Victim of crime or unexpected trauma

You may apply for special circumstances if you have been the victim of a crime or have experienced a sudden, traumatic event that had a significant and unexpected impact on your studies.

Proof of the situation

Your evidence must verify that the event occurred and describe the impact on your academic capacity. We recommend providing the following:

• Official incident documentation: A formal police report, an incident statement, or a report from an emergency service (such as Ambulance Victoria or the MFB). This must include the date of the incident and an official reference or case number.
• A professional impact statement: A letter from a registered psychologist, trauma counsellor, or GP. This is particularly important if the primary impact is psychological, as it shows how the trauma prevented you from focusing on your studies, attending classes, or completing assessments.

The documentation should clearly state the:

• Event date: Confirmation that the incident occurred on or after the census date (or that the traumatic impact peaked after that date).
• Psychological, physical or legal impact: How the event disrupted your studies.

Statutory declarations

You can include a statutory declaration with your application, but only in addition to other supporting documents. Your statutory declaration should explain what your circumstances are, how they’ve affected your ability to complete your unit requirements successfully, and when it became clear that you couldn’t successfully complete your unit requirements.

A statutory declaration is a written statement that you sign and declare to be true and correct in the presence of an authorised witness. You can be charged with a criminal offence if the information is false. To find out more, including how to obtain one and who can witness it, visit the Victoria State Government web page.