Waive academic penalty and fee reversal

The University recognises that occasions may arise in which students find it necessary to drop a course after the census date. In such cases, the academic penalty may be waived and the fees reversed if the course is dropped for special circumstances including:

• medical
• family or personal
• employment related
• university or partner error.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for waive of academic penalty, re-credit of student learning entitlement and remission or refund of fees, it must be demonstrated that the special circumstances:

• are beyond the student's control: circumstances are beyond a person's control if a situation occurs that a reasonable person would consider is not due to the person's action or inaction, either direct or indirect, and for which the person is not responsible. This situation must be unusual, uncommon or abnormal.
• do not make their full impact until on or after the census date: circumstances do not make their full impact on the person until on or after the census date for the course/s if the person's circumstances occur:
• before the census date, but worsen after that day
• before the census date, but the full effect or magnitude does not become apparent until after that day
• on or after the census date
• Note: a student does not need to demonstrate that they were prevented from withdrawing from the course prior to census date.
• Impracticable for the person to complete the unit of study requirements: special circumstances (medical, family/personal, employment, uni/agent error) make it impracticable for the student to complete the requirements for the course/s during the period during which the student undertook, or was to undertake, the course.
•  Note: Consideration will be given to whether, at the time of the student's special circumstances arose, it was already not practicable for the student to meet the requirements of the course. This situation may arise where a student has not met progressive requirements relating to compulsory assessment and/or attendance at classes for the course of study and therefore the student's special circumstances had no bearing on their capacity to complete the course.
• Impacted on the student's study capacity for an extended period of time.
• for example: The situation must have negatively affected the ability of the student to undertake their study for a percentage of the semester that a reasonable person would consider significantly interfered with the student's ability to complete the requirements of the course/s within the enrolled Semester.

A person is unable to complete the requirements for a unit, for example, if the person is unable to:

• undertake the necessary private study required, or attend sufficient lectures or tutorials or meet other compulsory attendance requirements in order to meet their compulsory course requirements
• complete the required assessable work
• sit the required examinations
• complete any other course requirements because of their inability to meet the above.

Special circumstances do not include:

• lack of knowledge or understanding of requirements
• a person's incapacity to repay a HELP debt, as repayments are income contingent and the person can apply for a deferral of a compulsory repayment in certain circumstances.

Further information

Guidelines

Applying

Supporting documentation