ACARA Data Extract (Aus)

Overview

The 'ACARA Data Extract (Aus)' program provides a tool for extracting student address, parent occupation, and parent education data for submission to ACARA and for the Student background data collection for independent schools. The data extracted is exported to Excel®.

This program can be accessed by navigating to TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Government Returns.

ACARA (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority) is responsible for collecting school data for publication on the My School website and for the ICSEA (Index of Community Socio-Educational Advantage). ACARA collects student background data (SBD) for all Australian schools to calculate Socio-Educational Advantage (SEA) and Disadvantaged Language Background other than English (DLBOTE).

Before generating the extract, review the file format information below and verify data entry in the relevant ‘TASS Program/Field Name’.

Click here for an Administrator Note.

User Security Permissions

Assign the 'ACARA Data Extract (Aus)' permission to the relevant users, located in the Student Records section of TASS.web System Admin > Users > User Maintenance or TASS.web System Admin > Users > Security Role Permissions.

Map Genders

Use the 'Map Genders' icon or button to view or edit the specific TASS genders and codes mapped for this report.

Important!

If your school has defined additional gender types that are not recognised by the report's governing body, you will see the following message:

'Unmapped Genders exist. To run this report you must use the 'Map Genders' icon, and enter a mapping for all genders.'

To run the report, any additional genders in your database must be mapped to those that are accepted for the report by the governing body.

For example, if the governing body were to accept 3 gender types:

Female might map to gender code 'F'.
Male might map to gender code 'M'.
Any additional gender types that your school recognises could map to 'Unknown' (gender code 'U')—if the governing body recognises this gender type and you have defined it (or it is already defined) in TASS.

For more information on 'Gender Setup', refer to TASS.web Community > Setup Information.

General Tab

Fields from the 'General' tab can be used as selection criteria to filter the students included in the extract. These tabs are similar to those displayed in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the 'General’ tab.

User Defined Tab

Use the fields on the ‘User Defined’ tab to further filter the students included in the extract. These tabs are similar to those displayed in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the 'UD’ tab.

Process Tab

Use the ‘Process’ tab to select your preferred sort order and enter your ACARA school code.

Fields that require further explanation
Sort By	There are 3 options: Student Code. Surname (the default selection). Year Group.
Formatting Options	This report can only be output to Excel® (i.e. a spreadsheet).
School Code	* ACARA SML ID	Enter the unique numeric ID allocated to a given school or campus by ACARA. Find out what your school’s ACARA SML ID is by visiting https://asl.acara.edu.au/ and searching for your school. The data entered here will be included in Field 1 of the extract.

Select 'GO' to proceed to create the Excel file in the format specified below.

When the extract has been generated successfully, the file download should start immediately. The browser may prompt you to accept the download of this file.

