Special Consideration FAQs

The Special Consideration Policy is applicable to short-term, serious and unavoidable circumstances that arise after a study period has commenced, and where specific assessment task/s have been affected.

The University classifies circumstances serious and unavoidable if they:

• could not have reasonably been anticipated, avoided or guarded against by the student; and
• were beyond the student's control; and
• caused substantial disruption to the student’s capacity for undertaking assessment for the unit(s); and
• occurred during a critical study period and were at least three (3) consecutive days duration or a total of five (5) days within the teaching period; and/or
• prevented completion of an assessment task scheduled for a specific date (eg final examination, in class test/ quiz, in class presentation)

Examples of eligible circumstances include short term illness, accidents, natural disasters, weddings, and death. Further examples can also be noted in the supporting evidence schedule.

The following are examples of events that are not considered eligible for Special Consideration:

• Reading the Unit Guide incorrectly
• Attending events such as: concerts, talk shows, sporting events, protests
• Pre-booked holidays
• Routine employment
• A heavy academic workload
• Misreading the assessment requirements and/or deadlines such as the examination timetable
• Professional Experience - independently organised by the student
• Other events or activities not related to current employment or studies

The policy applies to short-term unavoidable disruptions that have substantially affected your capacity to complete an assessment task.

To be considered for Special Consideration for assessments with a due date where you have had substantial time to work on the assignment disruptions must be either:

• at least three (3) consecutive days, or
• at least five (5) days cumulatively

For assessments scheduled for a specific date (eg exams, required class attendance, in-class tests or presentations) the disruption needs to be at least one day duration and impact the date of the assessment.

You should apply no later than five (5) working days after the assessment date. If you are applying more than five (5) working days after the assessment date, you must justify or explain this timing in your application. Applications submitted outside the required timeframe are not guaranteed and are only considered for Special Consideration in exceptional circumstances.

You only need to apply for Special Consideration for missing a class if one of the following is applicable:

• The class participation or attendance counts towards your final mark (check your unit guide and iLearn) or
• The attendance is a requirement for the unit, or
• If you have an in-class assessment on that day (eg in-class presentation, laboratory practical)

If you have missed more than one class, make sure you apply separately for each missed class.

Students who experience technical issues which are serious, unavoidable, unexpected and beyond their control must provide supporting evidence showing this. Supporting evidence in these circumstances must be dated and time stamped. Circumstances which are not considered for example include: uploading the incorrect file, not saving an assessment file, planned internet outages.

Special Consideration is applicable to short-term, serious and unavoidable circumstances.

If you have been impacted by prolonged circumstances, eg an injury, accommodation crisis and other serious circumstances that occur for more than a few weeks, we request you provide current documentation that confirms the recent impact of your circumstances on your ability to complete current assessment tasks.

Whether using formal supporting evidence or a Statement of Fact, supporting documentation needs to indicate how your circumstances have recently impacted current assessments.

We recommend you seek supporting documentation as recommended on the Supporting Evidence page.

Special Consideration is designed to support students with short term disruptions or short-term exacerbations of ongoing circumstances.

If a student experiences ongoing circumstances such as chronic illness/disability or carer commitments, we recommend you explore support options such as reasonable adjustments offered through Accessibility Services at Student Wellbeing. If you are not already registered, contact the Accessibility Service at Student Wellbeing.

For students which are registered with Accessibility Services, reasonable adjustments may be eligible towards your studies and the instances in which you would need to apply for Special Consideration are simplified. Learn about Special Consideration for IEAP students.

For students who experience an unforeseen deterioration, exacerbation, or worsening of their condition, you may apply for Special Consideration with appropriate supporting documentation. For pre-existing or ongoing conditions/circumstances, there must be a demonstration of a recent and short-term unforeseen deterioration, exacerbation, or worsening of your circumstances in your supporting evidence.

You are required to submit appropriate supporting documentation of your disruption. Examples of acceptable types are listed on the Special Consideration page. Supporting documentation should demonstrate how your disruption is serious and unavoidable, and clearly identify the dates or duration of the disruption.

Assessment types are separated into two categories, to select the relevant assessment type you need to first select the relevant category at the beginning of your application under “my disruption was”.

Assessment categories are as listed below:

If your participation is completed in class, list the date of your class as the ‘due date’.

If the participation activity occurs outside of class, check the unit guide and iLearn page for relevant assessment information such as due dates.

When submitting your application(s), make sure you apply separately for all assessments that you are seeking consideration for. Different outcomes will be granted for Participation versus an Essay, so it is important you submit separate requests for each assessment task and unit. This will assist the University to provide you with an appropriate outcome as soon as possible.

If your LAWS unit Take Home Exam clashes with a formal Final Exam as listed on the Examination Timetable, you may apply for Special Consideration for the LAWS unit only. A clash is eligible for Special Consideration if both assessments occur at the same time or within one hour of another. Students should wait until the Final Exam Timetable is released before applying.

If approved for Special Consideration in relation to a final exam (which occurred during the formal examination period) you may be granted a supplementary exam. If granted a Supplementary Exam, the Supplementary Exam period occurs:

• For Session 3 2023 units: 12th February 2024 – 15th February 2024
• For Session 1 2024 units: 4^th July – 16^th July
• For Session 2 2024 units: 5^th December – 17^th December
• For Term 1 MBA/MAF units: 18^th March –24^th March
• For Term 2 MBA/MAF units: 11^th June – 16^th June
• For Term 3 MBA/MAF units: 2^nd September –8^th September
• For Term 4 MBA/MAF units: 25^th November – 1^st December

Students are expected to ensure their availability during this period.

Criteria relating to Session 1 2024 Final Exams has not yet been released. Further information is expected to be made available once the Draft Examination Timetable is released on approx. the 24/04 at 1 PM. In the meantime, please ensure you carefully check your unit mode and assessment requirements when enrolling.

If you have submitted a duplicate application or made an error when submitting your application, you may cancel your application by opening it via ‘My Opened Enquiries/Forms’ in AskMQ and selecting ‘Cancel request’.

Once you have applied for Special Consideration, the University will assess the information and evidence you provided. The University will aim to let you know the outcome of your application via your student email address within 5 working days of receipt of the application and all necessary supporting evidence. If supporting evidence is provided after receipt of the application, the University will aim to let you know your outcome within 5 working days of receiving the documentation. Although the University aims to let you know your outcome as soon as possible, it may take 5–10 working days during peak periods.

You can attach additional documentation to your application as long as the application is open in AskMQ. Please do not submit a second Special Consideration application to provide additional supporting documentation.

To add additional documentation to an existing application, open your application via your ‘My Opened Enquiries/Forms’ in AskMQ and then select ‘add a note’ to attach additional comments and/or documents.

Please check your outcome email which will explain:

• why your application was not approved, and/or
• may have advice or instructions for further actions if appropriate.

We recommend you consult the Special Consideration webpage and policy prior to submitting an appeal. Please note in some instances your Special Consideration might have been closed requesting you instead reapply with missing evidence/information in order then reassess your application once the evidence/information is provided.

If you wish to submit an academic appeal, refer to the appeals web page for more information. Appeals must be submitted within 10 working days of receipt of a decision via AskMQ.

Requests must be submitted no later than five working days after the assessment due date. If an application is beyond this deadline and is submitted after the release of final results, it is too late to be considered.

The university will review your application and supporting evidence to determine the most appropriate outcome, you can't request a specific outcome.