Adverse circumstances

Adverse Circumstances are issues beyond your control that affect your ability to complete assessments, sit your exam or have a negative impact on your performance.

Acceptable reasons for an Adverse Circumstances application are:

  • health grounds
  • compassionate grounds
  • hardship
  • trauma
  • cultural days or Sorry Business
  • unavoidable commitments

Adverse Circumstances do not include:

  • misreading the Course Outline or examination timetable.
  • usual work commitments.
  • travel plans.
  • being unaware of the assumed knowledge requirements for your course.
  • an inability to meet the inherent requirement for the program or course.

If you are impacted by adverse circumstances, you can submit an application to request:

  • an extension of time to submit an assessment item;
  • to undertake a formal examination during the Rescheduled Examination Period;
  • to undertake an in-class assessment at an alternative time;
  • a compulsory attendance exemption (see below for more information); or
  • to reschedule a placement.

Note: You must tell the University about your adverse circumstances at the earliest possible time in advance of your assessment being due and prior to your exam.

If the issue arises during the exam, you must advise the Exam Supervisor of your intention to lodge an adverse circumstances application before leaving the exam.

How to apply:

If you are needing to apply for Adverse Circumstances, your application will be managed via ServiceNow. This form can be used for:

  • Assessment extensions and rescheduling in-class tests;
  • Rescheduling formal examinations
  • Rescheduling or reallocation of placements
  • Exemptions for compulsory attendance requirements, and
  • Joint Medical Program (JMP) adverse & special circumstance applications

This Knowledge Base Article (KBA) includes a short 5min video on the application process.

Before submitting your request, make sure you check the Adverse Circumstances Affecting Assessment Items Procedure and Adverse Circumstances Affecting Assessment Items Policy to ensure your reasons will be considered valid.

You will receive ServiceNow emails in your student inbox to confirm the status of your application. Please ensure you check these as you may be asked for further information before your application can be reviewed and assessed

Once the outcome of your request is determined, you will receive a ServiceNow email in your student inbox with the details.

Joint Medical Program (JMP) students

Adverse circumstances are slightly different for JMP students, so make sure you are familiar with the Program’s policies and procedures before you commence your studies.

Supporting Documentation

Appropriate supporting documents are detailed in the Adverse Circumstances Affecting Assessment Items Procedure.

Allowable documentation may include:

  • a letter or medical certificate from an accepted health professional, which should include the date(s) that health grounds have impacted on your studies.
  • a letter from a Counselling Service or a Student Support Advisor.
  • a Reasonable Adjustment Plan (RAP) issued by AccessAbility which provides for the requested outcome.
  • a letter attesting to the relevant circumstances from an appropriate authority, such as a police officer, fire officer, cultural or religious official, or an employer or supervisor.
  • a funeral notice - either hard copy or digital.
  • evidence of duties as a student reservist or cadet, a volunteer or an elite sportsperson.
  • evidence of religious responsibilities.
  • evidence of jury duty or other court ordered appearance.
  • a Statutory Declaration attesting to the relevant circumstances, witnessed by an authorised official such as a JP.
  • supporting documentation provided by Student Wellbeing (please note this can be used once per semester only).

Supporting documentation should reflect the duration for which you have been impacted by the adverse circumstances. If your documentation is not sufficient, you may be asked to provide additional documentation.

Please note, you may not be required to provide documentation if you are requesting an extension of less than, or equal to, three calendar days. The system will tell you if supporting documentation is required.

For more information on supporting documentation, please see Do I need to supply documentation with my Adverse Circumstances Request.

Note: Supply of false information, false or falsified documentation by a student to the University is very serious and will result in the rejection of the adverse circumstances application and / or the cancellation of approved adverse circumstances applications.

It may also result in disciplinary action in accordance with the Student Conduct Rule and could also impact future industry accreditation and / or employment.

Compulsory Attendance Exemptions

Attendance is not recorded in lectures, but is recorded in all other activities, including tutorials, labs, workshops and field trips.

Key points about recording student attendance

80% attendance is required at all learning sessions, except whole-class lectures, for all students in 1000 level courses. Students who are unable to attend a class in a 1000 level course should record their absence using the myUni App, as well as submitting an Adverse Circumstances application.

For courses above 1000 level, students should submit an Adverse Circumstances application for an exemption to compulsory attendance requirements.

Note: If you are unable to attend a compulsory activity, you may be required to complete a supplementary task to ensure that you do not miss out on the important knowledge or skills developed in the compulsory activity.