ACARA Excel File Format

Column	ACARA Field	Value	TASS Program/Field Name
A	ACARA SML ID	Numeric Max. 6 characters	Entered when running this program on the 'Process' tab.
B	School Name	Text Max. 50 characters	This field contains the 'Name of School/Company Name' from TASS.web Finance > General Ledger > Setup Information > Company Information.
C	Calendar Year	Text Max. 4 characters	The year to which the data relates. The program will insert the calendar year from your server's clock, e.g. 2026.
D	Jurisdiction Student ID	Alphanumeric. Max. 12 characters	This field contains data from the 'Student Code' field in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the 'General’ tab.
E	Grade of Student Enrolment	Text. Year groups -1 & 0 will be translated to 0. Max. 2 characters	This field contains data from the 'Year Group' field in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the 'General’ tab.
F	Date of Birth	Text (do not use data type date). Must be in DDMMYYYY format. Max. 8 characters	This field contains data from the 'Date of Birth' field in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the 'General’ tab.
G	Gender	Numeric 1 = Male. 2 = Female. 3 = (Option) Another term/Non-binary. 9 = Other/Not stated/Inadequately described. Max. 1 character	The values for this field are determined by combining the ‘Gender' field in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the ‘General' tab, and the 'Map Genders’ feature in this program.
H	Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Status	Numeric 1 = Aboriginal but not Torres Strait Islander Origin; 2 = Torres Strait Islander but not Aboriginal Origin; 3 = Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Origin; 4 = Neither Aboriginal nor Torres Strait Islander Origin; 9 = Not stated/Unknown Max. 1 character	This field contains data from the 'Indigenous Status' field in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the ‘MCEECDYA’ tab or as entered in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Government Returns > MCEECDYA Grid (Aus). This program uses the MCEECDYA codes (1,2,3,4,9).
I	Student Language other than English spoken at home	4 digit numerical ASCL code. Not stated = 0002. Max. 4 characters	This field uses the 'Languages other than English at home' (for the Student) from TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the ‘MCEECDYA’ tab or as entered in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Government Returns > MCEECDYA Grid (Aus).
J	Parent 1 School Education	Numeric. 4 = Year 12 or equivalent. 3 = Year 11 or equivalent. 2 = Year 10 or equivalent. 1 = Year 9 or equivalent or below. 0 = Not stated/Unknown. Max. 1 character	This field uses the ‘School Education' (for Parent 1) data from TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the ‘MCEECDYA’ tab or as entered in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Government Returns > MCEECDYA Grid (Aus).
K	Parent 1 Non-School Education	Numeric. 7 = Bachelor degree or above. 6 = Advanced diploma/Diploma. 5 = Certificate I to IV (includes a trade certificate). 8 = No non-school education. 0 = Not Stated/Unknown. Max. 1 character	This field uses the ‘Non-School Education' (for Parent 1) data from TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the ‘MCEECDYA’ tab or as entered in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Government Returns > MCEECDYA Grid (Aus).
L	Parent 1 Occupation Group	Numeric. 1 = Senior management in large business organisation, government administration and defence, and qualified professionals; 2 = Other business managers, arts/media/sportspersons and associate professionals; 3 = Tradespeople, clerks and skilled office, sales and service staff; 4 = Machine operators, hospitality staff, assistants, labourers and related workers; 8 = Not in paid work in last 12 months; 9 = Not stated or unknown. Max. 1 character	This field uses the ‘Occupation Group' (for Parent 1) data from TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the ‘MCEECDYA’ tab or as entered in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Government Returns > MCEECDYA Grid (Aus).
M	Parent 1 Language other than English spoken at home	4 digit numerical ASCL code. Not stated = 0002. Max. 4 characters	This field uses the 'Languages other than English at home' (for Parent 1) from TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the ‘MCEECDYA’ tab or as entered in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Government Returns > MCEECDYA Grid (Aus).
N	Parent 2 School Education	Numeric. 4 = Year 12 or equivalent. 3 = Year 11 or equivalent. 2 = Year 10 or equivalent. 1 = Year 9 or equivalent or below. 0 = Not stated/Unknown. Max. 1 character	This field uses the ‘School Education' (for Parent 2) data from TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the ‘MCEECDYA’ tab or as entered in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Government Returns > MCEECDYA Grid (Aus).
O	Parent 2 Non-School Education	Numeric. 7 = Bachelor degree or above. 6 = Advanced diploma/Diploma. 5 = Certificate I to IV (includes a trade certificate). 8 = No non-school education. 0 = Not Stated/Unknown. Max. 1 character	This field uses the ‘Non-School Education' (for Parent 2) data from TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the ‘MCEECDYA’ tab or as entered in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Government Returns > MCEECDYA Grid (Aus).
P	Parent 2 Occupation Group	Numeric. 1 = Senior management in large business organisation, government administration and defence, and qualified professionals; 2 = Other business managers, arts/media/sportspersons and associate professionals; 3 = Tradespeople, clerks and skilled office, sales and service staff; 4 = Machine operators, hospitality staff, assistants, labourers and related workers; 8 = Not in paid work in last 12 months; 9 = Not stated or unknown. Max. 1 character	This field uses the ‘Occupation Group' (for Parent 2)data from TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the ‘MCEECDYA’ tab or as entered in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Government Returns > MCEECDYA Grid (Aus).
Q	Parent 2 Language other than English spoken at home	4 digit numerical ASCL code. Null = 0002. Max. 1 character	This field uses the 'Languages other than English at home' (for Parent 2) from TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Student Information > Students on the ‘MCEECDYA’ tab or as entered in TASS.web Student Admin > Student Records > Government Returns > MCEECDYA Grid (Aus).