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If you can't submit an assessment on time due to circumstances outside your control, you may be eligible for an extension to the due date.

What is an extension?

If you are prevented from submitting an assessment on time by circumstances outside your control, you may apply in advance for an extension to the due date of up to seven calendar days . 

If you need an extension of more than seven days, you must apply for  special consideration . However, if you have an  equitable assessment arrangement  which allows for the negotiation of submission dates with academic/teaching staff, extensions of more than seven days may be considered.

Assessments eligible for an extension

You can apply for an extension for assessments with a deadline such as assignments, essays and projects, but not for timed assessments such as tests, exams, quizzes or lab/practical assessments. If you're seeking assessment flexibility for a timed assessment, you must apply for  special consideration .

How to apply

You must apply no less than fully 24 hours of one (01) working day before the official due date . If you are applying for an extension on or after an assessment due date, you must apply for  special consideration .

Complete the Application for extension of time to submit Assessment work form and lodge it with the Course Coordinator (via  Student Connect Portal , or direct email to the Course Coordinator). You are also required to provide documentary evidence to justify your circumstances. 

Application for extension of time to submit assessment work form (156KB, 2p)

Where your documentary evidence is in a language other than English, you must provide an English translation. 

Outcome of application

The course coordinator will notify you via email whether the extension has been granted or denied. You are advised to submit the work directly to the assessor as soon as you can, to minimize deduction of marks if the extension is not granted. 

For UniStart Academic Program Students

Students in UniStart Academic Program have a separate extension of time process applied to their program. Please contact your lecturers or reach out to VN Assessment Support at  [email protected]  if you have any questions or further concerns.

More information

For more adjustment to assessment options, go to Extensions and special consideration . 

If you have a question about extensions, please contact your Course Coordinator or Student Connect. 

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Special consideration

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If unexpected circumstances beyond your control have affected your ability to complete an assessment, you may be eligible to apply for special consideration.

What is special consideration?

Eligibility, how to apply, supporting documentation, technical issues during assessments.

If unexpected circumstances outside your control have affected your ability to complete an assessment, you may be eligible to apply for special consideration. Special consideration is made available by the University on the understanding that students will use it sparingly and only in cases of proven genuine need.

Types of outcomes

Outcomes of applications for special consideration include (but are not limited to) the following. All outcomes are detailed in Section 46 of the  Assessment and Assessment Flexibility Policy .

• Equivalent assessment. Your course coordinator decides the form of equivalent assessment task.
• Deferred assessment. An opportunity to sit the assessment at a later date.
• Extension of time. If you've applied for an extension, continue to work on the assessment and submit it as soon as you can, even if you haven't yet received your outcome.
• Late course withdrawal without academic penalty. There are some circumstances in which it may not be possible to approve assessment adjustments and therefore  Late course withdrawal without academic penalty  is the only available outcome.
• Cancellation, denial or withdrawal of an application.

Note: While an application may be approved, outcomes provided are subject to change. If we receive relevant information that leads to the outcome being changed, we will notify you of a revised outcome.

If your application for special consideration relates to the last assessment task necessary for the completion of your program and you are granted special consideration (such as a deferred assessment or extension of time), you may need to apply for a leave of absence for the following study period/semester to ensure that you are not discontinued before you have the opportunity to complete/submit that assessment.

The following outcomes are not available:

• An increase in the mark you achieved in an assessment.
• A transfer or increase in the weighting of other assessment tasks so that the assessment task affected by adverse circumstances is no longer required.
• A supplementary assessment.

Confidentiality and use of information

RMIT handles all personal information in accordance with the Privacy Policy. Special consideration applications often contain sensitive personal and/or health information. Your information will kept in confidence in a secure database that is only accessed by members of the special consideration team in the Academic Registrar’s Group, for assessing your application and related purposes.

Emails in relation to your application may be copied to School or College staff as part of the process, but will not include details of the circumstances for which you have sought special consideration.

Where your application raises concerns about your health or wellbeing, or if you apply repeatedly for special consideration in the same teaching period, the special consideration team may ask another support area of the University such as RMIT Counselling and Psychological Services, Equitable Learning Services or Student Wellbeing (as appropriate) to contact you offering support. This process does not include access to your special consideration documentation.

If unexpected circumstances outside your control have affected your ability to complete an assessment, then you may be eligible to apply for special consideration.

