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Sick before an exam at UNSW? 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 Professional Authority Form UNSW asks for, completed.

Start my consult · $65

Within three working days of the assessment date or due date, with supporting documents attached

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

Student at his desk reading over a highlighted textbook
Real-time call. As UNSW expects. Verified online.
  • 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 UNSW.

UNSW special consideration

$65.00AUD / consultation

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

  • UNSW's Professional Authority Form, completed by the doctor, plus a medical certificate
  • A medical support letter
  • A real-time call with an AHPRA-registered doctor, as UNSW expects
  • 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.

Start my consult · $65

Five things UNSW checks. One call covers them.

What UNSW 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.
  1. 01

    A video or phone consult

    Every Doccy consult is a real-time call with an AHPRA-registered doctor.

  2. 02

    That you couldn't sit or finish it

    The doctor records the assessment and the date it falls on.

  3. 03

    When you were seen, and for how long

    Dated the day of your call, covering the days the doctor confirms.

  4. 04

    Who signed it

    Registration and practice details printed, with a link UNSW can verify.

  5. 05

    Lodged on time

    Within three working days of the assessment date or due date, with supporting documents attached. If the doctor signs off, the certificate is issued the day you're seen.

Start my consult · $65

Talk to a doctor today.

Why UNSW students choose Doccy for special consideration.

Student wrapped up at home, holding a cup of tea
From bed, today. AHPRA signed. 24/7 access.
  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 03

    Evidence UNSW can check

    Signed by an AHPRA-registered doctor, with a verification link on every certificate.

  4. 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 UNSW? Start here.

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

  1. 01

    My exam is today or tomorrow

    See a doctor before it starts. Within three working days of the assessment date or due date, with supporting documents attached.

  2. 02

    I've already missed my exam

    Tell UNSW now, then see a doctor today.

  3. 03

    I'm too unwell to finish an assignment

    Tell the doctor the due date and when you fell ill.

  4. 04

    I became unwell during the exam

    Tell the invigilator at the time, then see a doctor the same day.

  5. 05

    UNSW needs its own form

    The doctor completes the Professional Authority Form on the call. Have your assessment details ready.

  6. 06

    I'm looking for an exam exemption

    UNSW handles it through special consideration.

From unwell to lodged at UNSW

UNSW's process, in the order it happens.

  1. 01

    See a doctor that day

    On the day you're unwell, in a real-time consult. UNSW refuses certificates from a questionnaire alone.

  2. 02

    Name the assessments

    Tell the doctor each affected assessment and date. The form rates take-home and in-class impact separately.

  3. 03

    Lodge in myUNSW

    The Special Consideration Portal, within three working days of the assessment.

  4. 04

    Attach both documents

    Certificate and Professional Authority Form. Keep the verification link handy.

UNSW special consideration form and deadline

The doctor completes UNSW's Professional Authority Form on the call. You lodge it with your application.

UNSW policies checked 23 October 2026

Student resting in bed with tissues and a cup of tea beside him
Doctor form. Real-time consult. Verified online.
  1. 01

    Apply through

    The Special Consideration Portal in myUNSW, with the certificate and Professional Authority Form attached.

  2. 02

    Deadline

    Within three working days of the assessment or due date. A late application must explain the delay.

  3. 03

    Telehealth

    Accepted only from a real-time phone or video consultation. A questionnaire-only certificate is refused.

  4. 04

    The Professional Authority Form

    The doctor records the dates, rates the impact on take-home and in-class work, and signs with their AHPRA registration.

  5. 05

    Backdating

    Documents are dated the day of the consultation. The doctor can record an earlier onset after assessing you.

One consultation, three UNSW outcomes

Three outcomes, one application, the same evidence.

Short extension

Where a course offers one, a short extension gives you one to seven days, set by the course authority. You request it in the Short Extension Student Portal by the due date and time, it is approved automatically, and no documents are needed.

Special consideration for an exam

If illness or misadventure affects a final exam or timed assessment, apply for special consideration and attach the Professional Authority Form. UNSW requires evidence of a real-time consultation for exam-related applications, so a questionnaire-only certificate will be rejected.

Supplementary exam

When special consideration is approved for a final exam, the usual outcome is a supplementary exam in the supplementary examination period. The certificate must show you were unfit on the original exam date.

After you lodge at UNSW

When the decision arrives, and what a no means.

How long UNSW takes

UNSW's Student Case Review Team usually assesses an application within three to five working days.

If it's approved, your School or Course Authority sets the arrangement: an extension, a supplementary exam, an alternative assessment, or a change to how the mark is worked out.

If UNSW says no

You can ask for a review within three working days of the outcome, with UNSW's Special Consideration Review Form.

UNSW considers one review per application. If you're still unhappy after that, the next step is a student complaint.

UNSW special consideration FAQs

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

Start my consult · $65

Does UNSW accept online medical certificates?

Yes, with a condition. Since February 2026, UNSW accepts an online certificate only when it was issued after a real-time phone or video consultation. A certificate issued from an online questionnaire alone is refused, and that rule applies to every application involving a final exam or an impact longer than three days.

How do I get a UNSW short extension?

Through the Short Extension Student Portal, by the assessment's due date and time. It is approved automatically for one to seven days, as set by the course authority, and needs no documents. Only some courses offer it, and your course outline says so. For anything longer, or for an exam, lodge a full special consideration application.

What is the UNSW Professional Authority Form?

It is UNSW's practitioner form. The doctor records the dates seen, rates the impact on take-home and in-class assessment, describes the condition or marks it confidential, and signs with their AHPRA details. It sits alongside, not instead of, a medical certificate.

What does a UNSW medical certificate need to show?

A general medical certificate covers a short absence; UNSW expects the Professional Authority Form for a final exam or a longer impact. Together they show the dates you were seen and affected, the impact on take-home and in-class assessment, the nature of the condition or a note that it is confidential, and the doctor's name, AHPRA registration, practice details and signature, dated on the day of the consultation.

What is the UNSW special consideration deadline?

Three working days after the assessment date or due date. Late applications need an explanation of why you could not apply in time, so book the consultation early rather than after the deadline.

Can a backdated certificate be used for UNSW special consideration?

UNSW states that backdated documents may be refused. A certificate is dated on the day of the consultation. If the illness started earlier, the doctor can record that period after assessing you, but the issue date does not change.

Unwell before a UNSW assessment?

Sorted within the day. A real-time consult with a registered doctor, then the certificate and the Professional Authority Form UNSW asks for.

Start my consult · $65
Student smiling at his phone after a Doccy consult
Australian registered doctors. Real-time consultation. Verification link provided.

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