Review of grades (Grade Appeal)

What's a Review of Grades?

It means appealing a final grade for a unit, when there have been issues with the course description, teaching or assessment during the semester. More detail about what that means is below. You can apply for a review even if you have a passing grade - if you received a D, but think you would have got an HD if it weren't for issues with the course, you can still apply. Most commonly, however, it is for students who have an MF or F grade.

If you have personal reasons why you have not performed to your best in the semester, this is not grounds for a review of grades. In this case, you may consider applying for Remission of Debt instead - this process can refund up-front tuition fees, or remove your debt for failed units. We can help you with this process too!

I don't think I want to challenge the grade - I just have questions...

Jump over to our assessment and results page, or make an appointment with us and we'll try to help you find answers!

When can I apply for a review of grades for this semester?

You can only apply for a review once your final grade has been published on My Student Centre. For most students, this is once grades are officially published in My Student Centre on Friday 5 July 2024. For other teaching period result publication dates check Important dates. You have 10 working days* from grade publication date to apply for a review. Late applications may be accepted at the Institute's discretion.

Please note that your Institute has 30 working days* after receiving your application letter "or such further time as may be reasonably necessary for the Dean or nominee to complete his or her determination" to send you the outcome. The process can therefore take a long time and it's crucial to remain enrolled and engaging with your course while this is in progress.

* Working day - means an ordinary business day of the University (excluding weekends, public holidays or days on which the University is officially closed, eg. Christmas close-down).

How to apply for a review of grades

Just click on each of the headings to expand the information. Prefer it all on 1 pdf? Click here.

To assist you in preparing an application please read the Students Regulations (Section 34). If your circumstances do not meet one of the grounds for a Review, your application is unlikely to succeed.

We've put together some useful resources to help you to decide whether you have grounds to apply, and to get you started drafting your application statement.

Review of Grades Student Guide

Check out our individual guides if you're considering applying based on...

...group work challenges

...concerns with marking

...unclear or incorrect assessment information

...concerns with placement documentation

Please use our appointment form to contact us - this is the quickest way for us to allocate you an appropriate appointment.

Student Advocacy can help you to:

  • Understand whether you have grounds to apply for a Review
  • Draft your application statement - we can review a draft statement and give you feedback before you submit
  • Decide what evidence you can provide to support your application

Be aware that we are very in-demand during the 10 working days after grades are released, and you may be waiting a few days for an appointment. Please contact us as early as possible after you receive your grades, and use the waiting time to start drafting your appeal to discuss in your appointment.

You will need to use the Institute Appeal Submission Form to submit your application. You can type your application statement directly on the form, or attach a separate document if you need more room, but you do need to submit the form. Be sure to include your student number on any additional pages you include). To ensure that all form fields are editable, you may need to download the form from the browser and open it in Adobe (or similar), rather than editing it in the browser.

Your application must be submitted to the Executive Dean of the Institute responsible for your course within 10 working days* of the official publication of your grade, or, for TAFE students the Director of TAFE Learner Experience. You should send the following by email to the relevant address contained in the table below with subject line 'Review of Grades Application: CONFIDENTIAL'.:

  • The appeal form - you must include this
  • A written statement (if written separately)
  • All evidence you have to support your application

If you are not sure which Institute you study with, please see below. Still not sure? Ask us!

Institute Email address
Institute of Health and Wellbeing health.appeals@federation.edu.au
Institute of Education, Arts and Community educationarts.appeals@federation.edu.au
Institute of Innovation, Science and Sustainabilityiiss.appeals@federation.edu.au
All TAFE studentslearnerexperiencetafe@federation.edu.au