Remission of fees and removal of academic penalty

Remission is the removal of a financial penalty.

If your application for remission is approved, you are no longer liable for the cost of the subject.

You can apply for remission if you were impacted by special circumstances and:

• you were unable to continue studying and withdrew from your subject(s) after the census date had passed, or
• you were unable to successfully complete the requirements of your subject(s).

You can submit one application to remove both financial and academic penalties from all subjects within a study session. If you were affected across more than one session, submit a separate application for each session.

Special circumstances

Special circumstances are defined in the Higher Education Support Act 2003. They are generally considered to be unusual or uncommon, and not able to be foreseen prior to the census date.

To be eligible, your circumstances must meet all three of these criteria, demonstrated with independent supporting documentation:

• beyond your control
• did not occur or make their full impact on you until on or after the census date, and
• made it impracticable for you to successfully complete the requirements for the subject(s) 

Your circumstances	What this means
Were beyond your control	A situation occurred that was not due to your action or inaction, and for which you are not responsible. This situation must be unusual, uncommon or abnormal. Note: lack of knowledge or understanding of the remission process and its deadlines is not considered to be beyond your control.
Did not occur or make their full impact on you until on or after the census date	Your circumstances occurred: after the census date, or before the census date but worsened after that day, or before the census date but the full effect or magnitude did not become apparent until on or after that day.
Made it impracticable for you to successfully complete the requirements for the subject(s)	Impracticable can be defined as ‘not practicable; that cannot be put into practice with the available means’. The Administrative Review Tribunal (formerly the Administrative Appeals Tribunal) has previously interpreted the term impracticable to mean ‘not capable of being done’. Your circumstances meant you could not: undertake the necessary study required, or attend sufficient lectures or tutorials, or attend the examination, or meet other compulsory attendance requirements.

Your personal statement

Your personal statement can be brief. Unless your circumstances are very complex, a paragraph or two is usually enough.

Your statement should:

• address the three special circumstances criteria
• outline the type of circumstances you experienced
• include the dates that you experienced the full impact
• explain why this meant you were unable to complete subject requirements.

If you ceased studying before the end of the session, you should include this in your statement.

If there was a specific date or event that caused you to be unable to complete the requirements – for example, missing a compulsory class or an exam – you should highlight this in your personal statement.

We understand that writing about your circumstances can be difficult. If your supporting documents already cover the details, you don’t need to repeat them in your personal statement.

Supporting documentation

All applications must include independent supporting documentation. A personal statement or statutory declaration alone is not sufficient evidence to have your application approved. The examples below show appropriate documents for each type of circumstance.

Your documents should clearly indicate:

• the date your circumstances first began and/or the date they made their full impact
• the date it became apparent that you could not continue your studies
• how your circumstances impacted your ability to study.

Documents must be in English, or accompanied by original or certified official translations. Files must be PDF format, maximum 10MB (multiple files can be uploaded).

UTS may verify the documentation provided with your application with the issuing authority. Disciplinary action may be taken if false or misleading documentation is submitted.

If you're registered with UTS Accessibility, you can make an appointment with your Accessibility Consultant to discuss your application. If you have previously provided supporting documents to Accessibility, they will not be shared with other UTS teams, so make sure you attach relevant documents to your remission application.

Medical circumstances

If you experienced a medical event or condition after the census date – or an existing condition that deteriorated after the census date – you may be eligible to apply under this category. Documents must confirm you were unable to complete subject requirements as a result.

Your supporting documents may include:

• a medical certificate from your GP, psychologist, psychiatrist or other health professional
• hospital reports, admissions or discharge reports indicating dates and severity of impact
• emails or advice from your faculty regarding your ability to meet subject requirements.

Note: Medical certificates must include the AHPRA Practitioner Registration Number and the Medicare Provider Number.

Please do not include photos of injuries. Prescriptions, pathology reports, x-rays, referrals and medical reports are only useful if they clearly indicate the dates and severity of impact – documents that don't include this information cannot be assessed.

Family/personal circumstances

If an unforeseen personal or family circumstance prevented you from meeting your subject completion requirements, you may be eligible under this category. This includes the death or serious illness of an immediate family member, carer responsibilities, a change to your living situation, natural disasters and court or police proceedings.

Your supporting documents may include:

• a letter from your doctor or counsellor detailing how the circumstance impacted your studies
• the death certificate of an immediate family member, along with a document confirming their relation to you – or a formal letter from a funeral director confirming the date of the funeral and your relation to the deceased
• an independent document confirming carer responsibilities (e.g. a letter from a treating GP or a certificate of power of attorney)
• court documents or police reports linking your name or address to the events described
• an independent document confirming a change in your living situation
• emails or advice from your faculty regarding your ability to meet subject requirements.

