• Section 1 - Purpose
• Section 2 - Policy
• Section 3 - Procedures
• Part A - Appeals
• Seeking clarification of a decision
• Submitting an appeal
• Grounds for appeal
• Limitations
• Decisions that may be appealed
• Appeal process
• Appeal decision
• Notification of appeal decision
• Appeals decision maker
• University Student Appeals Committee
• Part B - Miscellaneous
• Meaning of no further avenue of review or appeal within the University 
• Administrative errors or omissions
• Notification of external appeal avenue to international students
• Interpretation
• Savings and transitional provisions
• Section 4 - Guidelines
• Section 5 - Glossary

Section 1 - Purpose

(1) This procedure supports the University Student Appeals Policy by stating detailed requirements for appeals processes.

Section 2 - Policy

(2) This procedure supports the University Student Appeals Policy.

Section 3 - Procedures

Part A - Appeals

Seeking clarification of a decision

(3) If a student does not understand a decision made by the original decision-maker, they are encouraged to seek clarification or an explanation regarding the decision.

(4) A student who believes that there are grounds for contesting an outcome of a decision may submit an appeal.

Submitting an appeal

(5) An appeal application should always be addressed to the University Student Appeals Officer (USAO). The process of appealing a decision is simple and free of charge.

(6) For an appeal to be considered, the appellant student must submit the appeal application to the USAO no later than:

1. 10 business days after the day on which the original decision-maker sent them the outcome of the decision, or
2. 20 business days after the day on which the original decision-maker sent them the outcome of the decision if the student holds a student visa and the penalty imposed is a suspension, exclusion or expulsion.

(7) An appeal application must be in writing and must:

1. state the finding and/or penalty under appeal
2. identify the ground or grounds of appeal, numbering them consecutively if there is more than one, and
3. provide:
   1. details and copies of any evidence where this is required for a ground of appeal, and
   2. an argument or rationale that states the relevant facts in support of each nominated ground of appeal.

(8) It is the responsibility of the appellant student to include any documents that are needed to meet the grounds of appeal and substantiate the appeal.

(9) Late appeal applications will be rejected unless:

1. the student has asked for an extension before the due date of the appeal application and the appeal decision-maker or nominee approves the extended date, or
2. the student can show that circumstances outside their control have prevented them from submitting an appeal application on time. In such circumstances, the appeal decision-maker or nominee will then approve or deny the appeal application from being heard.

Grounds for appeal

(10) For each decision that may be appealed (see clause 15), the grounds for appeal are:

1. there is evidence that there has been a failure to provide procedural fairness in hearing and/or making a decision, and/or
2. there is new evidence of factors outside the student’s control, which:
   1. the student could not reasonably have been expected to provide at the time the original decision was made, and
   2. would have been a significant factor in the original decision.

(11) As per the University Student Appeals Policy, where there is new evidence available, the student may be required to submit a new application through the original decision-making process instead of the appeal.

Limitations

(12) Failure to read and act upon a notice or correspondence sent to the student’s university email or nominated primary email account are not grounds for an appeal.

(13) A student may only submit an appeal on their own behalf, not on behalf of a group or any other student. Group appeals will not be accepted.

(14) Graduation from an award course will extinguish any avenue of review or appeal against an academic decision related to that course within the University.

Decisions that may be appealed

(15) Where the grounds for appeal at clause 10 are met, the following decisions may be appealed under this procedure:

Appeal process

(16) Assessment of the appeal application will commence within 10 business days of the appeal application being made.

1. The University Student Appeals Officer (USAO) considers the notice of appeal and any other relevant document or information.
2. If, after considering the appeal, the USAO finds that the appeal lacks merit, the USAO may within 10 University Business days of receiving the notice of appeal, give notice that they intend to disallow the appeal and the reason for the proposed disallowance.
3. The USAO must allow the person who submitted the notice five University business days to provide any further information relevant to the appeal.
4. If no further relevant information is provided within five University business days, the disallowed appeal will be closed, without further notice.
5. If a person provides further information relevant to the appeal after receiving a notice, the USAO must consider this further information and decide to allow or disallow the appeal.
6. The USAO must give notice of that decision within 10 University business days of receiving the further information and, in the case of disallowing the appeal, provide reasons for the decision.

