RE – Re-credit of Unit/s and Refund of Fees in Special Circumstances

To be eligible, your circumstances must meet the following criteria:

They were beyond your control

• Not caused by your actions, inactions or decisions
• Could not be prevented or avoided
• Unusual, unexpected or out of the ordinary

They occurred, worsened, or made their full impact on or after the census date

• Happened on or after the census date
• OR started before census but worsened after
• OR the full impact only became clear after census

They made it not reasonably possible for you to continue in the unit

• It became impossible or unreasonable for you to continue
• You couldn’t realistically meet assessment or attendance requirements
• More than normal study difficulty, stress, workload or poor performance

The following situations may meet the criteria:

• Illness or serious accident
• Significant hardship or trauma
• Bereavement (death of someone close to you)
• Family and Domestic Violence
• Being a victim of crime
• A pre-existing medical or personal condition that worsened after the census date

We understand these circumstances are still challenging; however, under HESA legislation they do not meet the requirements for special circumstances:

• Forgetting to withdraw (including accepting an offer elsewhere and not withdrawing from ACU)
• Finding the unit difficult
• Taking too many subjects (overloading)
• Running out of time for assessments
• Weddings, birthdays, or other celebrations
• Poor academic performance
• Work commitments
• Travel plans (including exchange or study abroad)
• Failing due to Academic Misconduct
• Any situation reasonably within your control

You must provide evidence from a professional authority that outlines your circumstances, when they occurred, and how they affected your ability to study.

A professional authority can include:

• a doctor or medical specialist
• a counsellor or psychologist
• an employer or HR representative
• a caseworker or another relevant professional

We recommend you complete the Professional Authority Statement (PAS), which includes the information needed to assess your application.

If the professional authority cannot complete the PAS, they can provide a formal written statement instead. It must include all the required details listed on the PAS.

If any key information is missing, we may not be able to assess your application.

A personal statement or statutory declaration on its own is not enough. It can support your application, but it cannot replace evidence from a professional authority.

Medical/Personal reasons

If you are applying for medical/ personal reasons, your professional authority must complete the PAS or provide a formal statement.

Their evidence must include:

• details of your condition or situation
• when your circumstances began or changed
• how your circumstances affected your ability to study or complete academic work
• when it became clear you could no longer continue your studies
• whether you were able to see the practitioner at the time the issues occurred (for medical reasons)

Employment-related reasons

If you are applying for employment‑related reasons, your employer must provide a statement on official company letterhead.

Their evidence must include:

• a description of your previous employment arrangements (such as duties, workload, hours, location)
• a description of your current employment arrangements
• the reason for the change, confirming it was outside your control
• the date the change occurred and when it began to affect your ability to study
• how this change made it impracticable for you to continue in the unit

Under the Higher Education Support Act (HESA), the University must base its decision on independent evidence that supports your circumstances.

Your evidence must clearly explain:

• what happened
• when it happened
• how it affected your ability to study

Your evidence must come from a professional authority, such as a doctor, counsellor, psychologist, employer, or another relevant professional, depending on your situation.

When reviewing your RE application, the University may also consider:

Whether you passed other subjects in the same study period.

If you did, your evidence must clearly explain why your circumstances affected some units and not others.

Whether your circumstances were pre‑existing.

If your situation began before the census date, your evidence must show how you managed the circumstances at the time, and why the full impact was not apparent until after census.

If you are applying for a placement unit, you must also provide placement evidence. This includes your scheduled placement dates (from InPlace), any missed placement days, screenshots from InPlace, your communication with the Placement Team or Professional Experience Office, and any supporting documents from the Professional Experience Office.

If you are applying for more than one study period, you must submit a separate application for each study period.

Before submitting your application, make sure you have uploaded all required supporting documents.

Remember, the Student Advocacy Service is available if you need help. They offer free, confidential and independent support for students completing the RE process.

Application deadlines

You must submit your RE application within 12 months of either the date you withdrew from the unit or the date your fail grade was recorded (if you did not withdraw).

Applications submitted outside the 12‑month timeframe are only considered in extenuating circumstances. This means you must still meet all standard evidence requirements and provide additional information about the delay.

Your PAS must clearly explain why you were unable to submit your RE form within the required 12‑month period, and how your circumstances made applying earlier impossible or unreasonable.

Please note that reasons such as not knowing about the RE process, misunderstanding deadlines, or forgetting to apply are not considered valid grounds for a late application.

If you’ve gathered all your documents, including your completed PAS, and you’re confident everything is ready, you can submit your RE form.

Your application outcome will usually be sent to you within 20 working days.

If you are an active ACU student, the outcome will be emailed to your ACU student email account.

If you are no longer active at ACU, the outcome will be emailed to the address you provided in your application.