Complaints and Grievances

Complaints usually fall into one of the following three broad categories:

• academic,
• administrative, or
• discrimination, sexual misconduct, and bullying.

However, you can lodge complaints about pretty much anything you are unhappy with/aggrieved by that is to do with the University. Your complaint does not need to fit neatly into one of the above categories in order to raise it.

Academic grievances are usually complaints or appeals against academic decisions, including:

• The procedural aspects of assessment disputes;
• Selection or admission decisions;
• Content or structure of academic programs, nature of teaching, or assessment;
• Supervision issues for research degree students; and
• Issues relating to authorship and intellectual property;

If your complaint/grievance is to do with assessment disputes, selection/admission decisions, supervision issues for research students, or intellectual property, then we suggest you follow the links to the relevant advice pages, as you will find advice about the specific steps you need to take to pursue your complaint for each issue.

If you have experienced a diminished quality in the teaching and learning environment, then there may be a basis in which for you raise a complaint. Firstly, it is insufficient to state that you are unhappy with the subject. You will need to show objective evidence that the University has not delivered learning outcomes to you first set out in either its handbook, or undergraduate or graduate prospectus – which are not being delivered under the current arrangements.

Where you can demonstrate a major decrease in the quality of your subject, a grievance may have merit.

Where there is clearly documented disparity between previous or advertised teaching and learning practice AND this disparity could reasonably be inferred to suggest a diminution or dilution of the educational experience and/or learning outcomes – then this should be the basis of your complaint.

For example, you might look to the following indicators which are indicative (but not exhaustive) of how quality may be diminished:

• Learning and Employment Outcomes;
• Contact Hours and Interaction with Academic Staff;
• Lecture content;
• Practical Learning;
• Subjects involving artistic practice; and/or
• Subjects requiring peer interaction.

Administrative grievances relate to decisions and actions associated with administrative or academic services, including:

• Administration of policies, procedures and rules by central administrative and student support groups, faculties/schools and departments;
• A decision by an administrative staff member that affects an individual or groups of students, including special consideration decisions;
• Incorrect advice (either written or verbal) from academic or professional staff, or in University publications, that has led to an individual or group of students experiencing some form of disadvantage;
• Access to University resources and facilities; and
• Discrimination, sexual misconduct, and bullying

If your complaint/grievance is to do with a special consideration dispute, or discrimination, sexual misconduct, and bullying, then we suggest you follow the links to the relevant advice pages, as you will find advice about the specific steps you need to take to pursue a complaint for these issues.

To make a complaint, you need to follow the three steps in the grievance procedure, which are:

1. Informal attempts at resolution,
2. Formal grievance lodged with Academic Registrar, and
3. Appeals to the Academic Board.

However, there are indicative timelines for each stage which means that if an attempt to resolve the problem is going nowhere or efforts to contact staff are not fruitful, then it is possible to escalate the grievance to the next stage.

To try and resolve your complaint at the informal level, the first thing you need to do is approach the person directly involved in the decision or situation that you are unhappy with. You can do this by setting out your concerns in writing to them or asking to have a meeting with them to discuss face to face.

• Be clear on what the key issue is and what outcome you want before contacting the relevant person. This gives you the best chance of your matter being resolved quickly and getting a good outcome.
• Contact us if you are unsure about what University policies or regulations apply to your complaint as you may like to cite these when raising your concerns informally.
• Be polite and respectful when raising your concerns. If you go in guns blazing, instead you may end up with a different problem.
• Organising a meeting with the relevant person can assist with resolving things quickly - however, we have put together email templates (link to below email templates) you can use if you would prefer to raise your complaint in writing.
• Meeting tips:
  • Take any relevant documents with you
  • Remember to stay calm
  • Address the behaviour or issue directly rather than making things personal
  • At the end of your discussions, summarise what you have agreed upon and confirm what options are open to you
  • It’s good practice to put what you’ve agreed on in writing, and having the other person sign off, so you have a record of this
  • If there is no resolution, tell the person you are dissatisfied and will seek further information

If you wish to raise your concerns in writing at the informal stage, below are email template to help you structure this. We have also included a template for requesting a meeting with the relevant staff member if you would prefer to discuss your concerns in person.

*Remember to remove the information in red before sending

The next step in the complaints and grievance process is to lodge a formal grievance to the Academic Registrar.

Before considering lodging a grievance, it’s important you have made attempts to resolve the matter informally as the Academic Registrar will be looking at this when they review your grievance. If no informal resolution attempts have been made, then the matter will just be referred to the original decision maker or staff member/department involved.

If you are at the stage of lodging a formal grievance, we encourage you to contact us, as we can provide advice on both the structure of your submission and the content, as well as how to lodge the formal grievance. We have a generic formal grievance template you can use to get started on drafting your grievance. In your submission you should state what the problem is, what you have already done to resolve the problem, and what you want to happen. Stick to the facts and attach copies of relevant documents.

The University should respond within five working days to acknowledge receipt of your letter and should inform you of their decision in no more than 15 working days.

If you’re unhappy with the decision regarding your formal grievance, the final recourse within the University is an Appeal to the Academic Board. If you have reached this stage, then we suggest you check out our advice on the appeals process here.

The determination of the appeals committee is final, and consequently, it is really important to get assistance from us in drafting your appeal submission. So, if you are planning to lodge an appeal, we encourage you to contact us.

You can find further information about student appeals that the University has put out here. We are also available to attend appeal hearings with you as your advocate, given sufficient notice.

If you have any further queries, or if you have a complaint-related question that isn’t covered on this page, please contact us here.

Please visit our page on the National Student Ombudsman for more information.