Remission of Debt

In special circumstances it may be possible to have your unit fees refunded/remitted. Commonwealth supported place (CSP) students may also be entitled to have the Student Learning Entitlement (SLE) re-credited.

Criteria

To receive a remission of debt, the special circumstances must be:

• unusual, uncommon or abnormal,
• beyond your control, and
• make it impractical for you to successfully complete the unit.

The circumstances must make their full impact after the census date of the unit concerned. If a situation occurs before the census date, which prevents you from continuing study, you are expected to discontinue the unit before the census date. Thus remission of debt is only applicable if you were not able to discontinue your study prior to the relevant census date and you were prevented from successfully completing the unit. i.e. You cannot request a remission of debt if you have passed the unit.

Special Circumstances

Special circumstances may include:

• medical reasons (eg illness occurring or worsening after census date)
• family reasons (eg death, illness, unexpected/severe change in financial situation)
• employment related reasons (eg compulsory transfer or change of hours)
• course related reasons (eg restructure of course)

Applications

Application forms are available from Student Service Centres and must be lodged within 12 months of the unit discontinuation date. If you failed the unit but did not formally discontinue you must lodge your application within 12 months of the last day of the semester in which you were enrolled in the unit. Supporting documentation must be included and lodged according to the instructions on the form.

Documentation Required

You must attach independent supporting documentation (original or certified copy) from a relevant authority (eg doctor, counsellor, employer) to your application. “Independent” means it should not be from your family or friends. Privacy laws preclude us from obtaining information on your behalf so you are responsible for providing evidence to support your claim. Supporting documentation should clearly explain what the circumstances were and why they prevented you from successfully completing your study. It is important to explain when the circumstances occurred and, if relevant, how and when they worsened to an extent that your study was significantly affected.

Decisions

You will be advised in writing of the decision within 20 working days of the University receiving your application. Please supply your postal address if you are no longer a student of Monash University.

If your application is successful the University will:

• refund your unit fees if they were paid upfront to the University, and/or
• notify the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) if your debt was deferred via HECS or FEE-HELP, PELS or BOTPLS

Note: if your debt is remitted this does not affect the academic grade you receive for the unit (i.e. you may still have a withdrawn late, withdrawn fail or fail grade on your academic transcript).

If your application is unsuccessful the University will provide you with information about requesting a review of the decision. This must be done in writing within 28 days of receiving the original decision.

If you are not satisfied with the review you may then appeal to the Administrative Appeals tribunal (AAT). Information concerning the AAT will be provided with your review decision.