Student Assessment Extension Application

Where a student's capacity to prepare a piece of assessment has been affected by factors beyond their control, such as illness or some other unexpected occurrence, students may apply for an extension.

• All applications require supporting documentation, which must be attached to this form. In most cases this should be either a medical certificate or a statutory declaration attesting to the circumstances for which an extension in sought.
• The maximum extension granted is 10 working days from the assessment due date. Any further extension will only be granted as an outcome of a special consideration application.
• Extension applications should be made at least 3 days prior to the submission deadline.
• An extension is not normally granted on the day that the assessment is due.
• The application outcome will be 2 working days after receipt of a correctly completed form.
• You will be notified via your university student email account of the outcome of your application.

Topics for written work and submission date information are circulated to students well in advance of the submission dates. Extensions will therefore not usually be granted unless there  are extenuating circumstances that are impacting upon your timely completion of work.

Approvals of extension applications are made by our Academic Programs Team and/or Academic Staff. Academic staff, including the lecturer and/or tutor of the subject for which you are seeking an extension, should not be contacted directly for extensions. Students are advised to lodge an application as soon as soon as it becomes evident that an extension is required. A delay in doing so may result in the application not being approved.

Grounds for the Approval of Extensions with Respect to the Submission of Assessment

The reasons given by a student for an extension must be in accordance with the following guidelines and in all circumstances must be supported by relevant documentation. The duration of the requested extension must be reasonable and justified by the documentation.

Guidelines with respect to the kinds of circumstances that may lead to an approval of an extension application include the following:

• Illness, personal injury or disability.
• The death, injury or diagnosis of a serious illness of a close family member or friend.
• Illness of a child or parent /guardian for which the student is the primary care giver.
• Significant unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances that substantially impact upon the timely completion of assessment.

Computer Failure

Computer failure will NOT be considered a valid reason for the late submission of assessment, and extensions will not be granted as a result of computer failure. Software crashes, disk failures and printing difficulties are an avoidable aspect of using IT technology and should be anticipated and planned for.

Work Commitments

In most circumstances, normal employment commitments will NOT be considered a valid reason for the late submission of assessment and extensions will not be granted for this reason. Should extraordinary circumstances arise, detail about the advanced notice given and the duration of the special commitments or additional workload will be expected (typically in the form of a statutory declaration).

Personal Travel/Holiday

Students are expected to be available during semester periods (including examination times) and any personal travel that impacts upon attendance or assessment submission will NOT be considered a valid reason to grant an assessment extension.

Use of Statutory Declarations

Statutory declaration forms must be signed in the presence of a prescribed authority. Please see the Department of Justice Website for a list of those authorised to witness and to sign a statutory declaration. It is expected that statutory declarations are used in support of Assessment Extension Applications where it is not possible to obtain other supporting documentation. Statutory declarations must attest to specific unforeseen circumstances and their direct impact on the submission of the assessment task. Dates of such circumstances should be included in the statutory declaration as should an attestation that the circumstances were unforeseen and prevented the timely submission of the assessment task. Statutory declarations that do not attest to unforeseen circumstances that have a direct impact on the timely submission of an assessment task may not be accepted.

Further information on relevant policies and services at the University can be found in the links below:

• The University's privacy statement -
• Assessment and Results Policy -
• Academic Skills Unit -
• Student Equity and Disability Support -
• Special Consideration Procedure -
• Ongoing Support and Reasonable Academic Adjustments -