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Special consideration

If bereavement, hardship, trauma or medical issues interrupt your studies, you can apply for special consideration to vary your attendance requirements, extend an assessment deadline or defer an exam.

Why you might need special consideration

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To get an assessment extension
If you need a bit longer to finish one or more of your assessment tasks.
How to apply
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To vary your attendance requirements
If you can't meet the attendance requirements for your classes or placements.
How to apply
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To defer an exam
If something unexpected prevents you from attending or finishing an exam.
How to apply

Supporting documents

You can submit a Health Care Professional Certification form that an eligible healthcare professional has filled out. This could be:

  • an AHPRA-registered practitioner who can diagnose and treat medical conditions (like a GP, psychiatrist or psychologist)
  • a Federation counsellor
  • a registered counsellor (a member of the APS, AASW or ACA).

You can submit a medical certificate that includes a specific statement about the impact your condition has on your studies (and whether it's mild, moderate or severe).

You can submit a death notice or police report, or details of your defence reserve, emergency work (e.g. CFA or SES) or jury service (that includes start and finish dates).

If you can't provide any official documents to support your special consideration, you can submit a statutory declaration (or stat dec) instead. This is a statement that you declare to be true and accurate, and it must be approved by a witness. It is an offence to make false claims on a stat dec.

Using fake documents

It’s important to be honest when you apply for special consideration. Submitting fake or edited documents can have serious consequences. 
 
If academic staff have suspicions about your medical certificates, they will contact the clinic for verification. If it turns out you’ve submitted a fake document, you could be charged with academic misconduct and excluded from studying at Federation for up to 10 years. The medical clinic may report the incident to the police. 
 
While Student Advocacy offers support for all misconduct cases, the team can’t do much to help students who have falsified documents. If you need advice, make an appointment. 

When not to apply for special consideration

If you have ongoing medical conditions or disabilities, you should contact Accessibility Services to negotiate a Learning Access Plan (LAP), which will include any reasonable adjustments you need throughout your course.

If you're uphappy with your results, you should request a meeting with your lecturer or tutor, apply for a review of grades or appeal the final decision. Student Advocacy can guide you through this process.

Need support?

Counselling
If you're feeling overwhelmed and would like to talk to someone, consider booking time with one of our counsellors. The service is free and confidential, and sessions can be held in person, via video call on over the phone.
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Student Advocacy
If you have concerns about your uni experience and need help navigating legislation, appealing a decision or making a formal complaint, Student Advocacy can give you independent advice about what to do.
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Your privacy

Federation is committed to protecting and maintaining the privacy, accuracy and security of your information. You have a right to access and correct your personal data in accordance with privacy legislation and the University's Information Privacy Procedure. Questions? Call (03) 5327 9504 or email privacyofficer@federation.edu.au.