If you are unhappy with your student experience at your higher education provider, you should firstly raise it with your provider to see if you are able to resolve the issue quickly and informally.
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You may need to submit a complaint which follows a formal process for resolution. This might be appropriate where:
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the issue cannot or has not been resolved informally
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you believe you did not get an appropriate response
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you feel your issue was not adequately addressed by your provider
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you are unhappy with a decision your provider has made.
Types of grievances and disputes
Reasons you may wish to complain about an aspect of your education experience include:
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provider administration
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teaching
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research
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facilities
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policies
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services
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payment of fees or your HELP debt.
All of these should be raised directly with your provider.
What can you expect from your higher education provider?
All higher education providers are required to have policies and procedures in place to resolve grievances that outline how they will review, assess and respond to a range of academic and non-academic complaints.
Grievance policies and procedures must be made publicly available such as on a website, student portal or in a student handbook. You should look at these in relation to your circumstances. If you are unsure, you can also contact your provider directly and ask them about their process.
A grievance policy and procedure will also provide students with details of the appropriate avenue to have their concerns heard, outline what forms and supporting documents need to be submitted and detail the right to seek an internal review, followed by an external independent review of any decision made by the provider.
The management of individual complaints and disputes may vary depending on the issue and whether you are studying at a public or private university or higher education provider.
Student advocacy
Most higher education providers have student advocacy services available to their students. These services are independent of the provider’s staff and are useful to help students understand academic and administrative processes.
Your provider’s student advocacy services will be able to assist you to prepare your complaint and support you through the process.
Contact details for your provider’s student advocacy services will be available on their website or through the student portal.
Complaints process
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Step 1
Raise the issue in person or in writing with your lecturer or student services area. If the issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, proceed to Step 2.
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Step 2
Raise the issue in person or in writing with the senior staff member responsible for the unit, course or provider service. If the issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, proceed to Step 3.
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Step 3
Submit a formal complaint requesting investigation and resolution. Your provider will have formal templates and supporting documents that need to be provided.
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Step 4
Your provider will review the complaint and provide a written response. If you are not satisfied with the response, you can seek a review of the decision.
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Step 5
If you have exhausted your provider's internal grievance procedures and are not satisfied with the outcome, you can escalate your complaint to the National Student Ombudsman.
National Student Ombudsman
The National Student Ombudsman (NSO) is a free, impartial, and independent service for students to escalate complaints about the actions of their higher education provider.
The NSO accepts complaints from prospective, current or past students studying at any TEQSA registered higher education provider. This includes undergraduate and postgraduate students. There is no time limit on historical complaints.
The NSO can consider a range of issues, including student safety and wellbeing, gender-based violence, racism and racial vilification, discrimination, the fairness and effectiveness of student complaints processes, and administrative issues.
The NSO can’t handle complaints that relate to Vocational Education and Training (VET), matters of academic judgement or employment matters.
For example
If you are studying at a public university or a private higher education provider, the National Student Ombudsman is the independent body who will review the decision.
Students who raise a matter with their State or Territory Ombudsman office, may be referred to the NSO, and in other instances the State or Territory Ombudsman office will continue to manage the matter.
Further information on the NSO’s powers and complaint outcomes is available at: Making a complaint | National Student Ombudsman (NSO)
Raising a concern with TEQSA
All Australian higher education providers must offer students quality higher education and access to information related to their experience. They must be registered with the National Regulator, the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) and meet legislated threshold standards.
If you think the issues you have raised are relevant to your provider’s compliance with the threshold standards, you may raise a concern with TEQSA. It is important to note that TEQSA is not a complaint handling body and it does not usually investigate one-off complaints. Find out more about how to raise a concern.
International student concerns
International higher education students can lodge complaints about their higher education provider to the National Student Ombudsman.
International students studying a VET course with a public provider should continue to raise their complaint with their local State or Territory Ombudsman.
International students studying a VET course with a private provider should continue to contact the Commonwealth Ombudsman.
Study Australia helps international students to understand their rights and responsibilities.
Useful links and resources
Find out more about what students can expect from providers | Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency.
Find out more about Legal Rights and Protections for international students.
For definitions of key terms, visit our key dates and terminology page.