Admission appeals

The process below is drawn from the Coursework Awards Rule (Part 7 – Review of decisions) and the Research Awards Rule (Part 7 – Reviews and appeals). You may wish to familiarise yourself with the Rule which applied to you as well as the information below.

Prior to your appeal

We encourage you to seek advice from an independent person knowledgeable about the process and aware of potential outcomes.

If you are a current Australian National University student, the Dean of Students, the ANU Students’ Association (ANUSA), and the Postgraduate And Research Students’ Association (PARSA) are available to provide you with advice. You can also approach more than one of these bodies if you are unsure of the advice you have received. Depending on your circumstances, the University Counselling Centre or Access and Inclusion may also be able to provide you with assistance.

Admissions Appeals for Applicants Denied on Academic or English Grounds

Stage 1 – Appeal the decision

If you would like a review of the decision to not admit you into the Academic Program you applied for, you may lodge a formal appeal. The appeal must be submitted in writing within 20 working days of receiving your unsuccessful outcome letter. Your appeal must:

address the reason/s you were not offered a place at the ANU as provided by the University;
be addressed to the Manager, Admissions Office, and;
be submitted to appeals@anu.edu.au.

The Associate Dean or nominee will then consider your appeal.

Once your appeal has been considered, the Associate Dean or nominee may:

Confirm the original decision not to admit you to the Academic Program; or
Set aside the original decision and substitute another decision that the original decision-maker could have made.

The Associate Dean or nominee will endeavour to review the decision and provide you with an outcome within 20 working days of receipt of your appeal. Where the Associate Dean is unable to review the decision within 20 working days, you will be contacted and advised the date by which you will receive an outcome.

Stage 2 – Appeal a procedural error

If you believe that your appeal was not handled in accordance with the University's procedure, you may appeal to the relevant reviewing officer on procedural grounds only.

Your appeal must be submitted in writing and lodged within 20 working days of the decision of the Associate Dean or nominee. Your appeal must:

clearly indicate which procedures were not followed;
include sufficient supporting information and documentation;
be addressed to the relevant reviewing officer, this being:

the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research Award students, or
the Dean of the relevant College for Coursework Award students

submitted to appeals@anu.edu.au

Once your appeal has been considered, the reviewing officer may:

Confirm the decision not to admit you to the Academic Program; or
Set aside the original decision and refer the matter to the Associate Dean to reconsider the original decision in light of the reviewing officers findings and make a new decision.

You will be contacted within 7 working days of the appeal decision. There are no further avenues of appeal within ANU after this stage.

Stage 3 – Appeal externally

Students who have appealed unsuccessfully to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor may appeal the decision to an external agency. Commonly students appeal these decisions to the Commonwealth Ombudsman.

Students have 20 working days from the date of the internal appeal outcome letter. Students must follow the lodgement instructions provided by the external agency.

Important: You must advise ASQO that you have lodged your appeal and provide the appeal lodgement number. Failure to do so may result in the termination of your enrolment or ECoE in error.

Appeals for admission offer recipients who received a revised deadline for accepting an offer

This is not an Admissions Appeal. Admission offer recipients who have been informed of a new deadline to accept their offer and did not meet the deadline, can only appeal on the grounds that they submitted the following documents by the deadline:

Offer Acceptance Declaration;
tuition deposit payment;
Supporting documentation that satisfies all conditions as outlined in the conditional offer letter(in the case of conditional offers)..

The appeal must be submitted in writing and lodged within 20 working days of the email communication indicating that the recipient had not been accepted by the new acceptance deadline as specified by the University.

The appeal must clearly indicate when the student submitted the Offer Acceptance Declaration and paid the tuition deposit payment. Evidence of a bank transfer and offer acceptance submission must be provided as part of the appeal.

Appeals must be addressed to the Manager, Admissions Office and submitted to appeals@anu.edu.au.