Eligible circumstances include:

• an unexpected short-term physical or mental health condition
• difficult personal circumstances or significant emotional disturbance
• unexpected carer responsibility for an immediate family member
• bereavement of an immediate family member or someone else close to you
• having been the victim of a serious crime
• an unavoidable employment, family, cultural, religious or elite sporting commitment
• severe disruption of living arrangements
• financial hardship, such as sudden loss of employment or income
• serious technical issues during an online assessment.
• major or sustained technical disruption, failure or connection problems beyond your control during an online assessment may be grounds for special consideration, if it's proven they prevented you from successfully completing and submitting your assessment. For more information, go to the  Technical issues during assessments tab.
• Applying for special consideration does not guarantee it will be granted. Each application will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
• Please include a personal statement with your application. Special consideration is an evidence-based process and, while a personal statement is not sufficient on its own for special consideration to be granted, it does help us to understand your situation, assist you with suggestions for other supporting documentation and refer you to support services if needed.

Most students can apply for special consideration online  (see exceptions below). Please ensure you include a personal statement and supporting documentation with your application.

You must apply  within five working days   after the assessment date or due date . You can submit your application even if you don’t have the necessary  supporting documentation  ready – you have up to five working days to provide supporting documents after submitting your application. However, we recommend students gather supporting documents as soon as possible in case there are delays in obtaining them. Be mindful that if you’re applying because of a health condition, your health practitioner may be unwilling to provide supporting documents once you no longer have symptoms.

Exceptions to online applications and deadlines

• Late applications (submitted more than five working days after the assessment date or due date) may be accepted if you can provide compelling or compassionate reasons and evidence for submitting a late application. If you submit your application late, it's very important that you explain why in your personal statement and provide supporting documentation  as evidence of the compelling or compassionate reasons why you couldn’t submit on time (such as evidence of hospitalisation or recent bereavement).
• Late course withdrawal without academic penalty – You can apply up to one year after you withdraw from a course (or after the course end-date if you didn't withdraw).
• HDR candidates - You can only apply for special consideration related to coursework components of your program, e.g. courses such as ‘Research Strategies’ or ‘Research Methods’. To apply, email [email protected] . If you're having issues with the research component of your program, e.g. courses such as ‘PhD Research’ or “Masters Research’, please refer to the  HDR Progress Management and Support Procedure  that’s in place to support you.
• RMIT English Worldwide (REW) students – Contact  RMIT English Worldwide student services .
• You will not be able to apply for special consideration online for courses in which you have received a passing grade.

What happens after I apply?

Your application will be assessed by specialist staff based on your evidence of the unexpected circumstances outside your control and its impact on your performance in an assessment task.

All communication will be via your RMIT student email account, so it's important that you check your email often, read your messages carefully and respond to any requests by the specified date. You can expect at least two emails to:

• acknowledge receipt of your application
• advise you of the outcome of your application.

If your application is incomplete

If your application is incomplete when submitted (e.g. you have not included supporting documentation or a personal statement), we'll email you asking for further information and/or documentation to support your application. If you're having difficulties obtaining supporting documentation, email  [email protected] . If you don’t respond to a request for more information or documents, we may have to cancel your application.

Outcome notification

You’ll receive an outcome email up to 10 working days after the notification that your application is complete. The email will state the outcome for each assessment task listed in your application. The standard outcomes are ‘granted’, ‘denied’, ‘cancelled’ and ‘withdrawn’.

If you’re granted special consideration, it’s important that you follow any instructions and recommendations in your outcome email.  Where an outcome requires you to contact the course coordinator by a given date, you must do so otherwise the outcome may be deemed to have lapsed.

Cancelled, denied or withdrawn applications

Find out why an application might be cancelled, denied or withdrawn .

If you're applying for special consideration, you will need to provide formal, independent documentation to support your application.

If you don't supply supporting documents, it's unlikely your application will be considered complete. If this happens, we'll contact you by email to advise what documents you need to provide. If you don’t submit the documents within five working days from the date of application submission, your application may be cancelled.

Sexual harm disclosure support

RMIT provides for timely and trauma-informed responses to sexual harm. RMIT is committed to demonstrating compassion and empathy to victim-survivors, and to minimising the trauma which can be associated with disclosing or reporting sexual harm, as well as with the processes which can follow, such as investigation. For more information, please view the Sexual Harm Prevention and Response Policy .

Document requirements

You're required to provide formal, independent supporting documents to evidence the unexpected circumstances outside your control and their impact on your performance in an assessment task.

You have  five working days after submitting your application  to upload your supporting documents.

Each document must:

• be current, formal, independent and relevant to your circumstances
• be dated and include the name and contact details of the person providing the evidence
• demonstrate the impact these circumstances have had on your ability to complete your studies.

