How do I ask for access support?
A candidate who faces a barrier unrelated to what an AIRS-J/1 Assessment measures can ask AIR APAC for access support before the sitting. This page sets out when to ask, what to write, and what happens after the request is sent.
What access support is
AIR APAC's Standard, AIRS-J/1, defines access support in Section 3. Access support is "an approved adjustment to presentation, timing or response modality that removes a construct-irrelevant barrier without directing the candidate toward an assessed behaviour". In plain words, it removes a barrier that has nothing to do with what the Assessment measures. Under Section 7.1.1, access support "is not prompting" (it gives no hint toward the assessed behaviour). An approved support "is recorded in the transcript but imposes no level cap". In plain words, using a support does not limit the level a candidate can reach.
Before you write
- Ask at least 10 working days before your sitting.
- Late requests are still considered. Ask as early as you can.
- Send the request to AIR APAC, not to your employer. Use the contact page and choose the topic "Appeal, complaint or access support".
What to write
Say what support you need and why. You do not need to share a diagnosis. Share only what is needed to understand the request.
An example request
A fictional example
"I am due to sit an Assessment under AIRS-J/1, and I would like to ask for access support. I am asking for larger text on screen and extra time for reading. Long passages on a screen take me longer to read, and these two supports would remove that barrier."
Amirah Zulkarnain, candidate
The example names the support and the reason for it. It names no diagnosis and asks for no fixed amount of time. AIR APAC decides what is approved.
What happens next
- AIR APAC acknowledges the request within 3 working days.
- AIR APAC decides in writing, with reasons, within 5 working days of the request.
- The decision applies the test in Section 8.9. Approved supports "must preserve the construct, decision points, stakes profile and assessment integrity". In plain words, the Assessment still measures the same thing, at the same decision points and the same stakes, and keeps its integrity.
- An approved support is recorded under Section 7.1.1 and Annex C. It is arranged with the facilitator before your sitting.
AIR APAC monitors access-support requests, decisions and use. This information is "separated from scoring and reported only in aggregate" (Section 15.6).
If a support is denied, or not applied as approved
Section 18.6 names "denial or material misapplication of an access support" as a ground for appeal. Under Section 18.5, a candidate may appeal "an accommodation decision that affects access to assessment" within 30 days. The appeals procedure counts the 30 days from the decision. The review considers the relevant access-support record (Section 18.5). "Appeal is free for the first instance" (Section 18.5). The appeals procedure explains how to lodge an appeal.
For applicants and the employers who commission an Assessment
Where an employer commissions an Assessment of people applying for a role, each applicant is told before they start "how to ask for an access support" (Section 12.9). Hiring use opens in a market only once the access-support procedure and the applicant notice are published for that market (Section 12.9).
What this does not claim
- That every request is approved. Each request is decided on the test in Section 8.9.
- That a support changes what is assessed, or makes the Assessment easier on what it measures (Sections 7.1.1 and 8.9).
- That hiring use is open in any market. Section 12.9 sets the condition; this page does not say where it is met.
- That a request is shared with an employer, or how the information in it is stored or protected. Section 15.6, quoted above, covers monitoring and reporting only.
Register when you are ready
Judgment is how well a person decides once AI has given the answer. Access support exists so that a barrier unrelated to judgment does not change what an Assessment measures.
AIR APAC publishes the standard for judgment in AI-enabled work, certifies people against it through its official instrument, and stands behind every result.