PIR FAQs

Q: What values do I report for the Reporting Year/Period (E415) for the 2021 PIR collection?

When creating new PIR submissions in HEPCAT due 30 June 2021 what year do I create the submissions for both Student and Staff collections?

Your submissions files for both Student and Staff collections are to be created as 2021 submissions and the table below lists the applicable E415 (Reporting year & period code) value required for each of the submission types.

File Type	Reporting Year/Period (E415)
PIR Course of Study	2020
PIR Half Year Load Estimates	2021
PIR Past Course Completions	2020
PIR Student	2020
PIR Staff	Methods 1 & 2 – 2021

Q: Are data records reported for academic staff who are contractors?

A: Yes, if the staff member meets the following requirements at the reference date:

are members of staff
have an effective substantive appointment
have current duties which require them to undertake work undertaken in either:
- an academic organisational unit;
- an academic support services organisational unit;
- a student services organisational unit;
- a public services organisational unit or a general institution services organisational unit; or
- an independent operation, but only if it is a controlled entity

Q: How does our CEO certify the data? Do they need a HEIMS logon to view the reports?

Q: Where can I find the reports that have to be certified?

Q: Why isn't HEPCAT loading my file?

Q: What reporting year do I use for my Student data?

A: Your Course of Study, Student and Past Course Completions submissions should contain data for the 2020 reporting year. Every record in the file will have a reporting year and period (Element 415) of 20201.

Your Half Year Load Estimates submission should only include students enrolled between 1 January and 30 June 2021. The reporting year and period (Element 415) for this file is 20211.

Q: What reporting year do I use for my Staff data?

A: For all staff data submissions the reporting year and period (Element 415) is 20211

This includes

your Full‑time and Fractional Full‑time Staff submission. The reference date (Element 513) is the 'point in time' date you choose. As of 2 February 2021 this date range is yet to be confirmed. Once you have selected the date you report all FT/FFT as employed on that date. Every record in the file will have a reporting year and period of 20211
your Casual/Sessional staff – this applies whether you are using calendar year ("Method 1") to calculate actual casual FTE from 2020 , or financial year ("Method 2") to calculate casual staff FTE based on the 2020/18 financial year. The reporting year and period is always 20211.

Where possible, TEQSA and the department encourage all providers to use Method 1 – Calendar Year as this aligns with the establishment of a national data collection that has a consistent foundation for the calculation of all casual staff data.

Q: Last year you could use a point in time is this still available for staff data?

Q: If staff left or came in half way through 2020, is the information recorded the same as if they were there the entire calendar year?

A: The specifications for reporting Full‑time, Fractional Full‑time and Casual academic staff data are outlined in the HEIMS PIR Scope and Data Element specification documents.

Full‑time and Fractional Full‑time Staff:

Consistent with previous PIRs and as noted in the data element specifications against element 513 the reference date may be determined by the higher education provider as a 'point in time' at a date between (TBC). All full‑time and fractional staff employed by the HEP as at this reference date, should be reported.

For Casual/Sessional staff

For reporting to the PIR, providers can choose one of two methods for calculating casual staff FTE. The first method ("Method 1") is consistent with the department and measures actual casual FTE from the year preceding the reference year. Providers that use this method will report Casual/Sessional staff for year preceding the current reference year. In the 2021 PIR, providers would therefore report all casual academic staff in calendar year 2020.
Providers may also use a second method ("Method 2") to calculate casual staff FTE based on group certificate data from annual group certificates in the financial year. Providers that use this method will report casual/sessional staff for the latest financial year. In the 2021 PIR, providers would therefore report all casual academic staff in financial year 2020/21.

Q: What are PCO, PLE, PPS, PSD files?

Q: What training is available for the financial data reporting?

A: The department has training available on how to enter your financial data into HITS. A webinar video on this topic is available by contacting us at HEenquiries [at] education.gov.au. The HITS user guide is available for this application which you can access from the Useful links page or at Opens in a new window: https://www.dese.gov.au/help-and-other-information/help-resources-providers/hits-user-guide-and-training-videos.

Q: Please reiterate the reports due by 30 June 2021 for Higher Education Providers.

Q: Is Element 588 is an alternative to Element 408?

Q: The 2020 PIR staff data collection had Element 408 (Staff Data) as an alternative to Element 423 (Equivalent FT annual salary - current duties) and vice versa. In the 2021 PIR, Element 508 (Equivalent full‑time salary range - current duties) is an alternative to Element 408 PIR (Current duties classification type), however, there is no confirmation if element 408 is also an alternative to element 588. Can you confirm?

A: Element 588 is an alternative to Element 408 PIR (Current duties classification type). If a suitable classification is not available under Element 408 then a salary range for each staff member should be provided.