Appeals

Appeals are when you request that the University review the process by which a decision was made. Appeals do not review the merits of that decision; instead the focus is on the decision-making process. For example, you can appeal because you believe a Grade Appeal was not conducted fairly, but you cannot appeal the outcome of a Grade Appeal because you disagree with the outcome of the Grade Appeal.

Your appeal must clearly identify how the procedure for dealing with your issue was unfair, and detail that one or more the following grounds for appeal occurred:

• the required procedure for making the decision was not followed
• there was a lack of procedural fairness in making the decision
• new information has become available that was not available at the time the decision was made and which should be taken into consideration.

You also need to demonstrate that you suffered substantial injustice as a result of the decision.

You must provide reasoning and supporting information to show that the decision made by the University was unfair due to one of the grounds listed above. You must also demonstrate that as a result of one of these grounds existing or occurring, the decision was substantially unfair.

When the University makes a decision that affects you in the categories outlined below, you will receive a notification of that decision which will include information on your right to appeal the decision and steps on lodging an appeal. You may only appeal on specific grounds and within the time frame specified - appeals outside this time frame will not be considered.

You have the right to appeal any of the following types of decisions. You will also find links to the relevant policy or procedure for each type of decision, as well as the timeframe for submitting an appeal below.

10 working days

• Admission or Re-admission to a degree, and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL)
• Academic integrity breaches (Breach or penalty decisions, excepting Suspension or Exclusion)
• Enrolment
• Special Consideration
• Leave of Absence and Suspension of Studies
• Withdrawal including Withdrawal Without Penalty (WWP)
• Outcome of a Grade Appeal

20 working days

• Academic Pause or Exclusion from studies under the Academic Progression policy
• Academic integrity breaches (Suspension or Exclusion penalties)
• Exclusion under the General Coursework Rules
• Fitness to practice requirements under the Fitness to Practice Procedure
• Termination of candidature (Higher Degree Research)
• Award of PhD, MPhil or MRes degree
• Research degree enrolment, leave of absence and withdrawal decisions under the Higher Degree Research Variations to Candidature Policy.

If you are uncertain of the procedures or need help to submit your appeal, contact the Complaints, Appeals and Misconduct team or Student Advocacy for advice.

Your appeal should be submitted via the University’s appeal system.

If you are uncertain of the procedures or need help to submit your appeal, contact the Complaints, Appeals and Misconduct team or Student Advocacy for advice.

It is important that your appeal makes the connection between the grounds you are appealing on, and your personal circumstances. It is also important that you provide any information that supports your appeal.

You will receive confirmation that your academic appeal has been received. You will be kept informed of what is happening and the next steps in the process via your student email account.

We aim to process your appeal as quickly and informally as possible. However, some appeals are more complex and may take more than 30 working days to finalise.

You will receive notification of the outcome of your appeal from the university to your student email address.

Your appeal will be unsuccessful if you are unable to demonstrate that one of the grounds existed or occurred and that the decision was substantially unjust.

If your appeal is successful (ie if your appeal is upheld), there may be a number of possible outcomes:

• The original decision may be overturned, and your original request sent for action to the appropriate team/s.
• The original decision may be sent to a new decision-maker in the relevant area for reconsideration, following appropriate processes. This means a new decision will be made, though it is important to note this does not mean that a different result will be reached: for example, a successful appeal may not necessarily result in your candidature being reinstated.

If your Appeal is unsuccessful, you also have further options outside of the University.

Agencies that you may consider contacting include:

• NSW Ombudsman
• Australian Human Rights Commission
• Anti-Discrimination Board of NSW
• Audit Office of NSW
• NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption
• Information and Privacy Commission NSW

Before lodging application(s) for Grade Appeal, students are recommended to make a booking to review their exam script for claims of administrative errors during final exams.

Please note:

• Script View registration is only for Macquarie Business School units.
• Once a student is awarded a supplementary exam, only the supplementary exam can be viewed, and the original exam is null and void.
• You cannot view exam scripts for units that are 'I' or 'IS', as grades for these units have not yet been finalised.

Macquarie Business School students should not contact unit convenors directly for script view.

Script Viewing registrations are completed via an online form, and you will be required to register and advise of the specific unit you are seeking to view the exam script(s) for. Script viewing dates are outlined in the table below.

Register for Script View

After you have completed the registration, you will not receive a confirmation email but rather be added to the Macquarie Business School mailing list. Macquarie Business School will send an email reminder prior to your registered Script View date.

See the full Macquarie University academic calendar

Macquarie University College students should submit an AskMQ enquiry. Include the words 'Final Exam Script Viewing' and the Unit Code in your request.

• Faculty of Arts
• Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences
• Faculty of Science and Engineering

Students studying in the above faculties should contact the unit convenor to organise a script viewing. You may need to book an appointment to view the script and keep copies of your emails as these may be needed for evidence in your appeal.