Sick before an exam at ACU? Get special consideration sorted.

A real-time consult with a registered Australian doctor. If the doctor signs off, you receive the medical certificate and the medical section of the Application for Special Consideration with Professional Authority Certificate ACU asks for, completed.

Start my consult · $65

Prior to, or up to five working days after, the relevant due date

If the doctor signs off, issued the day you're seen

Real-time doctor consultation
AHPRA-registered doctors
Form and certificate included
Verification link
Issued the day you're seen
All Australian institutions

One flat fee at ACU.

ACU special consideration

$65.00AUD / consultation

The evidence ACU asks a doctor for, from one real-time call. For an exam, an assignment or an extension.

The medical section of ACU's Application for Special Consideration with Professional Authority Certificate, completed by the doctor, plus a medical certificate
A medical support letter
A real-time call with an AHPRA-registered doctor
A two-minute form and a preconsult call, so the doctor's call is short
Issued the day you're seen, if the doctor signs off

Issued only if the doctor finds it clinically appropriate. If the doctor completes your consult and decides a certificate isn't appropriate, the fee still applies. We refund it only when we can't deliver the consultation.

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Five things ACU checks. One call covers them.

What ACU looks for in your evidence, and how the consult answers it.

Student at her desk on the phone to a doctor, laptop and tea beside her — Video or phone. AHPRA signed. Same-day consult.

01
A video or phone consult
Every Doccy consult is a real-time call with an AHPRA-registered doctor.
02
That you couldn't sit or finish it
The doctor records the assessment and the date it falls on.
03
When you were seen, and for how long
Dated the day of your call, covering the days the doctor confirms.
04
Who signed it
Registration and practice details printed, with a link ACU can verify.
05
Lodged on time
Prior to, or up to five working days after, the relevant due date. If the doctor signs off, the certificate is issued the day you're seen.

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Talk to a doctor today.

Why ACU students choose Doccy for special consideration.

Student wrapped up at home, holding a cup of tea — From bed, today. AHPRA signed. 24/7 access.

01
Seen from bed, the same day
No waiting room. A doctor calls you, and if they sign off, the certificate is issued the day you're seen.
02
The history is taken before the doctor calls
A two-minute form and a preconsult call collect your dates and symptoms, so the doctor's call is short.
03
Evidence ACU can check
Signed by an AHPRA-registered doctor, with a verification link on every certificate.
04
One price, shown before you start
One flat fee for the consult and everything it issues. Nothing added at checkout.

Too unwell for an exam or assignment at ACU? Start here.

Your next step at ACU, and what to tell the doctor.

01
My exam is today or tomorrow
See a doctor before it starts. Prior to, or up to five working days after, the relevant due date.
02
I've already missed my exam
Tell ACU now, then see a doctor today.
03
I'm too unwell to finish an assignment
Tell the doctor the due date and when you fell ill.
04
I became unwell during the exam
Tell the invigilator at the time, then see a doctor the same day.
05
ACU needs its own form
The doctor completes the medical section of the Application for Special Consideration with Professional Authority Certificate on the call. Have your assessment details ready.
06
I'm looking for an exam exemption
ACU handles it through special consideration.

From unwell to lodged at ACU

ACU's process, in the order it happens.

01
See a doctor while unwell
A real-time special consideration consult. Tell the doctor the exam or due date; the certificate covers those dates.
02
Apply through The School office responsible for the unit
Prior to, or up to five working days after, the relevant due date.
03
Attach your evidence
The medical section of the Application for Special Consideration with Professional Authority Certificate completed by the doctor, plus the medical certificate.
04
Keep the verification link
ACU may contact the practice to confirm the consultation. The link on each document answers that.

ACU special consideration form and deadline

You complete ACU's Application for Special Consideration with Professional Authority Certificate. The doctor completes its medical section on the call.

ACU policies checked 23 October 2026

Student resting in bed with tissues and a cup of tea beside him — Doctor form. Telehealth not mentioned. Verified online.

01
The form
Application for Special Consideration with Professional Authority Certificate (Section D). You complete your section and attach the certificate.
02
The deadline
Prior to, or up to five working days after, the relevant due date. See a doctor the day you are unwell, not after the deadline.
03
Telehealth
ACU's Special Consideration Procedure does not address consultation modality. Its requirements are about who completes the Professional Authority Section, a registered professional who is not related to you, and that they specify how the condition affected your ability to undertake the assessment.
04
What the certificate must state
The degree of impact: totally unable, very severely, moderately or slightly affected, or unable to assess. How the condition affected your ability to attend or undertake the assessment task.
05
Rules that catch students out
The person completing the Professional Authority Section must not be related to you. That declaration is pre-printed on the form and the signature covers it. ACU accepts a wider set of professionals than a GP alone: medical practitioners, psychologists, dentists, physiotherapists and counsellors can complete Section D.

One consultation, three ACU outcomes

Three outcomes, one application, the same evidence.

Special consideration

This is the application when illness or circumstances affected an assessment task. You complete Sections A to C and your professional completes Section D.

Longer extension

Where the issue is time rather than performance, an upheld application can grant a longer extension than is normally granted. A dated Professional Authority Certificate covering the due date supports it, and is the same document the full application uses.

Alternative form of assessment

If illness kept you from an exam or a timed task, the outcome can be an alternative form of assessment. Section D needs to show the impact fell on that date, with the degree of impact rated rather than described loosely.

After you lodge at ACU

When the decision arrives, and what a no means.

How long ACU takes

ACU emails the outcome to your ACU email address within ten working days of the date you submitted the form.

For one unit, the National Unit Lead decides. For several units, your Course Adviser decides with the National Unit Lead.

If ACU says no

An upheld application can still end in no action. The other outcomes are a longer extension than normally granted or an alternative form of assessment.

To challenge a decision, ACU's Student Appeals Procedure asks for a formal application within 20 working days of being notified. The National Unit Lead reviews it, and the next level is a procedural appeal to the Executive Dean.

ACU special consideration FAQs

Deadlines, portals and evidence rules at ACU, from its published policy. How special consideration works at every university

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Does ACU accept online medical certificates?

ACU's Special Consideration Procedure does not address consultation modality. It requires the Professional Authority Section to be completed by a registered professional who is not related to you, and for them to specify the impact on your assessment. Silence is not acceptance, so a certificate backed by a real consultation is the safer choice.

What is the ACU special consideration deadline?

Prior to, or up to five working days after, the relevant due date. ACU advises students of the outcome within ten working days of the date the form was submitted, so apply early if the result affects a later assessment.

What is the ACU special consideration form?

It is a combined form. You complete Sections A to C describing your circumstances and the affected assessment, and your registered professional completes Section D, the Professional Authority Certificate, which carries the impact rating and their registration details.

What is the ACU Professional Authority Certificate?

It is Section D of the special consideration form. The professional rates your capacity as totally unable, very severely, moderately or slightly affected, or unable to assess, records two consultation dates, marks whether the condition is confidential, and signs.

Who can complete ACU's Professional Authority Section?

A registered professional including a medical practitioner, psychologist, dentist, physiotherapist or counsellor. The procedure adds that the person who completes the section, or who verifies supporting documentation, must not be related to you.

Unwell before an ACU assessment?

Sorted within the day. A real-time consult with a registered doctor, then the certificate and the medical section of the Application for Special Consideration with Professional Authority Certificate ACU asks for.

Start my consult · $65