Learn more about late withdrawal options without academic or financial penalties.
While you can withdraw from a course or program at any time during the trimester, you may be penalised financially and academically for doing so. You can check the census date of your course(s) on Programs and Courses.
However, if your study has been adversely affected by special circumstances and the last date to withdraw has passed, you may be eligible to apply for withdrawal without penalty.
Reasons for withdrawal that fall within the limits of special circumstances are:
medical reasons
family/personal matters
employment related factors.
Please note that these circumstances and influences must have:
adversely affected your study, or your ability to study
made their full impact after the relevant census date
been beyond your control.
Application outcomes
If your request is approved, any failing grades will be replaced with a withdrawal grade on your academic record.
Your Student Contribution/Tuition Fee, along with any HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP debt you have incurred, will be removed. Any additional student charges will not be refunded.
If you have made a payment towards your Student Contribution/Tuition Fee, your student account will be credited with the relevant amount. The credit can be applied to future fees and charges, or you can request a refund by completing a Refund of fees form.
If your request for withdrawal is unsuccessful, you can apply in writing for a review. This written request must be received no later than four weeks after the notification of refusal. You can find more information on the Student review and appeals information webpage.
Supporting documents for your application
Supporting documentation will vary depending on the basis of your application. Please note that a signed statutory declaration can be submitted with your application, however, official supporting documentation will also be required. Disciplinary action will be taken if you are found to have submitted a falsified or fraudulent document to the University This includes you altering any detail of the document.
Family/personal grounds
You are required to submit documentation from, for example, a family doctor or counsellor to substantiate your claim. Here are two examples of this situation:
A member of your family suffers from a severe medical condition and you are required to provide full-time care after the census date. As a result, you are unable to continue your studies.
A member of your family or a close friend dies, and you are affected to the extent that, after the census date, you realise that you are unable to continue with your studies.
Health reasons
If requesting special circumstances based on a health condition (physical or mental), you must submit a medical certificate or letter from a registered health practitioner. The medical certificate or letter must state:
the date on which the examination by the health practitioner took place
the date(s) on which the patient is or was unfit for attendance
a statement that in the health practitioner’s opinion the patient was ‘not fit for duty’ or ‘suffering from a medical condition’
the patient’s name
the health practitioner’s contact details, including their provider number
the health practitioner’s signature.
Letters can be issued from Health, counselling and wellbeing depending on the nature of the medical issue. International medical certificates are not accepted for students residing in Australia unless they fall sick while overseas. In general, the University reserves the right to reject any medical documentation that cannot convince a reasonable person that the student is genuinely sick. Here are two examples of this situation:
You had a medical condition that existed prior to the census date that has continued past that date and deteriorated to the extent you were unable to complete your studies.
Your medical condition only became known after the census date which caused you to be unable to complete your studies.
Employee-related reasons
If requesting special circumstances based on your employment, you are required to supply a letter from your employer on company letterhead to substantiate your claim. Here are two examples of this situation:
You are employed out of necessity and studying. Your employer unexpectedly increased your hours of employment after the census date in circumstances you were unable to object.
You are employed out of necessity and studying. Your employer directs that you be transferred to a different state after the census date. Griffith does not offer the course by distance education and, as a result, you are unable to complete your course requirements.
Please note that choosing to increase your hours of work or undertake additional employment is not regarded as circumstances beyond your control.
More information is available to Griffith users. Log in to view it.
Answer
Griffith can support students to apply for special consideration, assignment extension, assessment deferral or withdrawal due to special circumstances.
We encourage you to make an appointment to discuss emotional and academic support options:
Please note that university support services experience peak times close to assessment periods. If you have concerns about how historic trauma is impacting your studies, we encourage you to reach out as early in trimester as possible.
