Guide to Appeals

The following information is to help guide students who wish to submit an appeal against a University decision for:

Academic Integrity	Fitness to Practice Requirements
Special Consideration	Academic Pause and Exclusion
Recognition of Prior Learning	Exclusion under the General Coursework Rules
Grade Appeal	Termination of Higher Degree Research candidature
Enrolment, Leave of Absence, Suspension of Studies, and Withdrawal
Decisions relating to the award of PhD, MPhil or MRes degree
Notice of Intent to Report decisions issued for reasons of non-enrolment in units or non-payment of fees

This resource should be read alongside the Appeals Policy.

The purpose of an appeal is to dispute a decision because you believe that the University has made an error. For example, the University may not have correctly applied a policy or procedure when processing your application.

You need to consider whether you meet the grounds for appeal. Simply disagreeing with a decision or saying that it feels unfair are not grounds for an appeal. If you meet the grounds for appeal, then you need to outline the potential University error in detail.

Grounds for appeal

An appeal is an application to overturn a University decision – eligible decisions are listed above. With the exception of decisions of Academic Pause and Exclusion, an appeal for decisions listed above needs to address the grounds outlined in the Appeals Policy Clause (9) which are:

the required procedure for making the decision was not followed;
the decision was not based on the merits of the information available;
the decision was not procedurally fair (ie. the decision maker had a bias, and/or the appellant was not given an opportunity to respond to an allegation, and/or the reasons for the decision were not provided); and/or
new and relevant information has become available that was not able to be obtained at the time of the decision and which should be taken into consideration.

An appeal for the decision of academic pause or exclusion can only be made on the permissible grounds that:

an appellant can demonstrate with evidence that they experienced circumstances beyond their control that significantly impacted their ability to succeed in their enrolled units during the study periods concerned; and
an appellant can demonstrate with evidence that circumstances have changed sufficiently such that they will be able to succeed in their future enrolment in units.

Things to consider when writing your appeal

Can you identify the steps that were not followed in the processing of your application?
Can you identify which information or evidence was overlooked by the decision-maker?
Do you have any new information or evidence that you did not present at the time of your application? Why should this be considered?
Procedural Fairness may include:
- Have you been given clear reasons for the decision?
- Do you think that your evidence was considered when the decision was made?

Appeals submission timeframes

To appeal	Made under the following policy	Deadline
A breach or a sanction decision	Academic Integrity Policy	Ten (10) working days
Special Consideration	Special Consideration Policy	Ten (10) working days
Recognition of Prior Learning	Recognition of Prior Learning Policy	Ten (10) Working Days
Grade Appeal	Assessment Procedure	Ten (10) working days
Enrolment, Leave of Absence, Suspension of Studies, and Withdrawal	Enrolment Policy,Leave of Absence and Suspension of Studies Procedure, and Withdrawal Procedure	Ten (10) working days
Academic Pause and Exclusion	Academic Progression Policy	Twenty (20) working days
Exclusion	General Coursework Rules	Twenty (20) working days
Fitness to Practice requirements	Fitness to Practice Procedure	Twenty (20) working days
Suspend or Exclude	Academic Integrity Policy	Twenty (20) working days
Termination of Higher Degree by Research candidature	Higher Degree Research Rules	Twenty (20) working days
Award of PhD, MPhil or MRes degrees	Higher Degree Research Thesis Preparation, Submission and Examination Policy	Twenty (20) working days
Research degree enrolment, Leave of Absence and Withdrawal	Higher Degree Research Variations to Candidature Policy	Twenty (20) working days
Notice of Intent to Report decisions issued for reasons of non-enrolment in units or non-payment of fees		Twenty (20) working days

What should I do if I have missed the appeals deadline?

If an appeal is lodged after the deadline, it may not be processed. If there were exceptional circumstances that prevented you from meeting the deadline then you might consider the following options:

Before the appeal deadline

Seek an extension before the due date by emailing academicappeals@mq.edu.au outlining these areas:
The decision you are appealing
If available, the reference number
Reasons you could not meet the deadline (provide evidence)

After the appeal deadline

Explain the exceptional circumstances that prevented you from submitting by the due date by including supporting documentation.

How do I submit an appeal?

Refer to the Appeals information for further details and the form.

Feedback and support with your appeal

If you would like feedback on your appeal, contact Student Advocacy by completing our Student Advocacy Contact Form and attach your draft appeal (with evidence) to your submission.

Appeals Policy Appeals information and form