Eligibilty to appeal

Appeals will only be heard when the Chair of the University Appeals Committee is satisfied that your application meets one of the below grounds for appeal.

New evidence

If you can show there is new, relevant evidence that was not available at the time the decision was made against you, you may have a ground for appeal.

New evidence may include compassionate and compelling circumstances which were not made known to the decision maker who made the adverse decision against you. Compassionate or compelling circumstances are generally those beyond the control of the student and they have an impact on the student's capacity and/or ability to progress through a program.

The following are some examples of what may be considered compassionate or compelling circumstances:

• serious illness or injury, where medical certificate states that the student was unable to attend class
• bereavement due to loss of a close family member such as a parent or grandparent (where possible, a death certificate should be provided)
• major political upheaval or natural disaster in the home country requiring emergency travel, and this has impacted on studies
• a traumatic experience which could include but is not limited to:
  • involvement in or witnessing of a serious accident
  • a serious crime committed against the student
  • the student has been a witness to a serious crime, and this has impacted on the student (these cases should be supported by police or psychologist's reports).

Irregularity of procedure

Examples of irregularity of procedure in the recommending and /or making of the decision made against you, may include:

• There is evidence that the decision was made on the basis of personal bias or ill will
• There is evidence of a breach of  a relevant University legislation (a statute or a regulation) in the handling of the decision making. This includes evidence of a procedural error in the handling of an appeal against assessment, or evidence that Federation University Australia failed to implement the academic progress intervention strategy described in the Monitoring Course Progression procedure.
• There is evidence that the assessment by the decision maker who made the adverse decision against you, did not comply with the criteria in the Course Description (Higher Education) or Unit Outline (VET).
• There is evidence that the assessment by the decision maker who made the adverse decision against you, did not comply with the University policy and procedures on assessment.
• The student believes the decision does not comply with University policies and procedures.
• There is evidence that where a penalty of exclusion has been applied, that the penalty is unreasonable, excessive or inappropriate (this may include evidence of compassionate or compelling circumstances - see above under 'New
  Evidence').

Refer to Regulation 2.2 - Appeals Committee (pdf, 39kb) for further information.

Checklist

1. You must have received notification from your Executive Dean of Faculty that your appeal to them has been dismissed before lodging an appeal to the University Appeals Committee.
2. A right of appeal to the University Appeals Committee against the adverse decision must exist in University Legislation.
3. You must be currently enrolled or have been granted an approved leave of absence to be eligible to lodge an appeal.
4. Your appeal submission cannot be accepted without a completed Appeal to the University Appeals Committee form with the relevant ground(s) for appeal selected.
5. The completed form (with supporting documentation) must be submitted within 10 working days following notification of the dismissal of your appeal from your Executive Dean of Faculty.
6. Late appeal submissions cannot be accepted.