Note: Aunts, uncles and cousins are not considered immediate family members. If you were impacted by the death or illness of an extended family member, submit a letter from your doctor or counsellor confirming the timeframe and impact on you.

Employment-related circumstances

If your employment status or arrangements changed unexpectedly after the census date – or you were required to engage in active service (e.g. ADF Reserves, Bushfire and SES services) – you may be eligible under this category.

Your supporting documents may include:

• a letter from your employer (on official letterhead) confirming the requirements of your role
• evidence of a change to contract or employment, along with evidence demonstrating the impact on your ability to meet subject requirements
• evidence of active service.

Note: Your employer's letter should include a clear date of issue and outline the date(s) the change occurred and the impact on you.

Course-related circumstances

You may be eligible under this category if, for example, UTS changed the arrangements for your subject or course and, as a result, you are disadvantaged to the extent that you are unable to complete the subject requirements.

Your supporting documents may include:

• a letter from your Subject Coordinator or Responsible Academic Officer (RAO)
• email chains between yourself and the Subject Coordinator or RAO indicating the dates and details of what occurred.

How to apply

Before you apply:

• if you have a recorded Fail, Withdrawn/Fail or Withdrawn result, you can apply now.
• if you are still enrolled, you must withdraw first — once your withdrawal is submitted you can apply for remission and removal of academic penalty.
• if your ability to study was genuinely affected by circumstances beyond your control but you don't meet all three special circumstances criteria, you may only apply for withdrawal without academic penalty.

Submit one application per study session, covering all affected subjects in that session. If you were affected across more than one study session, submit a separate application for each session.

You'll receive a confirmation email when your application is submitted. Applications can take 6 to 10 weeks to process.

Steps to submit in My Student Portal

Log into the UTS Student Portal using your UTS student or alumni email address*.

1. Select ASK UTS, then select Submit a Remissions/Refund due to Special Circumstances Form to create your application.
2. Read the instructions and fill in all required fields. Select the course and session and add all subjects you are applying for within that session.
3. Add your supporting statement and upload your supporting documents. (Your application can’t be assessed without supporting documents.)
4. Select Submit.
5. You will be notified of the outcome via an email to the email address associated with your profile.

Note: If you withdrew from your course and no longer have access to a UTS email address, you can register for My Student Portal using your personal email address.

Understanding your outcome

You will be notified of the outcome of your application via email.

Decisions regarding remission and the removal of academic penalty are made separately, so you may receive different decisions for each.

Note: The Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) is non-refundable for students who withdraw after the census date, and any SA-HELP debt incurred will not be remitted, regardless of circumstances.

Remission outcomes

Outcome	What it means
Remission approved	Financial penalty is removed and you are no longer financially liable for the subject.
Remission declined	Financial penalty remains and you remain financially liable for the subject.

Academic outcomes

Outcome	What it means
Result to stand	The subject result in your transcript will remain unchanged.
Withdrawal with academic penalty	The subject result in your transcript will show as Withdrawn/Fail and the subject result will count towards your GPA and your WAM as a fail grade.
Withdrawal with no academic penalty	The subject result in your transcript will show as Withdrawn and the subject result will not count towards your GPA or WAM.

Appealing a decision

If you disagree with the decision, you have 28 days from the date you received the outcome to request a review in writing.

Your request must include:

• the Review of decision - Remission/refund appeal form (PDF 179kB, 2 pages) including the date of the decision and the reasons you are requesting a review of the decision
• any additional evidence that supports your case for special circumstances.

Submit the form and supporting documents via My Student Portal:

• select Ask UTS
• use the category application for remissions / refund / no academic penalty appeal.

Note: If you no longer have access to log in with your student email address, you can create a login with your personal email address.

UTS will acknowledge receipt of your appeal application on submission. An independent Review Officer (the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students) or delegate) will be allocated to assess your application. A review consists of:

• a review of the original decision
• assessment of any new evidence you provide
• a written notice of the review decision.

Note: If the Review Officer does not advise a decision within 45 days of receiving the application for review, the review outcome is taken to have confirmed the original decision.

Administrative Reviews Tribunal

For HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP students only

If your appeal is unsuccessful and you still disagree with the review decision, you have the right to appeal to the Administrative Reviews Tribunal (ART) within 28 days from the date you received the appeal outcome.

UTS will provide all documents relating to your case if requested by the tribunal. If you have any additional documentation, you should include this in your appeal to ART.

You will be provided with further information about this process at the time you are notified of the review decision.

Learn more on the Administrative Review Tribunal website.

Student Complaints Resolution Office

Available for all students

The Student Complaints Resolution Office (SCRO) is responsible for capturing information about complaints and helping to resolve them.

You may use this process if you believe there has been an error in administration in relation to your application. For more information, see making a complaint.

Note: The university is not empowered to use this procedure to reconsider or change decisions made by the Delegate or Review Officer.