Compassionate or compelling circumstances

What are compassionate and compelling circumstances?

Compassionate and compelling circumstances are defined as circumstances outside a student’s control that impact their ability to study. Students who are applying for a reduction of study load, leave of absence or transfer to another education provider are required to provide evidence to demonstrate that they are impacted by compassionate or compelling circumstances.

Examples of compassionate or compelling circumstances and evidence required for support:

Circumstance	Evidence
Illness or injury	A medical certificate from a registered health practitioner who is treating your condition that includes the dates of consultation, the medical condition, impact of the condition on your ability to study, recommendation for a reduced study load or break from study, and treatment plan. This includes physical injury, illness, pregnancy, and episodes of mental illness or cognitive function impairment
Death, illness or injury of a close family member	Death certificate Evidence of the illness from a doctor or hospital Evidence of your relationship to them (e.g. birth certificate, family record book etc)
Permanent or temporary disability	Copy of your Learning Access Plan (LAP) that lists reasonable adjustments made for a student at Bond University. Letter from a registered health practitioner recommending a reduced study load or break from study
Incident or issue impacting student's capacity to study – personal (e.g. serious accident, witnessing or being the victim of a serious crime or incident)	Police report Hospital report Letter from a psychologist that includes the date of consultation, the outcome of the assessment, the impact on the student's ability to study, the recommendation for a reduced study load or break from study, and treatment plan
Incident or issue impacting student’s capacity to study – community issue (e.g. political unrest, natural disaster, community health event, other community issues limiting access to what a student needs for study)	Media reports of political unrest or natural disaster Evidence of student's residency in the affected area Personal statement outlining how the issue impacts your ability to study
Bond University is unable to offer full-time load of courses	Where the registered provider was unable to offer a pre-requisite unit, or the overseas student has failed a prerequisite unit and therefore faces a shortage of relevant units for which they are eligible to enrol
Delay in receiving a student visa	Correspondence from the Department of Home Affairs
Government sponsored students	governmentsponsors can consider a change to be in the student's best interest and provided written support for that change. This does not include Australia Awards student.
Unforeseen delay to research (Higher Degree by Research students only)	Email/letter from supervisor outlining situation that was outside student’s control
Military service	Military service notice from home country Note: Students can apply to take a Leave of Absence (LOA) from studies for up to three semesters (subject to university approval). If a student’s military service exceeds this period they may need to re- apply for the program when they are ready to return to study
Other circumstances	Any relevant certified document attesting that the situation is outside student’s control and affects their ability to study

Circumstances that are not considered compassionate or compelling

Circumstances that are not considered compassionate or compelling are those considered to be within the control of a student, or which are to be expected in the normal course of the student's study, work, family or social life, including items such as homesickness, study stress or minor illnesses.

Examples of situations that are not considered compassionate or compelling circumstances

Travel or employment commitments
Pregnancy on its own
An increase in hours or duties of paid or unpaid employment
Minor medical illness or condition, for example, stress related to normal study requirements.
Ongoing medical conditions or other compassionate or compelling circumstances that were not declared during the student’s application and before acceptance of the offer.
Family or customary obligations, such as weddings of a relative or friend
Financial hardship. For international students, inability to pay tuition fees or living costs based on changes to their employment status while working in Australia.
A failure by the student to understand, or seek clarification on their obligations in relation to university policy, legislation, or responsibilities reasonably expected of a student of the University
For courses with a professional or work placement component, inability to obtain release from the student’s regular paid employment to undertake or complete the placement
For international students, instances where the student’s failure to enrol in the number of subjects required by the terms of their study visa without prior academic approval has resulted in their inability to complete their course within the time provided in the eCoE.

English language barriers are generally not considered a compassionate or compelling circumstance. While it can create a challenging environment, students are encouraged to address the language barrier through the various support services offered by Bond University.