Special consideration at UNSW is a formal request through myUNSW that asks the university to adjust an assessment, with an extension, a deferred exam, an alternative assessment, or re-grading, when illness, injury, bereavement, or another serious, unforeseen circumstance outside your control has affected your performance. It is a sanctioned part of UNSW Sydney’s assessment policy, not a loophole, and it sits alongside related safety nets such as supplementary and deferred exams. This guide explains what special consideration at UNSW means, the grounds that qualify, the evidence you need, how to apply through myUNSW step by step, typical deadlines and outcomes, and what to do if your application is rejected.
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Key takeaways
- What it is: a formal request through myUNSW for an assessment adjustment due to serious, unforeseen circumstances beyond your control.
- Where you apply: the special consideration application lives in your myUNSW student portal, not by emailing your lecturer.
- Common grounds: medical illness or injury, hospitalisation, acute mental-health episodes, bereavement, accident, and significant unexpected hardship.
- Apply fast: UNSW typically expects you to lodge within a short window of the affected assessment, commonly around three working days, but check UNSW’s current policy.
- Evidence is essential: almost every application needs independent documentation dated to cover the assessment, often a Health Professional Report or a Professional Authority form.
What is special consideration at UNSW?
Special consideration at UNSW is the process by which you formally tell the university, through myUNSW, 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, UNSW Sydney must maintain a special consideration policy under the standards overseen by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA), because assessment has to be fair and account for genuine disadvantage.
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 higher mark. The circumstance must be serious, unforeseen, and beyond your control, and it must have genuinely affected the specific assessment. Ongoing conditions, such as a diagnosed disability or a chronic illness, are handled at UNSW through a separate, longer-term mechanism, an Equitable Learning Plan arranged with Equitable Learning Services, rather than one-off special consideration. The same broad principles apply at other institutions, so if you study elsewhere it is worth comparing how the process works at the University of Sydney and Monash.
What qualifies for special consideration at UNSW?
Grounds at UNSW follow the categories accepted across Australian universities, much as they do at RMIT and the University of Melbourne. The test is always the same: was it serious, unexpected, and outside your control, and did it affect this assessment? Use the table below as a guide, and confirm the current wording in UNSW’s policy.
| Grounds | Examples | Usually accepted? |
|---|---|---|
| Medical | Illness, injury, hospitalisation, surgery, acute flare-up of a condition | Yes, with medical evidence |
| Mental health | Acute anxiety/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 / stat dec |
| Accident / trauma | Car accident, assault, being a victim of crime | Yes, with a police report / evidence |
| Hardship / compassionate | Family emergency, caring responsibilities, sudden hardship | Often, with supporting documentation |
| Not accepted | Poor planning, heavy workload, avoidable IT failure, holidays, minor everyday illness | No |
How to apply for special consideration at UNSW: step by step
The application runs through myUNSW and follows the same five steps for most students. Apply as early as you can, ideally before the assessment if you already know you will be affected; where you only need a few extra days, a well-judged assignment extension email to your convenor can sometimes resolve things faster than a formal application.
- Check UNSW’s policy and deadline. Read the current special consideration policy on the UNSW website and note the lodgement window for your assessment (commonly a few working days, confirm the exact figure on UNSW’s policy page).
- Gather your evidence. Obtain the required documentation dated to cover the assessment period, often a Health Professional Report, a medical certificate, a death notice, or a Professional Authority / statutory declaration.
- Log into myUNSW and open the application. Sign in to myUNSW, find the special consideration application, select the affected 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 course and assessment details, and lodge it. Keep the confirmation or reference number.
- Watch for the outcome and act on it. Decisions are returned through myUNSW, typically within several working days; check UNSW’s policy for the current turnaround. If granted an extension or deferred exam, note the new date immediately and work out what it means for your WAM if the assessment is reweighted.
Granted an extension but still won’t finish in time? Our Masters- and PhD-qualified writers can take it from here, AI-free, Turnitin-checked, and matched to your UNSW rubric and referencing style.
What evidence do you need at UNSW?
Evidence is the part students most often get wrong, and a missing or mismatched document is the most common reason an application fails. The golden rule: the evidence must be independent, dated to cover the assessment, and from an appropriate professional. A certificate that simply says “unfit for work” on the wrong date will be rejected. UNSW commonly asks for a specific Health Professional Report form rather than a generic certificate, download it from the UNSW special consideration page and have your 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 Professional Authority form or statutory declaration is usually accepted. The evidence rules are broadly consistent across the sector, so the same standards apply if you are lodging at Macquarie or UTS. Always confirm the current required forms on UNSW’s policy page before you lodge.
Apply with the evidence ready, not “to follow.” UNSW decides on what you lodge through myUNSW, 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 UNSW
Deadlines are strict and short. As a rule, lodge your application as soon as possible after the affected assessment, typically within a few working days, although the exact window and the available outcomes depend on the assessment type and UNSW’s current policy, so check UNSW’s policy page before relying on a specific figure.
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, or re-grading. Special consideration almost never changes a mark directly, it gives you a fair opportunity to demonstrate your ability, and any reweighting flows through to your GPA rather than handing you extra marks. If you need the work itself completed to your rubric, our writers know the university’s assessment styles.
What if your UNSW application is rejected?
A rejection is not the end of the road. 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 within a set number of working days, by supplying stronger evidence or explaining a genuine reason the application was late; check UNSW’s policy for the current appeal route and timeframe. If the outcome stands and the assessment cannot be salvaged, talk to your course convenor or the relevant student support service about other options, and consider whether withdrawing without academic penalty before the census date protects your record better than a fail. If a fail does land on your transcript and triggers a show-cause notice, our guide on what to do when you have failed a unit in Australia explains how to respond. The worst response is to do nothing. For the full process and how other universities handle it, see the national special consideration guide linked above.
Frequently asked questions
What is special consideration at UNSW?
Special consideration at UNSW is a formal process, lodged through myUNSW, 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 UNSW Sydney’s assessment policy and is designed to keep assessment fair.
How do I apply for special consideration at UNSW?
You apply for special consideration at UNSW by logging into myUNSW, opening the special consideration application, selecting the affected assessment, choosing the grounds, writing a short factual statement, and uploading your supporting evidence before you submit. Do this as early as possible and keep the reference number; check UNSW’s policy page for the current deadline and required forms.
What grounds qualify for special consideration at UNSW?
Grounds that qualify for special consideration at UNSW 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 and heavy workload do not qualify.
How long do I have to apply for special consideration at UNSW?
You usually have only a short window, typically a few working days after the affected assessment, to apply for special consideration at UNSW, and you should apply earlier, even before the assessment, if you already know you will be affected. Because the exact deadline can change, confirm the current figure on UNSW’s special consideration policy page. Late applications are only accepted with a valid reason.
Do I need a medical certificate for special consideration at UNSW?
Yes, most special consideration applications at UNSW need supporting evidence, and for medical grounds UNSW commonly asks for a specific Health Professional Report form completed by your practitioner rather than a generic medical certificate. For bereavement you provide a death or funeral notice or a statutory declaration; for hardship a Professional Authority form or statutory declaration is often accepted. The document must be dated to cover the assessment period.
Does special consideration change my grade at UNSW?
No, special consideration does not directly change your grade at UNSW. 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, though any reweighted result will still flow through to your overall average if you are tracking WAM versus GPA.