Khan and Secretary, Department of Education and Training

Mr Khan applied to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for a review of the Secretary, Department of Education and Training's decision to refuse to waive his HECS-HELP debt for a Bachelor of Laws course undertaken at the University of Southern Queensland (USQ). Mr Khan sought the waiver on the basis of special circumstances, including his own recurrent sinusitis, his wife's complicated pregnancy with gestational diabetes, and increased family and household responsibilities.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the circumstances relied upon by Mr Khan met the criteria for "special circumstances" as defined by section 36-21 of the *Higher Education Support Act 2003* and the associated Administration Guidelines. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider whether these circumstances were beyond Mr Khan's control, did not make their full impact until on or after the census date, and made it impracticable for him to complete the unit of study.

The Tribunal reasoned that all three limbs of section 36-21(1) of the Act must be satisfied for an application to be successful. It found that while Mr Khan's medical condition and increased family responsibilities were significant, they did not meet the stringent requirements of the legislation and guidelines. The sinusitis had not deteriorated to the point of impracticability before the census date, and the pregnancy complications, while serious, did not prevent Mr Khan from managing his studies or fulfilling his responsibilities in a way that made completion impracticable. The Tribunal noted that the wife's gestational diabetes was managed with insulin from November 2015, and her condition, while requiring extra care, did not render it impracticable for Mr Khan to continue his studies.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that Mr Khan had not demonstrated that the circumstances met the statutory definition of "special circumstances" as required for the remission of his HECS-HELP debt. The application for further review was therefore dismissed.