Deferring an exam

In certain circumstances you can apply to take a deferred examination for in-semester and end-of-semester exams.

If your assessment is not an exam, for example, it's an oral presentation, you may need to apply for an extension. Refer to Section 5 - Assessment in your course profile for more details.

• In-semester deferred exam request – applies to exams held at any time other than during the University's end-of-semester exam block periods.
• End-of-semester deferred exam request – applies only to exams held during the University's designated end-of-semester exam periods.

You'll need to demonstrate through supporting documentation how unavoidable circumstances prevented you from sitting your exam. If you can’t, you can apply for a one-off discretionary deferred exam.

There are no provisions to defer a deferred exam. You need to be available to sit your deferred examination.

If you have exceptional and unavoidable circumstances that prevent you from sitting your examination, please review the available options listed under Rescheduled examinations - exceptional circumstances.

You can request a deferred exam if you can provide evidence of unavoidable circumstances that prevented you from sitting your original exam at its scheduled date and time.

Your application must include supporting evidence. We will assess your request based on the evidence you provide when you apply. Here's some general advice:

• Supporting evidence should be in written English (or translated by a NAATI-accredited translator).
• Statutory declarations are only allowed when you can't obtain the required supporting evidence (e.g. a police report, road service report etc.)
• Keep original copies of your supporting evidence for at least 6 months. If you fail to produce the original documents, your deferred exam application may be refused or overturned.

To understand the circumstances when you can apply for a deferred exam and the evidence you must provide, refer to the following list: 

Acceptable evidence for deferred examinations (PDF, 204 KB).

The purpose of a discretionary deferred exam is to let you apply for a reason that wouldn't be accepted as grounds for deferral. The request can be made for either a in-semester or end-of-semester exam.

Circumstances when you may choose to apply for a discretionary deferred exam include:

• misreading or misunderstanding your exam timetable
• arriving late for the start of your exam
• forgetting or not being in possession of permitted exam materials (e.g. a calculator), or
• high levels of stress or anxiety associated with exams (please note accommodations can be made for students with a mental health condition).

Eligibility

You're only eligible to apply for a one-off discretionary deferred exam if:

• you haven’t previously applied for one, and
• you didn’t attempt any part of the original exam.

Supporting evidence

If you’re using your one and only discretionary deferred request, you don’t need to provide supporting evidence but you can upload a document or include a brief statement in the comments field to explain why you are applying if you wish.

Apply for a deferred exam

Apply online

Apply for alternative exam arrangements for a deferred exam

If you have a medical condition, mental health condition or disability and require alternative arrangements for your deferred exam you’ll need to complete the online alternative exam arrangements through my.UQ. This is in addition to your deferred examinations request. You need to submit this request on the same day as your request for a deferred exam or supplementary assessment.

Contact Student Services if you need assistance completing your alternative exam arrangements request.

Late applications

Applications can be submitted no later than 5 calendar days after the date of the original exam. However, there may be circumstances that prevent you from submitting on time.

If more than 5 calendar days have passed since the date of the original examination, you will not be able to submit a deferred exam request. A Late Notice will appear on the deferred exam request form in mySI-net, which provides instructions on how to request a late application.

What to expect after you apply

Your deferred examination request(s) must have a status of "submitted" in mySI-net to be assessed.

All applications for deferred in-semester examinations are assessed by the relevant school. Applications for deferred end-of-semester examinations are assessed by the Academic Services Division.

You’ll receive an email to your student email account when the status of your application is updated.

Approved deferred exam applications

If your deferred in-semester examination request is approved, the relevant school will notify you of the scheduled date and time of your deferred examination. Deferred in-semester examinations are held during a period nominated by the relevant school.

If your end-of-semester deferred examination request is approved you will receive a timetable the Friday prior to the deferred exam period. You must be available during this time to take your exam.

In-semester exams

Deferred in-semester examinations are usually in the same format as the original in-semester examination (e.g. if you defer a multiple-choice exam, your deferred exam will be a multiple-choice exam).

However, in some circumstances a deferred in-semester exam may take the form of an oral examination.

End-of-semester exams

Deferred end-of-semester examinations are held during the University’s deferred examination periods:

• Semester 1: July.
• Semester 2: December.
• Summer Semester: March.

MD Program: dates for deferred exams may differ; students are to contact the Medical School for further information. 

In certain circumstances, you may be eligible to sit a deferred exam off campus.

In-semester exams

Results should be available within 7 to 10 days from the examination date. Contact your school for your results.

End-of-semester exams

Results are typically finalised:

• Semester 1: within 10 calendar days of the deferred examination date.
• Semester 2: within 21 calendar days of the deferred examination date.
• Summer semester: within 10 calendar days of the deferred examination date.

If you haven't received your results, contact your faculty or school.

Grade 3 or non-graded 'N' results

If you received a grade 3 - or a non-graded ‘N’ for your deferred course, you may be eligible for a supplementary assessment. Contact your faculty or school to discuss.

Changing programs and deferred exams

If you’ve applied to QTAC to study a different program but also applied for a deferred exam you need to advise QTAC when you have received your final grade after sitting your deferred exam.

If you don't tell QTAC about your deferred exam, they can't take your updated final grade into consideration.

It's strongly recommended you attempt to complete your exam when scheduled, as no student can be given permission to defer an already-deferred examination.

In circumstances that are exceptional and beyond a student's control, a student may be eligible to reschedule their exam during the deferred examination period. Rescheduled exams will be held within 24 hours of a student's original timetabled exam.

Students are responsible for ensuring they have read and understand the criteria and application due dates for Rescheduled Examinations.

For all other forms of assessment, contact your Faculty for advice.

The University considers an exceptional circumstance: 

• that is out of your control, 
• that you couldn’t have reasonably prevented or accommodated, and
• that severely affected your ability to undertake an assessment.

If you have an exceptional circumstance that prevents you from sitting the deferred exam, you can: 

• have your grade finalised for the course based on all assessment items
• apply for a Removal of Course without academic penalty
• request a rescheduled exam.

Supporting documentation for rescheduled exam requests

Students must provide a comprehensive and detailed explanation together with supporting documentation that demonstrates how exceptional and unavoidable circumstances prevented them from attending their deferred exam.

Timeframes

A Rescheduled Examination request can be considered for students who are experiencing a serious illness or have experienced an accident or incident just prior to the deferred/supplementary exam period that renders them incapable of sitting the exam.

Applications for a Rescheduled Examination must be made at the point of experiencing the illness, accident or incident unless supporting documentation confirms that this was not possible, e.g. due to hospitalisation. Supporting documentation must provide details of the nature of the incident/illness and the impact on the student's capacity to sit the exam.