Appeal to the Student Appeals Body (SAB)

How SAB appeals work

When you appeal to the Student Appeals Body (SAB), the SAB's role is to check whether the decision-making process was unfair, unreasonable, or did not follow relevant University policies, procedures or local provisions.

The SAB will not conduct a fresh review of the original academic decision again from the beginning. It will not reconsider all the evidence or decide whether it would have made a different academic decision about your marks or grades. For example, you cannot appeal to the SAB simply because you disagree with your marks.

The first step in the process is to have your application for an appeal hearing decided by the Director, Compliance and Student Affairs via a gateway review of your submission.

There are certain steps that you are required to satisfy in order to proceed to a hearing.

Before you can appeal to the SAB

These steps make sure you have already tried to resolve your concern at earlier levels of the academic appeals process. You must complete levels 1 and 2.

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If you are appealing a decision about the termination of your candidature or the examination of your thesis, you can skip levels 1 and 2 and go straight to the SAB. If you do that, you have 20 days from the date of the academic decision to submit your appeal to the SAB. For all other HDR matters, you will need to follow the escalating levels described below.

For Higher Degree by Research (HDR) students

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Level 1: Informal resolution completed

You need to have first tried to sort out your concern by talking to the person who made the original decision through a request for informal resolution.

Note, this level is not applicable to academic integrity decisions.

Level 2: Faculty or Academic Panel review completed

If talking to the original decision-maker did not resolve your concern, you need to have submitted an application for review to the faculty/school, or the Academic Panel and received an outcome in writing.

Level 3: Your appeal to the SAB

Your appeal to the SAB must show that the decision made by your faculty/school or Academic Panel had a problem with how it was made. Specifically, your appeal must show that the decision made by the faculty/school or Academic Panel was:

Not based on merit
The decision was based on flawed or incorrect information and/or was not sufficiently explained. Disagreeing with the weighting of documentation is not a valid merit ground.
Not fair or reasonable
The process was not fair, or the decision was not reasonable in the circumstances. For example, you may not have been given a fair chance to explain your situation, or important information may have been ignored.
Not following the rules, policies or procedures
The University may not have followed the correct rules or steps when making the decision. For example, the wrong policy may have been used, required steps may have been missed, or the decision may have been made by the wrong person.

Your appeal must clearly explain what went wrong with how the decision was made. If you do not identify at least one of the reasons above with relevant evidence to support, the SAB may not be able to hear your appeal. This means the decision made by your faculty/school, or Academic Panel will stay in place.

For more information on the requirements of a SAB appeal, refer to Part 5.1 of the Academic Appeals Rule.

Timing your submission

You need to submit your appeal within 15 working days of receiving the outcome of your faculty or Academic Panel review. Or if you are granted an extension by the Director, within the extended timeframe.

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If you have been awarded your degree and been told you are eligible to graduate, you cannot submit an appeal to the SAB. All appeals must be lodged prior to your degree being conferred. This is because once you are eligible to graduate, all your marks and grades are finalised and cannot be changed. If you have already submitted an appeal and you are about to graduate, you will need to withdraw from the graduation or conferral process until your appeal is finished. Once your appeal is finalised, contact the graduations team through the <a href="https://sydneyuni.service-now.com/sm?id=sc_cat_item&sys_id=926186f5db8580102d38cae43a961926">Graduation support form</a> to continue with your conferral. If your degree has been conferred, you are not eligible to appeal (see section 1.10(4) and (5) of the Appeals Rule).

You need to complete your appeal before you become eligible to graduate

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Need more time?

You usually need to submit your appeal within 15 working days of the review decision.

If you need more time, contact the Student Appeals Unit (SAU Appeals) as soon as possible to ask for an extension. It is best to do this before your deadline, but in some cases you may still be able to ask for more time after the deadline has passed.

When asking for more time, include:

why you were not able to submit your appeal within the required time
any documents or evidence that support your request
how much extra time you need (for example, 5 working days).

The Student Appeals Unit will let you know the outcome in writing. If your extension is approved, they will advise your new deadline. If it is not approved, they will explain what you can do next.

How to submit your appeal

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Write your appeal statement

You need to write an appeal letter that explains the problem with how the decision was made. Make sure to read the <a href="https://policyregister.sydney.edu.au/doctract/documentportal/08DE2219FEF9F6AE16B91303A1F7E945">Academic Appeals Rule</a> before you start. Your letter should answer these questions. <table cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" border="1"> <tbody><tr><th>Question</th> <th>Guidelines</th> </tr><tr><td>What academic decision are you appealing?</td> <td>Look at section 1.5(1) of the Academic Appeals Rule to find which type of decision applies to you. Include the relevant section number and include it in your appeal statement. If you’re not sure, check the letter from the faculty/school, or Academic Panel’s decision. Example: 1.5(1)(a) a decision to award a mark or common result grade for a coursework assessment or unit of study in accordance with the Coursework Policy 2021. </td> </tr><tr><td>What’s the course or unit of study details related to the academic decision?</td> <td>Example: I received a 73(CR) in Culinary Project 2 for the unit FOOD3888 in Semester 1 20XX.</td> </tr><tr><td>Why are you submitting an appeal to the SAB?</td> <td>Look at the letter you received from your faculty, school, or Academic Panel. Consider the decision letter Think about the reasons listed in the review decision letter and why you believe the decision was not based on the facts, was not fair or reasonable, or did not follow relevant University rules, policies or procedures. Consider the SAB appeal criteria The SAB may only consider an appeal that meets at least one of the three criteria outlined in section 1.6 of the Academic Appeals Rule. Consider each criterion that applies (see <a href="#level-3">level 3 information</a> earlier on this page). </td> </tr><tr><td>Do you have any new evidence? What supporting evidence do you have?</td> <td>If you have any new supporting evidence that was not available at the time the faculty/school or Academic Panel made its decision, explain why it wasn’t available and why you are submitting it now.</td> </tr></tbody></table>
Gather your supporting documents

