Rights and responsibilities
If you’re receiving support from AccessAbility services, please be aware of your rights and responsibilities.
Your rights
You have the right to:
- be treated in a fair and respectful manner, free from all forms of harassment and discrimination
- confidentiality of information and sharing of information on a need-to-know basis with informed consent
- negotiate appropriate reasonable adjustments to enable participation in education, to the same standard as any other student, provided those adjustments do not compromise the academic requirements or learning outcomes of the unit or course, or are considered unreasonable by the university. Reasonable adjustments will be documented in an Education Access Plan (EAP).
Your responsibilities
Those that receive AccessAbility support must agree to the following guidelines.
Swinburne student expectations:
- attend formal learning activities and participate actively and positively in your learning;
- engage with your studies, including all self-directed learning tasks, and meet assessment requirements;
- proactively reach out for additional services as required;
- work with Support Services to identify your best ways of learning;
- provide appropriate notice to Educators for adjustments to be put into effect eg. Where possible extensions should be requested 5 days prior to due date.
- treat other students and staff with honesty, respect and courtesy in a safe manner, free from all forms of harassment and discrimination.
AccessAbility Services support
- Contact AccessAbility Services as early as possible after application so that arrangements can be made to have your support in place.
- Provide current documentation from a relevant treating health professional to support reasonable adjustments via AccessAbility Services.
- Acknowledge your EAP and other letters regarding services provided to you, via the Student AccessAbility Portal
- Provide consent for your Education Access Plan (EAP) to be provided to conveners/lecturers/tutors to support your reasonable adjustments.
- Initiate and maintain contact with AccessAbility Services regarding any change in your condition or required reasonable adjustments in a timely manner.
- Contact AccessAbility Services early to identify issues regarding the implementation of your EAP. We are here to help negotiate your adjustments with Educators.
- Check your Swinburne student email account regularly for incoming mail so that you can promptly respond to any requests for action or information.
It is important to give feedback to your AccessAbility Adviser or Education Access Worker (if applicable). This allows AccessAbility Services to monitor the support service and ensures that appropriate changes are made to improve the quality of support.
Please direct feedback to accessability@swinburne.edu.au.
If any problems or conflict occur regarding your EAP and reasonable adjustments, you should first speak with the relevant person. If this is not possible, or problems continue, please contact your AccessAbility Adviser for a confidential discussion.
If you have any concerns or questions about these guidelines, it is important to discuss this with an AccessAbility adviser at accessability@swinburne.edu.au.
If you’re eligible to access services from AccessAbility, you will then need to sign the service guidelines and agreement document.
Require further assistance?
Want more information about our AccessAbility Services or have a question regarding your rights and responsibilities? Contact our friendly and knowledgeable team.