24.1 Grounds for an Appeal
24.1.1 A candidate may appeal against a decision:
- made by the Research Candidate Academic Progress Committee pursuant to Regulation 19.9; or
- made by the Research Candidate Review Committee pursuant to Regulation 23.8.
24.1.2 An appeal may be made only on the grounds that published policies and/or procedures have not been followed.
24.1.3 Failure by the candidate to make available to any earlier reviews all relevant supporting documentation reasonably available at the time is not adequate grounds for appeal.
24.1.4 Matters relating to the development or substance of any published University regulation, rule or policy are not open to an appeal.
24.2 New Supporting Documentation or New Grounds for an Appeal
No new supporting documentation or grounds for appeal based on such supporting documentation will be considered unless:
- there has been a major change in circumstance following the lodging of the initial supporting documentation which, in the view of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research, justifies the subsequent, exceptional submission of the supporting documentation; and
- the new supporting documentation has a significant bearing on the appeal and that supporting documentation was not reasonably available at the time the earlier process was considered.
24.3 Submission of an Appeal
24.3.1 An appeal must be submitted to the Manager, Graduate Research within 20 working days of notification of any decision in respect of which the appeal is submitted.
24.3.2 An appeal must:
- be submitted in writing;
- be dated and signed by the candidate;
- set out the grounds for the appeal under Regulation 24.1;
- provide details of the subject matter of the appeal and, in particular, details of the decision against which the appeal is made;
- provide details of the published University regulation, rule or policy which the candidate considers has not been observed; and
- include copies of any evidence/supporting information on which the candidate relies.
24.3.3 The Manager, Graduate Research will acknowledge the appeal in writing and refer it to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research normally within five working days of receiving it.
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24.4 Action by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research
24.4.1 If the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research considers that the candidate’s appeal does not satisfy the appeal criteria set out in Regulation 24.3, or does not establish a prima facie case, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research may dismiss the appeal.
24.4.2 If the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research considers that the candidate’s appeal introduces new supporting documentation (refer Regulation 24.2), the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research may refer the matter back to the Research Candidate Academic Progress Committee or Research Candidate Review Committee, as appropriate, for reconsideration in light of the new evidence.
24.4.3 Upon consideration of the grounds of appeal, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research may refer the matter back to the Research Candidate Academic Progress Committee or the Research Candidate Review Committee, as appropriate, for reconsideration of its decision.
24.4.4 The Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research may refer the matter to the Research Candidate Appeals Committee.
24.5 Matters Referred to the Research Candidate Appeals Committee
24.5.1 The Research Candidate Appeals Committee will comprise:
- the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research (Chair);
- the Chair of Academic Board;
- a senior academic from within the University (nominated by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research); and
- a research candidate representative from within the University (nominated by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research).
A person who has been a decision-maker in the matter under appeal will not be appointed to the Committee.
The quorum for a meeting of the Committee will be three members including the research candidate representative.
24.5.2 The Research Candidate Appeals Committee will:
- conduct the appeal as expeditiously as possible, consistent with the requirement to act fairly;
- have access to all documentation used by the Research Candidate Academic Progress Committee and/or the Research Candidate Review Committee, as appropriate;
- consider the information and documentation used by the Research Candidate Academic Progress Committee and/or the Academic Progress Review Committee, together with any further evidence requested from and presented by the University and/or the candidate; and
- provide the candidate with five working days’ notice of the date of any meeting or interview he/she may be invited to attend.
24.5.3 The Research Candidate Appeals Committee may:
- confirm or vary the decision appealed; or
- uphold the appeal.
24.5.4 Normally within 10 working days of a decision of the Research Candidate Appeals Committee, the Chair will notify the candidate in writing of the decision, the process undertaken to consider the appeal, and the reasons for the decision and any associated recommendations. In the case of an international candidate whose enrolment has been terminated, the candidate will also be notified of the possible implications of the decision on their visa status.
24.5.5 A copy of the decision will be provided to the candidate’s Supervisors and Faculty Associate Dean Research, and any other staff members who may need to take action as a result of the decision. A copy of the decision will be held by Graduate Research in the candidate’s electronic file and, if the decision is to terminate enrolment, reported to the University Research Committee.
25.5.6 The decision of the Research Candidate Appeals Committee is final and there is no avenue of appeal against the decision to any other person or Committee within the University.
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24.6 Support During the Appeal Process
24.6.1 In any discussions or interview in which a candidate participates during an appeal process, the candidate may, at their discretion, be accompanied by one other person, other than a person with a qualification in law, whom the candidate designates as their support person.
24.6.2 A support person may not be a person who was involved in, associated with, or alleged to have been involved in or associated with the matter of the appeal.
24.6.3 A support person may only make submissions on behalf of a candidate if invited to do so by the Chair of the Research Candidate Appeals Committee.
24.7 Candidate Attendance
Failure of the candidate and/or the candidate’s support person to appear for discussion or interview for any appeal before the Research Candidate Appeals Committee, at the time notified to them, will not prevent the Committee from proceeding to investigate and determine the matter.
24.8 Withdrawal of an Appeal
At any time during an appeal process a candidate may withdraw an application, by notice to the Chair of the Research Candidate Appeals Committee. Upon such withdrawal, consideration of the appeal will normally be discontinued.
24.9 Candidate Status
24.9.1 Unless the Vice-Chancellor otherwise directs, a candidate who has submitted an appeal may continue in their program of study until the decision on the appeal is notified to the candidate.
24.9.2 In the case of an appeal against termination of enrolment for unsatisfactory academic progress, if the appeal is dismissed, the termination of enrolment will take effect from the date on which the Research Candidate Appeals Committee made its decision.
24.9.3 In the case of an appeal involving an international candidate, the University will notify the relevant Australian Government department of any notifiable change to the candidate’s enrolment.
24.10 Other Avenues for Appeal
24.10.1 While candidates are encouraged to resolve any concerns that may have arisen from their status as a candidate of the University within ACU, nothing in the Research and Professional Doctorate Degree Regulations detracts from the right of a candidate to access any other appeal or complaint mechanism available to the candidate as legislated in the relevant State or Territory. If any external process is initiated, the internal appeal process will be terminated.
24.10.2 Following exhaustion of the internal appeal process, in the case of matters for which there is no specific external independent arbiter, a candidate may appeal to the University Visitor, who is an independent arbiter, external to the University. Any such appeal must be made in accordance with the Policy on Review by the University Visitor.
24.11 Applications for Appeal Involving Allegations Concerning a Staff Member
In any case where a candidate’s application for appeal includes allegations of misconduct of a member of staff which may be in contravention of the Staff Code of Conduct, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research seek the advice of the Director, Human Resources, as to whether the matter should be considered under the Staff Code of Conduct. If a process under the Staff Code of Conduct is commenced, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research may suspend the appeal process pending the outcome of the Staff Code of Conduct process.
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