Collect all relevant documents that support your appeal. These might include: <ul> <li>medical certificates</li> <li>emails or letters you sent or received</li> <li>relevant sections of University policy.</li> </ul>
Submit your application form

When you submit your appeal to the SAB, make sure you include your written appeal statement and all evidence that you want to be considered. Subsequent additions to your SAB appeal may not be accepted. Note that having concise, descriptive document names is helpful. If any documents are not in English, please ensure that the documents are translated by an accredited translation service such as <a href="https://www.naati.com.au/">NAATI</a>.
Go to appeal application form

What happens next

After you submit your appeal, the Director, Compliance and Student Affairs will check to determine whether you have met the requirements for your appeal to be heard by the SAB.

Depending on the decision, you will either:

attend a hearing before the SAB, or
be advised that your appeal does not qualify for a hearing, which means the original decision made by the faculty/school, or Academic Panel will remain in place . You will be advised of your right to apply for further review by the Registrar.

If the Director determines that your appeal has satisfied the requirements to proceed to a hearing, you will need to attend a hearing before the SAB.

Timing

At least 10 working days before the hearing, the SAU Appeals team will contact you to confirm the time, date, and location, and ask you to attend.

Five working days before the hearing, you will receive a copy of the response from your faculty/school, or Academic Panel submission in response to your appeal.

It usually takes take 4 to 6 weeks from when you are notified that there will be a SAB hearing, to when the hearing actually happens. Sometimes this may take longer due to the University breaks or exam periods, as well as the availability of panel members.

Bringing someone to support you

We recommend that you talk about your appeal with an adviser from the Students’ Representative Council (SRC) or Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA). They can help you understand the response from your faculty/school, or Academic Panel.

You can bring a support person or representative to the hearing. This could be:

a representative from the SRC or SUPRA, or
another person of your choice, such as a representative of your choosing, including but not limited to a parent or friend.

Your support person or representative does not automatically have the right to speak on your behalf. However, the Chair of the SAB may allow them to speak if you ask.

Who will be at the hearing

The SAB Panel will usually consist of three members, usually two staff members and one current student. A representative from your faculty/school, or Academic Panel will also be there, as well as someone from the Student Affairs Unit to help facilitate the hearing.

All relevant submissions will have been read by the SAB before your hearing. They may ask you and/or the faculty/school or Academic Panel questions if they need more detail or want to clarify something about your matter.

After the hearing finishes, the SAB will consider all the information and discuss their decision.

Getting your hearing outcome

After the hearing, the SAU Appeals team will send you a copy of the SAB's decision report which contains their decision. This may take up to 20 working days.

Note that the decision of the SAB is final.

This step applies only if you have been advised that your appeal does not qualify for a hearing, meaning the faculty/school or Academic Panel’s decision will stand.

In this case, you can apply for a Registrar's Review if you believe that the process of how the Director, Compliance and Student Affairs made their decision was not procedurally fair.

Note that the Registrar Review is not a further attempt to provide additional information or explanation related to the original decision. The Registrar can only review whether the Director followed the correct process.

When to apply

You need to apply online for a Registrar’s Review within 10 working days of receiving the Director’s decision.

How to apply

In your application, explain why you think that the decision was procedurally unfair. If you need help lodging this review, you can seek advice from your student organisation.

The Registrar may decide to:

agree (affirm) with the Director’s decision (meaning that your appeal still does not qualify for a hearing), and the original decision made by the faculty/school or Academic Panel is final), or
disagree (overturn) with the Director’s decision (meaning that your appeal will proceed to a hearing.

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Need help with your appeal?

We strongly recommend you seek advice when preparing your appeal.

The Students' Representative Council (SRC) for undergraduate students and Sydney University Postgraduate Representative Association (SUPRA) for postgraduate students know the University policies and procedures well.

They can tell you whether your case may be appealable to the SAB, and can help you with your appeal statement. These services are free, confidential, and independent of the University.

Appeals outside the University

Options for further appeal include making a complaint to the NSW Ombudsman. Where relevant, you can also appeal to the Anti-Discrimination NSW or the Australian Human Rights Commission, if you matter involves discrimination.

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If you are a student visa holder and you have submitted a complaint to the National Student Ombudsman (NSO), the University is obliged to maintain your electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (eCoE) active while the NSO is considering your matter. However, the University is not required to keep you enrolled in your course while your matter is being considered by them.

For student visa holders

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Policies and procedures

The procedures for appeals to the Student Appeals Body are outlined in the University of Sydney (Student Academic Appeals) Rule (Part 5).

Current students