference list of occupations, sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This table is used to determine valid codes for occupations in the Australian labour market and to ensure consistent and valid coding when reporting data related to occupations.
Occupation version
The occupation version indicates the specific release or version of the occupation classification list published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Language VET IS
A reference list of languages used in the VET IS, sourced from the Australian Standard Classification of Languages (ASCL) maintained by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which classifies languages used or spoken by the Australian population. This table is used to ensure valid codes for language elements when reporting data.
Language correspondence
Mappings between language codes used in different standards or contexts to support interoperability.
Reference data from NCVER
Source: VET Information Standard Version 1.0.0, National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
© Commonwealth of Australia (2026).
Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU).
Reporting period
Defines reporting periods, including start dates, end dates, and final submission dates.
Program and subject state transition table
VET IS has introduced transactional reporting, defined as a series of transactions occurring during a student’s training lifecycle.
These are outlined in the Student status information element and must be provided by RTOs each time they occur, or change, for each student enrolment within a reporting period.
This reference data file is used to validate that Student status, Student status reason, and Student activity date occur in a valid sequence in line with the relevant state transition table.
What the data contains
The file defines valid transitions by
LifecycleType — whether the rule applies to Program enrolment or Subject enrolment
StudentStatusFrom — the current Student status
StudentStatusReasonFrom — the current Student status reason (where applicable)
StudentStatusTo — the next valid Student status
StudentStatusReasonTo — the next valid Student status reason (where applicable)
TransitionOnSameDayAllowed — whether the transition may occur on the same Student activity date
How it supports the relevant VET IS Business rules
BRDG00300 – Program
Used as the program state transition table to check whether the combination of Student status, Student status reason, and Student activity date is valid for a Program enrolment record.BRDG00303 – Subject
Used as the Subject state transition table to check whether the combination of Student status, Student status reason, and Student activity date is valid for a Subject enrolment record.
Classification data example
Classification data is defined as the smallest unit of information within an element of the VET Information Standard (VET IS). All classifications contain metadata including:
name
description
value.
Information elements that are collected by RTOs and submitted to STARS in order to meet their obligations will be validated against these values where applicable.
Below is the example set of classification data for informational purposes only derived from the draft VET IS. Classification data is derived and published by NCVER and is subject to change and governance according to the VET IS Release framework.
Source: VET Information Standard Version 1.0.0, National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER).
© Commonwealth of Australia (2026). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU).