Critical Incident Management - International Students Procedure

Policy code: ST889
Policy owner: Director of Student Services and Registrar
Approval authority: Chief Learner Experience Officer
Approval date: 07 February 2025
Next review date: 07 February 2028

Purpose
Scope
Legislative context
Definitions
Actions
Reporting missing International Students (Except where Police report as missing)
Reporting all other critical incidents
Monitoring/Follow-up of Critical Incidents
Additional actions in the event of a death
Record-Keeping
Public Relations
Supporting Documents
Responsibility
Promulgation
Implementation
Records management

Purpose

This procedure has been developed to articulate the University’s practices that apply to enrolled International Students in compliance with Standard 6 – Student Support Services of The National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018.

Standard 6 requires registered providers to have a documented critical incident procedure that specifies action to be taken in the event of a critical incident, required follow-up to the incident, and records of the incident and action taken.

The procedure recognises that in most cases international students do not have close family available to care and provide support to them in Australia. It is imperative that the University responds in a practised and timely way with any critical incident involving an international student so that:

  • Timely and regular information is relayed to families abroad in accordance with information privacy principles
  • Ongoing support is provided to a student in need, and
  • Comprehensive records are maintained.

Scope

This procedure applies to all critical incidents, as articulated below, that involve International Students enrolled at Federation University, which may include those studying online or offshore.

Legislative context

Definitions

Term Definition
Consent to report Explicit permission or request by the student affected to report an incident. Gaining consent is mandatory in all cases except where student does not have the capacity to consent, or where student is missing. 
Critical Incident A traumatic event, which is likely to cause extreme physical and/or emotional distress involving the University, its staff and/or students.
Crisis Incident Management Team The dedicated group within the University responsible for the strategic management of critical incidents. 
International Student A student enrolled in a Federation University unit or course under a Student Visa (Subclass 500). This includes students studying offshore where offshore study is approved by the University.
Missing Student

A student who has been:

  • Officially reported as missing to the Police; OR
  • Missing during off-campus University activities, after reasonable attempts have been made to locate and contact them; OR
  • Out of contact with University staff for 10 working days, after repeated attempts to contact them by phone and email, where a reasonable concern for their safety exists
Partner Provider Educational institution providing units and courses of the University through an approved Education Agreement. 
PRISMS Provider Registration and International Student Management System
Traumatic Event

May include, but is not limited to

  • a missing student (See ‘Missing Student’ above); 
  • any fatality or serious injury requiring emergency medical attention, or any threat of these; 
  • a serious traffic collision resulting in serious injury or death; 
  • physical / sexual assault or domestic violence, where this has caused fatality or severe psychological or physical trauma;
  • severe verbal or psychological aggression; 
  • fire resulting in death, significant injury or significant property loss; 
  • a hold up or attempted robbery resulting in death, significant physical or psychological injury, or significant property loss; 
  • serious threats of violence, and 
  • storms or natural disasters; 
  • serious physical or psychological illness;
  • drug or alcohol abuse resulting in hospitalisation or death;
  • being charged in relation to a criminal offence.
University Federation University Australia

Actions

Reporting missing International Students (Except where Police report as missing)

  Activity Responsibility Steps
A Attempting to contact the student Staff/Student making the report
  1. Attempt to make contact by phone and/or email as per ‘Missing Student' definition.
  2. Assess whether there are grounds for concern about the student’s safety.
B Reporting the student as missing Staff/Student making the report

Students:

  1. Report to International Student Advisory (or Partnercampus equivalent) immediately or the University’s Emergency Phone number (1800 333 732) out of hours.

Staff:

  1. Report to Director, Student Services and Registrar or Partner Provider equivalent, or the University’s Emergency Phone number (1800 333 732) out of hours in an emergency.
  2. Partner Provider staff to report incidents to Director, Student Services and Registrar.
C Determining action to be taken Director, Student Services and Registrar /Director, Partner Provider or equivalent/Crisis Incident Management Team
  1. Consider the details and severity of the incident and determine what action needs to be taken.
  2. If the incident is not severe and can be resolved with resources available, initiate action to ensure the appropriate level of support is provided. Partner Provider will forward a report of the incident to the Director, Student Services and Registrar within 5 working days.
  3. If the incident is severe and warrants a level of support/assistance from external resources, initiate action to arrange that support.
D Reporting to the Crisis Incident Management Team Director, Student Services and Registrar / Director, Partner Provider or equivalent Notify Crisis Incident Management Team Lead to determine if the matter should be escalated to the Crisis Management Team for action and oversight.
E Reporting to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as required for Australia Award recipients International Student Advisory Report Critical Incident through OASIS.

Reporting all other critical incidents

  Activity Responsibility Steps
A Reporting incident Staff/Student making the report

Students: Report to International Student Advisory (or campus equivalent) or the University’s Emergency Phone number (1800 333 732) out of hours.

