Late discontinuation under special circumstances

Overview

What is late discontinuation?

If, after the census date, you’re impacted by special circumstances, you may apply for late discontinuation of a unit of study. If your application is approved:

you’ll receive a grade of ‘Discontinued not to count as failure (DC)’
the fees associated with your unit of study will be remitted.

What are special circumstances?

Special circumstances are circumstances that:

are beyond your control
did not make the full impact on your study until on or after the census date of the unit, and
make it impracticable for you to complete the unit.

Circumstances are considered beyond your control if they are:

unusual, uncommon or abnormal
not due to any action or inaction by you, and are therefore not your responsibility.

Examples of special circumstances

Unforeseen change to, or worsening of, your physical or mental health
An immediate family member dying
An immediate family member having a serious medical condition
Substantial changes to your employment
A natural disaster or other emergency that impacts you or your immediate family
Financial difficulties experienced by you, or your immediate family
Changes the University made to the unit that resulted in new course requirements that disadvantaged you
Any other circumstances that the University is satisfied make it unreasonable to expect you to complete the requirements for the unit.

Who can apply

You can apply if:

the census date has passed,
you’re a coursework student, and
you’ve experienced special circumstances.

Explore other support options first

The University offers a range of support services that may make your studies easier during a difficult time. These services are designed to help you through a rough patch of your studies and should be used before you have to rely on applying for a late DC grade.

Before you decide to apply, check the following.

Seek academic advice about the potential impact of late discontinuation on your ability to meet progression requirements, such as unit of study pre-requisites or co-requisites.
If you're a student visa holder, seek advice about the potential impact on your compliance with your visa conditions.
Consider if your circumstances could be addressed by applying for special consideration or arrangements. If not, you'll need to explain your reasons on the application form. We may only approve your application if satisfied that your circumstances could not be addressed by special consideration or arrangements.
Consider if your circumstances could be addressed by applying to Inclusion and Disability Services to be assessed for adjustments to your studies. If not, you'll need to explain your reasons on the application form. We may only approve your application if satisfied that your circumstances could not be addressed by adjustments to your studies.
Look into other support learning, personal and wellbeing services that are available.

Before you apply

1. Check dates

You can apply:

after the census date, and
if you discontinued the unit, up to 12 months after you discontinued
or if you didn’t discontinue, 12 months after the teaching block ended.

If you apply after this time, you’ll need to provide evidence for why you couldn’t apply earlier.

2. Gather evidence to provide

If you decide to apply, gather your information and supporting documents - you’ll need to include these in your application as evidence of experiencing special circumstances.

Without this, we won’t be able to assess your application.

Provide a short statement explaining why you’re applying. This should include reasons why your circumstances:

were beyond your control
did not make their full impact on your study until on or after the relevant census date
made it impracticable for you to complete the requirements of the affected unit(s) of study
could not be addressed by:
- other forms of special considerations
- adjustments provided by registering with the Inclusion and Disability Services due to ongoing condition or disability.

Attach supporting documents that allow the University to form a view of your circumstances, independently of your statement.

These should be original documents or certified copies.

Your documents should:

describe what happened in detail
demonstrate the impact of the circumstances on your unit of study and how they made it impracticable for you to complete the requirements of the affected unit
demonstrate how these circumstances were out of your control
demonstrate why the circumstances could not be addressed through special consideration and arrangements, or adjustments provided by Inclusion and Disability Services
show that the circumstances had full impact on or after the census date
include the period of time you were affected
be truthful and accurate
be in English, or translated
be saved in one of these file types: pdf, jpeg or png.

Translated documents

If you need to translate non-English language documents, you should use an accredited translation agency, such as NAATI.

Medical documents

If applying for health-related reasons, you’ll need to provide a Professional Practitioner Certificate (PPC) (pdf, 204KB) or a medical certificate which covers the same information as a PPC, from an Australian practitioner registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

We’ll only accept:

in-person consultations
telehealth consultations if it was impractical for you to schedule an in-person consultation.

We don’t accept online medical certificates if there was no face-to-face consultation and pre-existing doctor-patient relationship.

Can I use an overseas doctor?

