Feedback, Complaints & Appeals

Feedback

Special requests, suggestions and feedback should be made in writing and may be submitted to the General Manager via the form on the Contact Us page of this website.

Complaints and Appeals

Complaints and appeals should be made in writing and addressed to the General Manager.

1. Summary of Policy and Procedures

Whilst every effort is made to conduct examinations strictly in accordance with published policies and procedures, there may be occasions when a teacher or candidate may wish to lodge a formal complaint about the conduct of an examination or appeal a result.

A complaint or appeal should be addressed to the General Manager of AMEB Victoria and must be lodged within fourteen days of the teacher or candidate’s receipt of the result for the particular examination. AMEB Victoria will follow established procedures for the proper management of complaints and appeals, and will endeavour to resolve any issues that are brought to our attention.

In cases where examiner behaviour and/or practical examination procedure is questioned, AMEB Victoria will offer three levels of appeal. Where an appeal is upheld, there shall be provision for a candidate’s result to be revised upwards by half a grading, or the offer of a complimentary re-examination within the next twelve months. AMEB Victoria will also accept requests for a written paper to be re-marked.

Complaints and appeals must be lodged in writing and the grounds for appeal should be clearly stated. After due consideration of the issues raised and consultation with AMEB examiners, supervisors and administrators, as appropriate, a written response will be provided to the complainant. Due to the nature of these procedures, it may take several weeks to finalise the matter and provide a final reply.

Note that AMEB Victoria’s policy and procedures for complaints and appeals apply only to AMEB examinations up to and including Associate level. Appeals relating to Licentiate and Fellowship examinations are the jurisdiction of the Federal Board.

2. General Complaints

There are four levels of complaint management:

(i) Complaints are initially addressed by the General Manager;

(ii) Issues which require further consideration may be referred to the Examinations Advisory Committee;

(iii) The Board of Directors may further consider matters of a legal and more serious nature;

(iv) Difficult issues requiring resolution may be referred to the Executive of the Board of Directors.

Where the complaint relates to examiner behaviour or incorrect examination procedure, the particular examiner shall be consulted, as appropriate. If an examiner is found to have been in error, the Chair of the Examinations Advisory Committee shall be notified accordingly. In cases where a candidate’s examination result may have been adversely affected by an examiner’s error, three levels of appeal shall be available to the candidate, as described below.

3. Appeals against Practical Examination Results

Appeals shall be considered in cases where it is claimed that there was:

• A procedural error on the part of the examiner;
  OR
• An apparent discrepancy between the examiner’s written comments and the result awarded, in relation to published criteria.

Appeals simply questioning the marks awarded without any specific grounds will not be accepted.

Three levels of appeal shall be available:

(i) The first level of appeal shall be to the General Manager. The General Manager will reach a decision after receiving the comments of the examiner(s). No fee will be payable.

(ii) The second level of appeal shall be to the Chair of the Examinations Advisory Committee. A fee of $50.00 per candidate will be payable. For an appeal involving more than five candidates, a maximum fee of $250 will apply.

(iii) The third level of appeal shall be to the Chair of AMEB Victoria, who will submit the appeal for review by an independent specialist who is not currently associated with AMEB Victoria as an examiner, employee or director of the company. An additional fee of $50.00 per candidate will be payable. For an appeal involving more than five candidates, a maximum fee of $250 will apply.

If an appeal is upheld, the outcome may be:

(a) Upward revision of the result by half a grading;
OR
(b) A voucher for a free re-examination within 12 months;
AND
(c) The appeal fee shall be refunded in full.

4. Appeals against Written results

A request may be made for a written examination to be re-marked, provided that an application in writing is lodged within fourteen days of the teacher or candidate’s receipt of the result for the particular examination. A review fee of 75% of the entry fee will be payable.

The paper shall be reviewed by the Chair of the State Specialist Advisory Panels for Theory, Musicianship and Music Craft or his/her appointed representative. A detailed written report shall be provided and the result may be adjusted. The revised result will be entered into the official records. If the examination receives a “pass” mark when the original mark was “fail”, the review fee shall be refunded in full.