Eligibility and supporting documentation

Learn about eligible circumstances and documentation requirements for assessment adjustment applications.

Who can apply and what you'll need

You can apply for an extension or special consideration if eligible circumstances are affecting your ability to prepare for or complete your assessment(s).

To assess your application, we need to verify your circumstances and/or the impact of your circumstances on undertaking your assessment. This is called ‘eligibility’ and is done with your supporting documents. Short Extension applications do not require supporting documentation.

Your documents must be completed by a valid professional and outcome:

  • Impact on your ability to complete or prepare for an assessment
  • Dates and duration of the impact
  • A recent date of issue.

For short extensions: No supporting documents are required.

For special consideration and extensions: Supporting documents must be uploaded within four calendar days of your application.

For some extension applications, a statement from yourself will be sufficient instead of documents from a valid professional. For more information, see below.

Eligible circumstances and documentation required

Your circumstances guide what documentation you can provide and what should be in the documents. This list is not exhaustive, but alternatives must be completed by a valid professional and show the required information.

  • Illness, injury, or other health-related condition.

    Accepted documents (only one is required):


    Documents must show

    • Date(s) of consultation(s) with your health professional
    • Impact on your ability to complete your assessment
    • Dates and duration of the impact
    • An official letterhead including contact details for verification (where possible)
    • Signature of a health professional
      • Please note, signed medical certificates from pharmacists are accepted but only for two days from the date of signature.

    If you are applying late, your documents will also need to show:

    • Dates of hospitalisation (if applicable)
    • Reason for applying late (e.g. severe illness or injury)
    • That it was not possible for you to apply on time.

    Be careful when obtaining medical certificates online

    Submitting fake supporting documents can have serious impacts on your enrolment. Make sure you get medical certificates from a registered health professional.


    Health professionals we recognise

    A health professional must complete a Health Professional Report, medical certificate or letter.

    • An Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) registered health practitioner such as general practitioners (GP), medical specialists, and psychologists
    • An Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) registered social worker
    • A Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia (PACFA) or Australian Counselling Association (ACA, level 3 and above) registered counsellor
    • Any other AHPRA-registered practitioner qualified to diagnose and treat a health condition (such as a physiotherapist) within their area of expertise
    • A registered practitioner with equivalent overseas qualification.

    International medical certificates

    International medical certificates will not be accepted if you are studying onshore. For most international students, Overseas Student Health Cover (OSHC) is a mandatory requirement while studying in Australia on a student visa. OSHC covers medical and hospital costs, including General Practitioner (GP) visits, emergency ambulance services, and limited prescription medicines. Learn more and arrange your cover on the Arrange your Overseas Student Health Cover webpage.


    Documents not accepted

    • International medical certificates (for onshore students)
    • A self-reported impact (your health condition must be verified by a health professional)
    • Medical test results or prescriptions
    • A medical certificate if you have not had a consultation. Consultations must be in person or via telehealth
    • Photos of your medication or injury (do not include images in your application)
    • Statutory Declaration
    • Letter from University or College staff. Except if from the University's Health Service, or Counselling and Psychological Services, and you have an existing client relationship.

  • The death of a close family member or friend.

    Accepted documents (only one is required):

    • A death notice
    • Newspaper obituary
    • Funeral notice or
    • Death certificate.

    Where the above does not show your relationship to deceased, please also provide one of the following:


    Documents must show:

    • Evidence of the deceased's passing
    • Your relationship to the deceased.

  • An unexpected and uncontrollable event or series of events. This may include:

    • Loss of income
    • Victim of a crime, e.g. theft or scam
    • Sudden change to living arrangements.

    Accepted documents (only one is required):

    • Signed police reports, court orders, or court documents
    • A Statutory Declaration. Not accepted for medical or health circumstances
    • Documentation from the Safer Community Program
    • Emergency services notifications, e.g. Country Fire Authority (CFA) alerts.

    Documents must show:

    • Evidence of the event and its connection to you
    • Impact on your ability to complete your assessment
    • Dates and duration of the impact.

