Special consideration at Macquarie University is a formal process that lets you request an assessment adjustment, an extension, a deferred or supplementary exam, an alternative assessment, or re-grading, when a serious, unexpected circumstance beyond your control, such as illness, injury, or bereavement, affects your performance. It is a legitimate, sanctioned part of Macquarie’s assessment policy, not a loophole, and you lodge it online through the Macquarie student portal. This guide explains what special consideration means at Macquarie, what grounds qualify, the evidence and forms you need, how to apply step by step via ask.mq, typical deadlines and outcomes, and what to do if your application is rejected.
If a deadline has already slipped past what special consideration can fix, a Masters- or PhD-qualified writer can produce AI-free, Turnitin-checked work fast, but apply for special consideration first; it is free and it protects your record. For the national overview of how this process works across Australia, see our special consideration guide, which sits alongside the campus-specific walkthroughs linked throughout this article.
Key takeaways
- What it is: a formal Macquarie request for an assessment adjustment due to a serious, unforeseen circumstance beyond your control.
- Where to apply: online through ask.mq / the Macquarie student portal, selecting the affected unit and assessment.
- Common grounds: medical illness or injury, hospitalisation, acute mental-health episodes, bereavement, accident or trauma, and significant unexpected hardship.
- Evidence is essential: almost every application needs supporting documentation, a Professional Authority Form / medical certificate, a death notice, or a statutory declaration.
- Apply fast: lodge as soon as possible, typically within a few working days of the affected assessment (check Macquarie’s current policy for the exact window).
What is special consideration at Macquarie University?
Special consideration at Macquarie University is the process by which you formally tell the university that something serious and outside your control has affected your ability to complete an assessment or sit an exam, and ask for a fair adjustment. Like every Australian university, Macquarie is required to have such a policy under the standards overseen by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), because assessment must be fair and account for genuine disadvantage. The same principle applies at every campus, so the way it works at Macquarie closely mirrors the equivalent schemes at the University of Sydney and at Monash University.
It is important to understand what special consideration is not. It is not a way to buy more time because you left an assignment late, mismanaged your workload, or simply want a better mark. If you are simply running short of time on a written task, the better first move is to ask your unit convenor directly, and our guide on how to write an assignment extension email shows how to make that request well. The circumstance behind a special consideration claim must be serious, unforeseen, and beyond your control, and it must have genuinely affected the specific assessment. Ongoing conditions, a diagnosed disability or a chronic illness, are usually handled through a separate, longer-term arrangement with Macquarie’s student wellbeing or accessibility service rather than one-off special consideration.
What grounds qualify for special consideration at Macquarie?
Grounds at Macquarie follow the same categories accepted across the sector, and the lists used at UNSW and RMIT will look very familiar. The test is always the same: was it serious, unexpected, and outside your control, and did it affect this assessment? The table below summarises the typical grounds, confirm the current detail against Macquarie’s published policy.
| Grounds | Examples | Usually accepted? |
|---|---|---|
| Medical | Illness, injury, hospitalisation, surgery, acute flare-up of a condition | Yes, with a medical certificate / authority form |
| Mental health | Acute anxiety or depressive episode, crisis, panic attack on exam day | Yes, with practitioner evidence |
| Bereavement | Death of a close family member or friend | Yes, with a death notice / statutory declaration |
| Accident / trauma | Car accident, assault, being a victim of crime | Yes, with police report / supporting evidence |
| Hardship / compassionate | Family emergency, sudden caring responsibilities, unexpected hardship | Often, with a statutory declaration |
| Not accepted | Poor planning, heavy workload, avoidable IT failure, holidays, minor everyday illness | No |
How to apply for special consideration at Macquarie: step by step
You lodge special consideration online through ask.mq / the Macquarie student portal. The process follows the same five steps each time, apply as early as you can, ideally before the assessment if you already know you will be affected. If your assessment is an exam rather than an assignment, it also helps to understand how supplementary and deferred exams work in Australia, because that is often the outcome you will be granted.
- Check Macquarie’s policy and deadline. Open the special consideration page in ask.mq / the student portal and note the lodgement window and any unit-specific rules (typically a few working days after the assessment, check Macquarie’s current policy for the exact figure).
- Gather your evidence. Obtain the required documentation, a medical certificate or Macquarie’s Professional Authority Form, a practitioner’s letter, a death notice, or a statutory declaration, dated to cover the assessment period.
- Lodge the request in ask.mq. Log into the Macquarie student portal, start a special consideration request, select the affected unit and assessment(s), choose the grounds, and write a short, factual statement of how the circumstance affected you.
- Upload your documentation and submit. Attach the evidence, double-check the unit and assessment details, and submit. Keep the confirmation / reference number.
