Walker and Secretary, Department of Education

This matter concerned an application by Ms Walker for withdrawal without penalty and re-credit of her FEE-HELP loan for certain units of study. The dispute arose because Ms Walker failed to successfully complete the requirements for these units, and the Secretary, Department of Education, rejected her application for special circumstances. The case was heard by R Bellamy SM in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether Ms Walker's medical conditions, specifically a sinus infection and cervicogenic headaches, constituted "special circumstances" that made it impracticable for her to successfully complete the relevant assignments for her units of study. This required the Tribunal to consider the meaning of "impracticable" in the context of the relevant legislation and to assess whether the evidence established that her medical conditions rendered completion of the assignments impossible or not feasible.

The Tribunal reasoned that while Ms Walker's sinus infection and cervicogenic headaches were beyond her control and emerged after the census date, the critical question was whether these conditions made it impracticable to complete the final assignments. Drawing on previous Tribunal decisions, the Tribunal noted that "impracticable" implies a high bar, meaning "not able to be done." The Tribunal found that Ms Walker's own actions in enrolling in a heavy course load across multiple institutions while working full-time created a situation of stress and being overwhelmed before the census date. Although her medical conditions emerged after the census date, the evidence did not establish that these conditions alone rendered the completion of assignments impracticable, particularly as she had undertaken additional responsibilities in her employment in November 2021, suggesting she felt well enough to do so. The Tribunal also noted that the medical certificates indicated a fluctuating impact of her condition, varying on a daily basis.