  • An experience of a traumatic incident such as gender-based violence, assault, stalking, harassment, or abuse. We understand that traumatic events can be difficult to share so please only provide what you are comfortable with. A detailed description of the incident is not required for us to review your application, but if we need more information, we’ll contact you.

    Support services

    We know how difficult it can be to repeat your story after a traumatic event. You may prefer to share your situation with a support service who can provide a letter in support of your application.

    Support services include:


    You do not need to make a formal report to access these services, but they can support you to do so if you choose.

    Accepted documents (only one is required)

    We are flexible with the documents we accept. These may include:

    • A letter from one of the above services
    • A police report or notice to victim form
    • Other legal documentation
    • A Statutory Declaration with relevant dates of impact.

    If you are unable to provide any of these documents, you can note this in your circumstances description and a member of staff will contact you to discuss your options.

  • For students with an Academic Adjustment Plan (AAP) who are requesting either an extension covered by their AAP, or additional or different supports to those covered in their AAP. Information on how to activate all AAP supports is available on the Action your Plan page.

    Students can use their AAP as evidence for extension requests covered in their AAP, provided they apply by the submission due date.

    All extension requests made after the submission due date require additional evidence.

    You will also need extra documents if your AAP does not cover the type or duration of adjustment you’re applying for.

    Extra documents must show:

    • Evidence of a condition flare up
    • Impact on your ability to complete your assessment
    • Dates and duration of the impact

    If your circumstances are outside of the verified condition in your AAP, you will need to provide alternative documents relating to that circumstance. For example, an additional hardship to your AAP requires documents relating to the hardship, not your AAP.

    Find out more about Academic Adjustment Plan (AAP) verified conditions and who we support on the Student Equity and Disability Services webpage.

  • Army, Air Force or Navy required service, or providing fire or ambulance services.

    Accepted documents

    A signed letter from the relevant organisation. The letter must be on official letterhead.

    Documents must show:

    • Dates of your duties and obligations
    • Impact your ability to complete your assessment.

  • Athletes registered with either the University of Melbourne Elite Athlete Program or with an Academic Adjustment Plan (AAP) who have related athletic commitments.

    Accepted documents:


    And:

    • A letter from your sporting organisation.

    Documents must show:

    • Dates of your duties
    • Impact your ability to complete your assessment.

  • Performers working for a recognised organisation who have related performing commitments.

    Accepted documents:

    • Your Academic Adjustment Plan (AAP) or
    • Evidence of your employment with an approved performance organisation.

    And:

    • A letter from your performance organisation.

    Documents must show:

    • Dates of your obligations
    • Impact your ability to complete your assessment.

    Organisations we recognise:

  • A religious holiday or observance which requires the performance of related duties.

    Accepted documents:

    • A signed letter from your religious congregation or cultural authority. The letter must be on official letterhead with contact details for document verification.
    • If you are unable to get a letter, you can provide Statutory Declaration.

    Documents must show:

    • Your name
    • Dates of observance and your commitments
    • Date of signature
    • Impact on your ability to complete your assessment.

  • Unavoidable and unexpected technical disruptions to online exams, tests or other online assessments. This may include computer failure or sustained technical outages.

    Accepted documents:

    • Screenshots of error messages with timestamps (e.g. day, month and time)
    • Photos of failed devices (including date taken or metadata with time stamps)
    • Evidence of contact to Stop 1, Student IT, or another support service. Stop 1 can email you an outline of your call. Student IT can provide your chat transcript or ServiceNow ticket number
    • Outage notification from your Internet Service Provider.

    Documents must show:

    • Evidence of the event
    • Impact on your ability to complete your online test or exam
    • Dates and duration of the impact.

    We investigate all events to substantiate the impact.

    Documents not accepted:

    • Statutory Declaration
    • Documents without timestamps.