- Watch for the outcome and act on it. Decisions typically arrive within a few working days, check Macquarie’s policy. If you are granted an extension or a deferred exam, note the new date immediately. The process at the University of Melbourne and UTS mirrors these steps closely if you study across more than one institution.
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What evidence and forms do you need?
Evidence is the part students most often get wrong, and a missing or mismatched document is the most common reason an application fails at any university. The golden rule: the evidence must be independent, dated to cover the assessment, and from an appropriate professional. A medical certificate dated the wrong day, or one that simply says “unfit for work”, will usually be rejected. Macquarie typically asks for a specific Professional Authority Form (a structured medical / practitioner report) rather than a generic certificate for medical and mental-health grounds, download the current form from ask.mq / the student portal and have your registered practitioner complete it. For bereavement, a death notice, funeral notice, or statutory declaration is standard. For hardship or compassionate grounds where no formal document exists, a statutory declaration (a legally binding written statement) is usually accepted.
Apply with the evidence ready, not “to follow”. Macquarie decides on what you lodge, an application submitted without its supporting document is the single most common reason students are knocked back.
, BAO academic support team
Special consideration deadlines and outcomes at Macquarie
Deadlines are strict and short. As a rule, lodge your special consideration request as soon as possible, typically within a few working days of the affected assessment, although the exact window and the available outcomes depend on Macquarie’s current policy and the type of assessment, so always confirm the live figures in ask.mq.
If your application is granted, the outcome is tailored to the assessment: an extension for an assignment, a deferred or supplementary exam for an exam, an alternative assessment, re-grading, or in serious cases discounting the attempt. Special consideration almost never changes a mark directly, it gives you a fair opportunity to demonstrate your ability. If a poor result still lands, you can model the effect on your average using our WAM calculator or GPA calculator before deciding your next step.
What if your Macquarie application is rejected?
A rejection is not the end of the road at Macquarie. First, read the reason carefully, it is often a fixable problem such as insufficient evidence or a missed deadline. You generally have the right to request a review or appeal the decision, usually within a set number of working days, by supplying stronger evidence or explaining a genuine reason the application was late. If the outcome stands and the assessment cannot be salvaged, talk to your unit convenor about other options, and consider whether withdrawing without academic penalty (a census-date withdrawal) protects your record better than a fail. If a fail does push you toward academic probation, our guide on what to do when you have failed a unit and face a show-cause walks through the next steps. The worst response is to do nothing.
Frequently asked questions
What is special consideration at Macquarie University?
Special consideration at Macquarie University is a formal process that lets you request an assessment adjustment, such as an extension, a deferred exam, or re-grading, when a serious and unforeseen circumstance beyond your control, like illness or bereavement, affects your performance. It is part of Macquarie’s assessment policy, is lodged online through ask.mq, and is designed to keep assessment fair.
How do I apply for special consideration at Macquarie?
You apply for special consideration at Macquarie by lodging a request online through ask.mq / the Macquarie student portal, selecting the affected unit and assessment, choosing the grounds, writing a short factual statement, and uploading your supporting evidence. Apply as early as you can, keep the reference number, and watch for the outcome, check Macquarie’s current policy for the exact deadline.
What grounds qualify for special consideration at Macquarie?
Grounds that qualify for special consideration at Macquarie include medical illness or injury, hospitalisation, acute mental-health episodes, bereavement, accidents, being a victim of crime, and significant unexpected hardship. The circumstance must be serious, unforeseen, and outside your control, and it must have genuinely affected the assessment. Poor time management, heavy workload, and avoidable problems do not qualify.
What evidence or forms do I need for special consideration at Macquarie?
Most special consideration applications at Macquarie need supporting evidence, and for medical or mental-health grounds that usually means a medical certificate or Macquarie’s Professional Authority Form completed by a registered practitioner. For bereavement you provide a death or funeral notice or a statutory declaration; for hardship a statutory declaration is often accepted. The document must be dated to cover the assessment period, download the current form from ask.mq.
How long do I have to apply for special consideration at Macquarie?
You usually have only a few working days after the affected assessment to apply for special consideration at Macquarie, typically three to five working days, though you should check Macquarie’s current policy for the exact window and apply earlier, even before the assessment, if you already know you will be affected. Late applications are only accepted with a valid reason, so lodge in ask.mq as soon as possible.
Does special consideration change my grade at Macquarie?
No, special consideration does not directly change your grade at Macquarie. Instead it gives you a fair opportunity to demonstrate your ability, through an extension, a deferred or supplementary exam, an alternative assessment, or re-grading. The aim is to remove the disadvantage caused by your circumstances, not to award extra marks.