Staff: Report to Director, Student Services and Registrar or Partner Provider equivalent, or the University’s Emergency Phone number (1800 333 732) out of hours in an emergency.
B Determining action to be taken Director, Student Services and Registrar, Director, Partner Provider or equivalent/Crisis Incident Management Team
  1. Consider the details and severity of the incident and determine what action needs to be taken.
  2. If the incident is not severe and can be resolved with resources available, initiate action to ensure the appropriate level of support is provided. Partner Provider will forward a report of the incident to the Director, Student Services and Registrar within 5 working days.
  3. If the incident is severe and warrants a level of support/assistance from external resources, initiate action to arrange that support.
C Reporting to University Crisis Incident Management Team Director, Student Services and Registrar/ Manager, Global Professional Services Notify Crisis Incident Management Team coordinator to determine if the matter should be escalated to the Crisis Management Team for action and oversight.
D Reporting to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as required for Australia Award recipients Scholarships Department Report Critical Incident through OASIS.

Monitoring/Follow-up of Critical Incidents

 
  Activity Responsibility Steps
A Monitoring condition of student(s) affected International Student Advisory or equivalent service
  1. Liaise with student(s) or authorised contact, police or other services as required to monitor status of incident.
  2. Collect only relevant information for handling of incident.
  3. Report to Director, Student Services and Registrar as required.
B Liaising with students’ family Crisis Incident Management Team Where student is in critical condition, or has requested their family be notified, Crisis Management team (in consultation with partner provider if relevant) will nominate a single point of contact for all family liaison.
C Coordinating provision of University-based supports/resources International Student Advisory or equivalent service
  1. Conduct needs-assessment of other University supports/resources - in conjunction with student where practical.
  2. Facilitate referrals to/liaise with other services and/or provision of resources as required.
  3. Case-manage student access to services/resources.
D Liaising with police and/or other emergency services Director, Student Services and Registrar/Director, Partner Provider or their nominee Act as single point of contact between the University and Emergency Services.
E Advising and assisting family members with travel and accommodation arrangements as required to support the student Director, Student Services and Registrar/Director, Partner Provider
  1. With consent from student, liaise with family members wishing to travel to support student.
  2. Assist family with travel arrangements if travelling from overseas.
  3. Provide on-campus accommodation (where appropriate) at no cost.

Additional actions in the event of a death

  Activity Responsibility Steps
A Follow University Deceased Student Procedure All staff

Ensure that all actions follow the University Deceased Student Procedure including the following:

  • Appointing a Case Manager
  • Notification
  • Verification of Death
  • Communication
  • Academic Status
B Coordinating repatriation of body Appointed Case Manager Coordinate the repatriation of the body and personal effects in line with the family’s wishes and in accordance with Australian regulations.
C Coordinating support for other students affected Director, Student Services and Registrar/ Director, Partner Provider or their nominee
  • Ensure that appropriate levels of pastoral care, mental health and other relevant supports are made available to students who may be affected by the death.
  • Ensure that supports are accessible, and that students understand how to access additional 24/7 support
D Reporting to Department of Home Affairs Coordinator, International Student Compliance Report death of student through PRISMS.

Record-Keeping

  Activity Responsibility Steps
A Keeping accurate and timely records of all actions relating to critical incident All staff involved in Critical Incident Record all notes within 48 hours of action using approved, secure University system in line with Records Management Procedure, e.g: Point and Click, CRM, FDL as appropriate.
B Maintain Critical Incident Register Crisis Incident Management Team Coordinator Ensure details captured in central critical incident register within 24 hours of notification.
C Disposal of records All staff involved in Critical Incident Dispose of records in line with University Records Management Procedure.

Public Relations

  Activity Responsibility Steps
A Making public comment on critical incident Vice-Chancellor (or their nominee) Where the circumstances of a critical incident involving an international student/s is considered to have some public relations implication, the Vice-Chancellor or nominee, as indicated in the Critical Incident Plan is the only authorised spokesperson to speak to media representatives on behalf of the University.

Supporting Documents

Responsibility

  • Chief Learner Experience Officer, as the Approval Authority, is responsible for monitoring the implementation, outcomes and scheduled review of this procedure.
  • Director, Student Services and Registrar, as the Document Owner, is responsible for maintaining the content of this procedure as delegated by the Chief Learner Experience Officer.

Promulgation

This procedure will be communicated throughout the University community via :

  • A FedNews announcement and on the ‘Recently Approved Documents’ page on the University’s Policy Central website.
  • Notification to Institutes, Centres and Directorates.

Implementation

This procedure will be implemented throughout the University via:

  1. A FedNews announcement and on the ‘Recently Approved Documents’ page on the University’s Policy Central website.
  2. Staff induction sessions.
  3. Training sessions.

Records management

Document title Location Responsible officer Minimum retention period
All case notes relating to Critical Incidents Approved University systems including SharePoint All staff 7 years
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Standard 6 - Student Support Services 
 Student Support and Orientation for International Students Procedure


Policy Glossary

Approval Authority: Chief Learner Experience Officer Original Issue 28/08/2008
Policy Sponsor: Director of Student Services and Registrar Current Version: 07/02/2025
CRICOS Provider Number 00103D Review Date: 07/02/2028
TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12151 Provider Category: Australian University
RTO Code 4909 Policy Code ST889