    • Brief or planned interruptions to internet access or power
    • Computer issues such as computer failure, technical issues, virus, file corruption, or not leaving enough time to submit or uploaded the wrong file
    • Loss of work due to computer failure, virus or file corruption
    • Disruptions that your subject coordinator has already compensated for
    • Public transport delays
    • Late enrolment into a subject
    • Exam/class clashes (these can be negotiated with your subject coordinator/school/faculty)
    • Anything considered to be in your control such as celebratory weddings or birthday and travel plans (including exchange or study abroad)

  • Applying before the deadline

    In addition to the documentation options above, some faculties allow a Statement of Impact as evidence of impact. The number of days this is allowable for is dependent on:

    1. The faculty your subject is in, and
    2. The maximum extension allowed for your assessment. This will be on your subject’s LMS page.


    To utilise a Statement of Impact, you must apply before the assignment is dueThis is the latest due date for your extension (including any prior extensions that have been provided).

    To find out if your subject allows a Statement of Impact, visit the Statement of Impact form.

    Arts / Science

    • A Statement of Impact can be used as evidence for extension requests for up to 14 days from the assessment’s original due date (excluding prior extensions).

    Education / Fine Arts and Music / Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences

    • A Statement of Impact can be used as evidence for extension requests for up to 7 days from the assessment’s original due date (excluding prior extensions).

    Architecture, Building and Planning / Business and Economics/Law / Engineering and IT

    • A Statement of Impact is not able to be used for any subjects in these faculties.

    Applying after the deadline

    Documentation requirements match the special consideration documents.

Verifying supporting documentation

We may contact the signatory or organisation on your documents if we need to verify information. By submitting an application, you agree to the University contacting the documentation provider to verify authenticity.

The University reserves the right to take disciplinary action if you:

  • Misrepresent your circumstances on your documents
  • Falsify documents in any way.

Document guidelines

  • Please do not upload any sensitive images. Images are not accepted as documentation. We do not assess images if submitted.

  • We may verify the authenticity of your supporting documents before making a decision on your application or appeal.

    Your supporting documents must:

    • Be authentic and relevant to your application or appeal
    • Explain how your circumstances affected your assessment or the decision you are appealing
    • Include the dates and duration of the impact, where relevant
    • Be dated and include the name and contact details of the person or organisation that issued the document
    • Be able to be verified by the University, including documents issued by overseas health practitioners, health services or hospitals.

    If we cannot verify your supporting documents, we may not be able to consider them when assessing your application or appeal. We will let you know in your outcome letter if any documents could not be verified and were not considered.

    Learn more on the Student Appeals webpage.

  • International medical certificates are not available for onshore students. If you are an offshore student with an international medical certificate.

    You'll need to provide a NAATI-certified translation alongside the original document. NAATI stands for National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters.

  • It is important to apply by the deadline, even if your documents aren’t ready yet.

    If you need more time to collect your documents, you will have the option to provide them within four business days of submitting your application. If your documentation is not uploaded by the deadline, your application will be withdrawn.

  • You can add documents to your application at a later date, but they may not be considered unless you provide them before the application is assessed.

    To add documents, login to the application portal.

    Your documents will be considered if the status of your application is listed as one of the following statuses:

    1. Submimtted
    2. Pending Documents
    3. Further Information
    4. Review Submitted

    If your application has progressed, you documents may not be considered.

  • If the documentation provided is insufficient, we may request more information from you to help us determine your eligibility.

    You will be provided an additional four business days from the date we contact you to provide the details requested.

  • Providing forged, falsified or misleading documents to the University is a serious matter and may be referred to the University's student conduct process.

    Document fraud includes:

    • Creating fake documents, such as a false medical certificate
    • Altering an existing document, such as changing dates or names
      Knowingly submitting documents that are false or altered.

    If we have concerns about the authenticity of your documents, we may pause the assessment of your application or appeal while we investigate.

    If it is determined that you submitted forged, falsified or misleading documents, the consequences may include suspension, expulsion or being barred from future admission to the University.

    Learn more on the Student Appeals webpage.

Next steps