(17) If the student has submitted an appeal prior to receiving an initial decision, the appeal will be administratively withdrawn by the USAO as an appealable decision has not been made. The student will be referred to the appropriate decision maker and process.

(18) The USAO may explore other means of resolution in cases where an agreeable negotiated solution is regarded as likely and/or a hearing by the appeals decision-maker is regarded disproportionate in terms of time and cost. 

(19) The appeals decision-maker or University Student Appeals Committee will meet to decide the appeal without the appellant student present unless:

1. the appellant student has asked in writing to be heard in person, or
2. the appeals decision-maker or University Student Appeals Committee invites the appellant student to attend.

(20) An appeal will proceed to be heard or decided even if the appellant student does not:

1. attend the hearing without reasonable excuse, or
2. respond to a notice by any deadline for response stated in the notice.

(21) An appellant student may withdraw their appeal application before the appeals decision-maker or University Student Appeals Committee hears or decides it. In this case:

1. the appeal will be considered to have been dismissed, and
2. the original decision will stand.

Appeal decision

(22) The appeals decision-maker or University Student Appeals Committee:

1. must assess the appeal having regard to the ground of appeal applied on, and
2. at its discretion, may decide to assess an appeal on any ground listed in this procedure in addition to the ground identified in the appeal application.

(23) The appeals decision-maker or University Student Appeals Committee must:

1. limit the scope of its inquiry to:
   1. the material and evidence that was before the original decision-maker
   2. where a ground of appeal is that there is new evidence, any new evidence submitted by the appellant student, and
2. take account of:
   1. any submission by the appellant student concerning the appeal, and
   2. any relevant rules, policies or procedures of the University.

(24) For an appeal on the ground of new evidence, the appeals decision-maker or University Student Appeals Committee will decide whether that ground is made out, and:

1. if so, consider and decide the original decision afresh, taking the new evidence into account, and make a finding on the balance of probabilities
2. if so, the original finding should be reassessed by the original decision-maker taking into account the new evidence, or
3. if the ground is not made out, dismiss the appeal, if this is the only ground applied on.

(25) For an appeal on any other ground, the appeals decision-maker or University Student Appeals Committee will decide whether that ground is made out and:

1. if so, uphold the appeal (in whole or in part), and decide whether:
   1. the original finding should be varied, set aside or replaced with a different finding
   2. the original finding should be reassessed by the original decision-maker, or
2. if the ground is not made out, dismiss the appeal.

(26) The appeals decision-maker or University Student Appeals Committee may also decide that, although the ground of appeal is made out, the original finding should not be set aside, varied or replaced. In this case, it may allow the appeal but confirm the original finding.

Notification of appeal decision

(27) The appeals decision-maker or University Student Appeals Officer (USAO) will, as soon as practicable after the hearing of an appeal application, send the appellant student a notification stating:

1. the finding and decision on the appeal
2. a short statement of reasons for the finding and decision
3. a summary of the evidence or submissions on which the finding and decision were based, and
4. information on avenues of external review or appeal available.

(28) The appeals decision-maker or USAO is responsible for advising relevant staff, including the original decision maker/alleger, organisational units of the University, or officers of a club or society, of any action they need to carry out.

(29) Staff members must carry out the actions they need to as advised by the appeals decision-maker or USAO.

(30) Where school staff are to take action in relation to penalties, the appeals decision-maker or USAO will advise the head of the school and/or faculty staff responsible for managing the original decision, who will forward the advice to the relevant staff.

Appeals decision maker

(31) The Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) or nominee will be the appeals decision-maker unless:

1. the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) or nominee discloses promptly any actual or potential conflict of interest in accordance with the Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Procedure, or
2. the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) or nominee has been an original decision-maker in accordance with this procedure and University Student Appeals Policy.