Additional information and requirements

• Where your supporting documentation is in a language other than English, you must provide an English translation by a  NAATI-accredited translator .
• Photographs and videos, e.g. of a family gathering, funeral or other event, should not be submitted as evidence in place of official documentation. Photographs and videos of a graphic nature, e.g. of a person, medical condition/injury, accident or other event, will not be accepted under any circumstances.
• Please ensure documents are uploaded directly to your application and are in a readily accessible format. Unfortunately, we are unable to access documents that are uploaded to a cloud-based service such as Microsoft SharePoint or OneDrive and then provided as a link.
• Retain original copies of all documents. We may request an original document if it’s needed to assess your application.
• Different documents may be required depending on the reasons for your application. 
• Please note we do not accept statutory declarations in support of applications. A statutory declaration is a form of self-statement, albeit one witnessed by another person. It does not constitute formal, independent supporting documentation of your circumstances to establish grounds for special consideration. Detailed guidance on acceptable supporting documentation for a range of circumstances is provided below.
• We also do not accept patient declarations in support of applications made on medical grounds, as they usually do not express the medical opinion of a health practitioner that you were ill or detail their professional assessment of the type and level of impact of your circumstances on your ability to complete the assessment/s.

False documents and misleading information  

Providing RMIT with false documents is a crime under the Victorian Crimes Act 1958. This is fraud and will likely result in a student being expelled from the University. 

Fraud includes: 

• creating (or allowing another person to create) and providing forged or falsified documents (both medical and non-medical) 
• changing a supporting document provided by another person  
• purchasing fraudulent documents from websites.  

If a student submits false or misleading information for any reason, they may: 

• fail all or any part of an assessment task 
• fail a course 
• be suspended from their program 
• be permanently expelled from RMIT.  

You must be aware of your obligations and responsibilities as an RMIT student under the  RMIT Student Conduct Policy .

We know that studying can at times be stressful. There are services and staff at RMIT to help you throughout your program. Please always talk to someone if you are feeling overwhelmed – this can be your teacher, a peer supporter, RUSU, a welfare advisor or a staff member at Student Connect. Find your support .

Examples of supporting documents

Technical issues during an online assessment.

Major or sustained technical disruption, failure or connection problems beyond your control during an online assessment may be grounds for special consideration, if it's proven they prevented you from successfully completing and submitting your assessment. 

Examples of technical issues that are not grounds for special consideration include but are not limited to:

• the transition from face-to-face to an online teaching, learning and assessment environment
• an electronic file of your work becomes corrupt, or your hard drive is damaged or affected by viruses, and you haven’t kept a back-up of your work (e.g. on an external hard drive, Cloud, USB)
• any technical problems that could have been prevented, avoided or the effects minimised by reasonable diligence; e.g. uploading an incorrect file, or not uploading a file successfully
• minor technical issues such as a brief interruption to your internet or power.

If any of the above situations impact your assessments, contact your course coordinator as soon as possible to discuss your options. 

To apply for special consideration due to a major and unexpected technical issue, please follow these steps:

Step 1. Take screenshots

Take screenshots (which must include the date and time of the incident/issue/communication) of as many of the following as possible: 

• Error messages.
• Screen not loading.
• Failed devices.
• Time-stamped speed tests. 
• Power outage maps.
• Messages or information from your electricity or internet service provider regarding the issue/outage experienced.

Where relevant, obtain documentation from your electricity or internet service provider, or IT Service Connect , confirming the sudden and unexpected prolonged internet or system outage/problem you experienced. This may include phone logs, chat transcripts or emails.

If you have experienced a submission issue with Canvas, contact  Canvas Support  (see contact details at the bottom of the linked page) who may be able to assist you with providing formal documentation to evidence those circumstances.

Step 2. Contact your course coordinator or tutor

Contact your course coordinator or tutor immediately and advise them of the issue in writing. 

Where appropriate, we also recommend that you immediately email your course coordinator or tutor a copy of your work as evidence that you completed the assessment task but were unable to submit it because of a technical issue.

Step 3. Submit a special consideration application

Submit a special consideration application immediately and upload your screenshots, evidence of contact made with your course coordinator or tutor and all other relevant supporting documentation/communications.

In your self-statement please tell us specifically how this technical issue affected your completion/submission of the assessment and include the date and time this issue occurred.

Special consideration team

Email the special consideration team at  [email protected]  if you:

• have questions about eligibility, supporting documents or the application process
• experience ongoing difficulties applying online
• are applying on behalf of a student who is incapacitated.

Ngarara Willim Centre

The Ngarara Willim Centre at RMIT directly supports Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander students with a range of services relating to academic, cultural, social, and emotional wellbeing. Whether it's assisting with your application, gathering relevant documents or connecting students with various services and activities, contact the team at Ngarara Willim .

RMIT University Student Union (RUSU)

• RUSU Student Rights Officers  can advise about applying for special consideration.
• RUSU Compass  provides support and referrals.

Support services

Contact one of our personal  support services  for free and confidential advice, including financial and health support.

More information

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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