Religious or cultural obligations

This includes strict religious observance in line with our commitment to promoting an inclusive environment for all members of the Monash community. We encourage accommodation in study, but only when observance conflicts with the date set for your assessment. Religious or cultural obligations also include cultural and ceremonial duties, but not regular weekly commitments, such as the Sabbath.

You need to provide a personal letter of support from a recognised cultural or faith leader.

You can use a statutory declaration (or equivalent) and provide information about the impact of your circumstances on your studies.

Acceptable supporting evidence:

• Personal letter of support
  • In a personal letter of support, a recognised cultural or faith leader briefly describes their relationship with you and explains how a religious or cultural obligation will prevent you from completing your assessment task.
  • The letter should be on official letterhead, signed and dated.
• Statutory declaration (or equivalent)
  • A statutory declaration is a written statement that you (the declarant) sign and declare to be true and correct in the presence of an authorised witness. In the statutory declaration, you should declare and explain your specific circumstances and how they have affected your studies and your ability to complete your assessment on or before its set date. You must also state when you’ve been affected, and for how long.
  • A statutory declaration (or equivalent) must be signed and declared to be true and correct in the presence of an authorised witness. By signing it, you agree that the information in it is true. You can be charged with a criminal offence if the information is false.
  • To find out more about statutory declaration, including step-by-step instructions for obtaining a statutory declaration and details about who is authorised to witness it, visit the Victoria State Government web page.