(32) In such an event, the Provost and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) or nominee will appoint an appropriate member of the Vice-Chancellor's Leadership Team to act as the appeals decision-maker, mainly:

1. the Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Research), where the appeal is of an academic or research original decision, or
2. the Chief Operating Officer or University Secretary, where the appeal is of an administrative original decision.

(33) The appeals decision-maker will hear and decide all appeal applications unless, at the discretion of the appeals decision-maker, a University Student Appeals Committee is to be convened.

(34) Where the appeals decision-maker decides a University Student Appeals Committee is to be convened, the USAO will be responsible for convening the Committee.  In these cases, the timeline for the appeals process will be longer to allow for the University Student Appeals Committee to convene and decide the case.

University Student Appeals Committee

(35) See University Student Appeals Committee – Membership and Terms of Reference.

Part B - Miscellaneous

Meaning of no further avenue of review or appeal within the University 

(36) If a clause in the University Student Appeals Policy or University Student Appeals Procedure states that there is no further avenue of review of or appeal against a decision within the University, then that decision cannot be the subject of any further review or appeal under any other internal rule, policy, procedure or process of the University.

(37) This does not preclude an appellant student from exercising any available right of review of the decision by a court, tribunal or other external body with the authority to review it.

Administrative errors or omissions

(38) A decision under the University Student Appeals Policy or University Student Appeals Procedure may be corrected where:

1. there is a clerical or typographical error or omission in the text
2. a document or a reference to it was omitted
3. there is an error arising from an accidental slip or omission, or
4. there is a defect of form.

(39) The appellant student must be notified of any correction made to a decision promptly following the discovery of that error, defect or omission.

Notification of external appeal avenue to international students

(40) If a student holds a student visa and the appeals decision-maker or University Student Appeals Committee does not overturn an original decision of suspension, exclusion or expulsion, in addition to clause 28, Student Administration will inform the student that:

1. the University now intends to exclude them and report their exclusion to the Department of Home Affairs, which may lead to the cancellation of their student visa
2. they have the further right of appeal an external reviewer, such as the National Student Ombudsman
3. the University will not report their exclusion to the Department of Home Affairs for 10 business days, and
4. if before the end of the 10 business days, the student provides evidence that they have submitted an external appeal (such as the reply by the National Student Ombudsman with the case number), the University will wait until the outcome of that appeal is known before excluding the student and notifying the Department of Home Affairs of the exclusion.

Interpretation

(41) In the University Student Appeals Policy or University Student Appeals Procedure, unless the context requires otherwise:

1. The singular includes the plural and vice versa: for example, ‘a student’ includes any student and ‘students’ includes any individual student.
2. Other grammatical forms of defined words and expressions have corresponding meanings.
3. A reference to a clause or division means a clause or division in the University Student Appeals Policy and/or University Student Appeals Procedure.
4. A reference to a position within the University means the person or persons appointed to that role and includes anyone acting in that role temporarily.
5. The phrase ‘in writing’ includes electronic and hard copy communications.
6. The words ‘reasonable’, ‘reasonably’, ‘unreasonable’, ‘unreasonably’ mean on grounds that another reasonable person would consider (as relevant) reasonable or unreasonable.
7. The words ‘includes’, ‘including’, ‘for example’ or other similar expressions do not limit what is included.
8. The verbs ‘will’ or ‘must’ state mandatory requirements for action or behaviour.

Savings and transitional provisions

(42) The University reserves the right to amend or rescind a part of or all of any clause within the University Student Appeals Policy or University Student Appeals Procedure at any time, in accordance with the Policy Framework Policy. If this occurs, the version that was in effect at the time of an appeal being submitted will remain current for that appeal application.

Section 4 - Guidelines

(43) Nil.

Section 5 - Glossary

(44) See the University Student Appeals Policy.