Exams and assessments are usually built around one standard way of working: sit down, read the questions, and answer within a set time. For some students, a disability or learning difficulty makes that standard format harder to work with, whether it affects concentration, processing speed, reading, writing, or physical access to the exam room. Reasonable adjustment is the term used across schools and universities for changes made to remove that barrier, without changing what’s being assessed.
What counts as a reasonable adjustment
A reasonable adjustment is a change to teaching, learning, or assessment that lets a student with disability or a learning difficulty take part on the same basis as everyone else. Schools and universities are required to provide them under national disability discrimination law, including the Disability Standards for Education, which applies to every education provider in the country. The purpose is to remove a barrier related to the disability, not to change what’s being tested.
Reasonable adjustments are usually set up in advance, based on an ongoing need, and stay in place across a term, semester, or course. That’s different to special consideration, which covers a one-off request made after something unexpected, like an illness or a family emergency, affects a specific assessment. If that’s closer to your situation, our guide to applying for special consideration covers that process instead.
How it works at school
At school, the first step is usually a conversation with a classroom teacher, learning support coordinator, or year level coordinator. Schools are required to look at each student’s individual needs and work out which adjustments would help them access the curriculum and show what they know, using evidence such as an educational assessment, a diagnosis, or documented observations from teachers over time.
Common adjustments at school level include:
- Extra time to complete an exam or assessment task
- A separate, quieter room to reduce distractions
- Use of a computer, word processor, or speech to text software
- A reader to read questions aloud, or a scribe to write down answers
- Modified exam papers, such as larger text or simplified wording
- Rest breaks during longer assessments
Raising this early, ideally at the start of a school year or term, gives schools time to put adjustments in place, particularly ahead of major exams.
How it works at university
University adds an extra step. Rather than a teacher arranging things directly, students usually need to register with the university’s disability or equity support service themselves, often before their course starts or early in first semester. A staff member in that service, sometimes called a disability advisor or disability practitioner, helps the student set up what’s usually called a learning access plan, setting out the adjustments that apply to their study.
From there, it’s the student’s responsibility to share that plan with each lecturer or unit coordinator, usually at the start of every semester or whenever they start a new subject. One arrangement at school often covers every class a student takes. At university, it has to be actioned subject by subject, and the plan can be reviewed and updated as those subjects change, since a prac-based unit might need different adjustments to one assessed purely by exam.
Any information a student shares about their disability is treated as confidential, and support services generally can’t pass it on to lecturers or other students without the student’s consent.
If you don’t have formal documentation
Formal adjustments usually rely on some form of documentation, but that’s not the only way to get support. Speaking up clearly about what’s making an assessment harder, sometimes called self-advocacy, can lead to informal adjustments from a teacher or lecturer without needing to disclose a diagnosis at all. This might look like asking for feedback on a draft before it’s submitted, checking you’ve understood a task correctly, or requesting a quieter spot to sit an in-class test.
Raising it early and being specific about what would help makes it easier for a teacher or lecturer to say yes. It also doesn’t rule out applying for formal adjustments later, if that becomes the right option.
Preparing for exam day
Whatever adjustments are in place, general exam preparation still matters. Getting familiar with the format in advance and practising under similar time pressure both help. A calm, distraction-free study space also makes a real difference, and our guide on building a study environment that actually helps you focus covers how to set one up. Tools like flashcards or a simple summary sheet can make information easier to recall under pressure, and reading through the whole paper before you start writing helps you plan your time instead of running out of it on the first section. For a full breakdown of how to prepare in the weeks and days before a big exam, see our guide on what to do in the last few weeks before a big exam.
Support is there to be used
Reasonable adjustments exist because a standard exam format doesn’t suit every student, and schools and universities are required to provide them where they’re needed. The process looks different at each stage, more arranged for you at school, more self-directed at university, but the same principle carries through: the adjustment removes a barrier, it doesn’t change what’s being assessed.
Note: information is accurate as of September 2026, but schools, universities, and government departments regularly update these processes, so check directly with your institution for the specifics.
If you’d like to read more on this topic, our resources for students with disability cover a wider range of support options.We also have heaps more study tips and resources for students with disability on our website.
