I’ve seen some incorrect advice given out on these threads recently, so I’ve decided to put together a series of posts explaining the mysterious process of special consideration so you can stress less and get back to doing your assignment.
About me: I’m a Monash alumnus. I worked for the MSA student advocacy team for several years. I’m a former university employee and I used to assess special consideration and special circumstances.
These days, I’m a registered counsellor in private practice supporting university students. I’m not speaking on behalf of Monash. This is general guidance, not a guarantee of approval.
Step 1: Breathe
Getting sick near an assessment deadline is stressful. Take a breath. There’s a process for this, and you don’t need to have everything sorted before submitting your application.
Step 2: Apply on time
For an ordinary assignment extension, you must apply for special consideration by 11.55 pm on the day the assessment is due, in the time zone of your unit’s location. Late applications are only accepted in extreme circumstances i.e. hospitalisation (Clause 2.11.4). Yes… I know it’s dumb, but I don’t make the rules.
If your supporting documents aren’t ready, submit the application on time and explain the delay. You can provide the documents up to three calendar days after the deadline. (Clause 2.11.1)
If you need longer to obtain them, state when you’ll provide them and supply evidence supporting the reason for the ongoing delay. (Clause 2.11.2)
Follow the instructions in your application email to supply your documents. If you don’t provide them within the required timeframe and haven’t explained the delay, your application will be cancelled. (Clause 2.11.3; supporting-document guidance)
Don’t miss the application deadline because you’re waiting for a doctor’s appointment.
Step 3: Get supporting evidence
The certificate needs to express the practitioner’s medical opinion, not simply confirm that you attended an appointment or repeat what you told them. Monash requires it to state that you were unfit to complete your assessment on or before the relevant deadline, and for how long. (Medical-documentation requirements).
An illustrative wording, provided the practitioner independently assesses and supports it, could look like:
In my medical opinion, [student’s name] was unfit to study or undertake assessments due to a medical condition from [start date] to [end date], inclusive.
or
I certify that [student’s name] was medically unfit to undertake their [unit code] [assessment name] from [start date] to [end date], inclusive.
This isn’t an official template or wording that guarantees approval. The practitioner decides what they can clinically support.
What isn’t enough on its own?
“The student attended an appointment today.” This establishes attendance, not that illness prevented assessment.
“The student says they have been sick since Monday.” This reports your account rather than certifying the practitioner’s opinion.
If you see the doctor after the affected period, the documentation needs an appropriate retrospective basis. For a medical letter of support, the doctor must know your medical history or condition and explain how they concluded that you were affected without consulting you at that time. (Medical-letter requirements)
In simple terms, if you see the doctor when you're no longer sick, the doctor needs to explain how they determined you were sick in the past. Don’t assume a doctor can automatically certify an earlier period.
Where you couldn’t obtain a certificate when affected, the procedure allows a medical letter of support. The practitioner must know your medical history or condition and establish a reasonable basis for concluding that the illness was present around the assessment deadline. The documentation guidance also requires them to explain how they reached that conclusion without consulting you at the time. (Table 1; medical-documentation guidance)
Step 4: An extension that matches the evidence
Let’s use a hypothetical example:
- You become ill on the 10th.
- Your assignment is due on the 12th.
- You apply before the application deadline.
- You see your doctor on the 13th.
- Assuming the doctor can appropriately support the earlier affected period, your documentation states that you were unfit to study from the 10th to the 14th inclusive.
- You provide the documentation using the instructions in your application email.
“Inclusive” means both the 10th and the 14th are included in the impact period.
Quiz time: how many impacted days does that cover?
A) One
B) Two
C) Three
D) Five
The answer is D: five days.
The 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th are all included.
So what would the new deadline be?
Monash’s published student guidance says an extension starts from the original assessment deadline, with the extension generally aligning with the days recommended in your supporting documents.
Their own example uses an original deadline of 1 October, with five days of illness from 23–27 September, resulting in a new deadline of 6 October. (Student guidance, “Extension to your assessment due date”)
This calculation is explained in the student guidance, rather than as an explicit formula in the procedure.
Applying that approach to our example:
- Original deadline: 12th.
- Supported period: Five days.
- Illustrative new deadline: 17th.
You don’t start counting the five-day extension from your appointment date or the last day you were sick.
Always check the actual date and time in your approval email. The procedure describes extensions as commensurate with the circumstances, generally no longer than ten calendar days, and says the revised deadline cannot fall on a University holiday or a day when you have a scheduled final assessment. (Table 2, referenced by clause 2.23)
What if I need longer?
If your illness continues and you can’t meet the revised deadline, you’ll need a new application with a new medical certificate with dates that extend the impact period. (Clause 2.24)
Monash’s student guidance says it cannot grant an extension longer than the timeframe supported by your documentation. (Student guidance, “Extension to your assessment due date”)
What if I was sick earlier, rather than right before the deadline?
Earlier illness is not automatically irrelevant to an assignment extension. Monash’s published example counts five days of illness occurring before the original deadline. (Student guidance, “Extension to your assessment due date”)
The important question is how those circumstances prevented you from completing the assessment on time. Explain the connection rather than simply listing dates. Evidence must demonstrate assessment impact, and an application can be declined if the dates don’t match the affected period or the evidence doesn’t demonstrate that impact. (Clauses 2.5 and 2.13)
Sources:
For part II, we'll be looking at deferred exams.
