Special Consideration FAQ

If you are having issues accessing the Special Consideration portal, please try the following: 

• use a desktop computer or laptop
• use a different browser (Firefox is recommended)
• use an incognito/private window
• clear your cache (browsing history) 
• if you are receiving an ‘invalid user ID/password’ error message, you must reset your password via https://iam.unsw.edu.au/home 

If you are still experiencing issues accessing the portal, please email the Student Case Review team. You MUST include your student ID, the course you are applying for and any screenshots of the issues you are experiencing.

Yes. Should you wish to provide further documentation after applying, please follow these steps:

1. Select your application in your 'My Applications' page by clicking on it
2. Scroll down to Attachment
3. Choose the file(s) you want to add
4. Click on the yellow "Upload" button at the bottom right to submit your documents.

Please note that further documents can only be added to applications with the following status:

• Submitted
• Decision Made - On Hold or
• Decision Made - Document(s) added

Once your application has been processed, you will not be able to add further documentation. Please review your outcome for further information.

You only need to apply for Special Consideration if you are missing a class that is any one of the following:

• class participation that counts towards your final mark (check your course outline), or
• puts you under the minimum attendance requirements for your course, or
• if you have an in-class assessment that day.

If, before an exam, you feel unwell to the point that you believe you cannot sit the exam, you should follow these steps:

• You must see a medical practitioner and provide a medical certificate dated within 24 hours of the exam
• The medical certificate must cover the exam date
• You must submit a special consideration application within 3 working days of the exam or the period covered by your supporting documentation with the medical certificate attached

Please keep in mind that if you sit, access or submit your exam on the scheduled date, then you will no longer be eligible for Special Consideration.

If your assessment type is not in the Special Consideration portal, please choose the closest type of assessment and explain in more detail in the summary box in your application.

Special Consideration is for short-term circumstances that impact your performance during a particular study or assessment period. 

If your circumstance will be long-term or is recurring and will impact your performance across multiple assessment periods, you should consider using other student support services that UNSW can provide. 

In particular, you may wish to learn more about the Equitable Learning Service for help with ongoing educational adjustments.

You can still apply for Special Consideration for multiple assessments. 

Students studying remotely who have exams scheduled between 10pm and 7am local time, can apply for Special Consideration and a supplementary exam will be held at a time outside of these hours. Students who are applying for this reason MUST apply no later than 5 days before the scheduled date of the timed assessment.

Please note that all exams and assessment items are set to Sydney, Australian Eastern Standard or Daylight Time (AEST/AEDT).

If you experienced a technical issue that was beyond your control and impacted on your ability to complete an assessment, you follow these steps:

You must ensure that auto-updates are disabled on your computer prior to the online assessment.

Special Consideration will not be awarded on the grounds that your computer updated during your online assessment.

It is expected that students will save their work on an online file storage service, therefore this would not be an acceptable reason for Special Consideration. UNSW offers all students with 5TB of online file storage through Microsoft OneDrive, which students are encouraged to use: https://www.myit.unsw.edu.au/services/students/storage/microsoft-onedrive

Students are responsible for checking their work before uploading, therefore uploading the incorrect file(s) would not be an acceptable reason for Special Consideration.