AIRS-J/1 · Appeals
Appeal a decision. It is free.
A candidate may appeal a certification-status decision, an access-support decision that affects access to assessment, or a suspension. The first appeal is free. A person who was not involved in the original decision or delivery reviews it.
The rules, as written
What the Standard says.
18.5 Appeal. A candidate may appeal a certification-status decision, an accommodation decision that affects access to assessment, or a suspension within 30 days. Appeals are reviewed by the appeals reviewer under Section 17 who was not involved in the original decision or delivery. The review considers the transcript, published anchors, relevant access-support record and applicable procedures. Outcome and reasoning are provided in writing. Appeal is free for the first instance.
18.6 Grounds for appeal are: misapplication of an anchor; an observation not supported by transcript evidence; a procedural failure under Sections 4, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 15; denial or material misapplication of an access support; an undisclosed assessor conflict; a material technical failure; or a localisation or translation defect capable of changing the construct-relevant demand. Disagreement with an anchor itself is not a ground for appeal; it is a comment on the Standard, and is routed to the review board.
How to appeal
- Write to AIR APAC within 30 days of the decision. Use the contact page or write to hello@airapac.org. Say which decision you are appealing and which ground in section 18.6 applies.
- AIR APAC acknowledges your appeal in writing within 3 working days.
- The appeals reviewer reads the transcript, the published anchors, the access-support record if there is one, and the applicable procedures.
- You receive the outcome and the reasoning in writing within 15 working days of the acknowledgement.
The appeals reviewer is a review board member, to be named. Until a reviewer is named, AIR APAC will tell you in the acknowledgement who is reviewing your appeal. The reviewer will not have been involved in the original decision or delivery (section 17). Disagreement with an anchor itself is not a ground for appeal. Send it as a comment on the Standard and it goes to the review board.
A complaint is a different route. See the complaints procedure.