Exclusions from university or TAFE

What is exclusion?

A public university or TAFE institute can suspend or cancel your enrolment for a number of reasons, including:

• unsatisfactory attendance
• unsatisfactory academic progress
• misconduct.

If you are an international student, the university or TAFE institute must notify the Australian Government of your exclusion. If one of the student visa requirements is to be enrolled in an approved course, this can mean that the Department of Home Affairs may consider cancelling your visa.

Generally, your university or TAFE institute cannot report your exclusion to the Australian Government until an external complaint handling body, such as us, has reviewed the decision.

Appealing an exclusion decision

If you believe the decision to exclude you is wrong or unfair, you can lodge an appeal and ask your university or TAFE institute to reconsider the decision.

An appeals policy for dealing with exclusions is available on the university or TAFE institute’s website. The policy sets out what decisions may be appealed, what evidence and information is required, and the timeframes for lodging an appeal.

It is a good idea to check the appeals policy to find out what information is required, or what questions you have to answer when submitting your appeal.

The appeal may be considered by a board, panel or an individual. You should check the appeals policy to find out if you can ask to address the decision-makers in person.

Your university or TAFE institute will send you a letter or email explaining what decision was made. This will explain what your next option may be, which could be to contact us.

Your university or TAFE institute can tell you whether there is a timeframe to lodge an external appeal before it informs the Australian Government you are no longer a student. You should make every effort to meet this deadline, but you can make your complaint to us at any time.

What we can do

We can conduct a review of how your university or TAFE institute handled your appeal.

You should first follow your university or TAFE institute’s appeals process. Then your complaint can be assessed to see if there is evidence that your university or TAFE institute has made errors, failed to follow policy, or not considered relevant information.

You should provide all relevant evidence so your complaint can be assessed. This can include:

• copies of letters or emails exchanged between you and your university or TAFE institute
• a written explanation of how the university or TAFE institute failed to follow policy or procedures, or why the final decision is wrong or unreasonable.

Our investigation will consider if the university or TAFE institute’s decision was reasonable and the policy correctly followed. Recommendations may be made to the university or TAFE institute about any findings.

We will keep you informed on the progress of the investigation and the final decision. Find out what to expect if you make a complaint to us.

Helpful tips

• If you are an international student, be aware of the conditions of your visa and understand that if you do not meet them, your visa maybe cancelled.
• Ensure the postal and email address your university or TAFE institute has are accurate and up-to-date, and attend to any mail you receive.
• Respond to any show cause notice you may receive.
• Seek help from student support services at your university or TAFE institute.