"A student was dissatisfied with the outcome of their complaint to a university about the discontinuation of their PhD studies and termination of their scholarship. The student’s PhD was discontinued, and their scholarship terminated, due to an administrative error. The student had applied to defer their studies, but the university told them to complete incorrect documentation, and the deferral was not correctly processed. By the time the error was identified, the university did not have an appropriate supervisor for a PhD and stated that it could not reinstate the student’s enrolment. The student said that the university’s response ‘does not provide any solution which allows [them] to come back to study.’
Following an investigation by the Ombudsman, the university agreed that it would provide supervision to the student, should they wish to continue their PhD studies. The University also agreed to offer the student an equivalent scholarship, on the university’s current terms and conditions.
The university provided the student with a contact person to assist with the reinstatement of their enrolment in the PhD and an email with information about the next steps.

*From February 2025, university complaints should be lodged with the National Student Ombudsman: www.nso.gov.au"