If your special circumstances occurred or worsened during on-campus study, you’re required to consult an Australian practitioner registered with AHPRA.

If you’re an international student with an ongoing condition or impacted by long-term circumstances, you should consult an Australian practitioner registered with AHPRA who can:

verify any information presented by your regular overseas practitioner
assess your current condition and its impact on your studies.

Backdated documents

A practitioner should only issue a certificate about an illness for a period of time that is clinically justifiable. The Late Discontinuation Team is not required to accept backdated medical documents unless sufficient evidence is provided that these are clinically justified.

You’ll also be required to attach additional evidence in the following cases.

If 12 months has passed since the end of the relevant teaching block, you’ll need to provide:

a good reason for why you have not been able to apply until now
evidence for why your application could not be made at an earlier time.

If you were able to successfully complete other units in the same semester/teaching period, you’ll need to provide:

an explanation of why only the units listed on your application were impacted
evidence that supports your explanation.

Applying

3. Submit your application

Apply online using the late discontinuation under special circumstances form.

Make sure to attach the required evidence using the 'Add attachments' button at the bottom of the application form. Without evidence, we can't assess your application.

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After you apply

4. Track your application

You can check the progress of your application by going to 'My applications' on the Service Portal. You should check this regularly in case we contact you requesting further information.

5. Manage your units

If it’s before the last day of teaching, while you wait for your outcome, you can either stay enrolled in the unit or officially discontinue.

Choosing this option means you’ll need to:

remain engaged with your studies and
submit any required assessments that are due prior to receiving an outcome.

If you are unsuccessful in your application to discontinue under special circumstances, all assessments due within this timeframe will contribute to your final mark.

Domestic students

Find out how to drop a unit after the census date, and the penalties that will apply if your request for a late discontinuation is not subsequently approved.

International students

You can only drop a unit after the census date if you will still maintain a full-time study load – find out how and the penalties that will apply if your request for a late discontinuation is not subsequently approved.

You won’t be able to drop a unit after the census date if doing so would reduce your enrolment below a full-time study load. You’ll need to remain enrolled in the unit while you wait for the outcome of your request for late discontinuation.

If you’re no longer enrolled in the unit(s)

If you’re not enrolled in the unit, there’s nothing else you need to do, unless we email you with a request for additional information.

7. Receiving your outcome

Within about 20 working days we will send the outcome of the application to your University student email account.

If your application is approved

If your application is approved you’ll receive a DC ('Discontinue not to count as failure') for the unit(s) you applied for. A DC does not count as a fail on your transcript, and receiving one means you are not financially liable for the unit.

Any fees for the unit of study that you have already paid upfront will be returned to your fee account. This amount will be recredited to your fee account and automatically allocated to your future enrolment. If you would like to receive the amount in your fee account, you can request a refund in Sydney Student.

If your application is declined

If you feel you have genuine grounds to contest any units not approved in your application, you can apply for a review of the decision on the Service Portal – log in to view your application and select 'Review'.

You will need to apply for a review within 20 working days of receiving your outcome, and include evidence.

You need to provide additional evidence that was not included in the original application.
The additional evidence should specifically address the reasons for the University declining your application.
You should include official documents that support any personal statements, per Clause 6 of the Late Discontinuation Under Special Circumstances Procedures.

For more information about the process, refer to Clause 8 of the Late Discontinuation Under Special Circumstances Procedures.

Your obligation to act honestly

Fraudulent documents

Be aware of unregistered or fraudulent operators who claim to be able to provide the supporting documents you need for your application. There are strict requirements for who can provide you with documents.

Penalties

Submitting a fraudulent document or false information is considered misconduct under the University of Sydney (Student Discipline) Rule 2016 and will be treated seriously. If found guilty the University may initiate civil or criminal proceedings. We may also impose penalties such as:

a fail grade and mark of zero for the affected unit on your transcript
expulsion from the University without refund.

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Privacy of your information

Any personal or sensitive information submitted as part of your late discontinuation application will be managed carefully by the University as per our Privacy Policy.

Related policies and procedures

See Clause 92 of the Coursework Policy and Late Discontinuation Under Special Circumstances Procedures.

Current students