Deceased Student Procedure

Policy code: ST2021
Policy owner: Director, Student Services and Registrar
Approval authority: Chief Learner Experience Officer
Approval date: 07 April 2025
Next review date: 07 April 2028

Purpose
Scope
Legislative Context
Definitions
Actions
1. Appointing a Case Manager
2. Notification
3. Verification of the death
4. Communication
5. Academic Status
6. Federation Living Students
7. Students of Partner Providers
Supporting Documents
Responsibility
Promulgation
Implementation
Records Management

Purpose

To enable the University to respond in a timely, sensitive and compliant way to the death of a student, whilst endeavouring to minimise distress to the student’s next of kin, fellow students, and staff.

Scope

This procedure applies to all Federation University students and staff and covers student death for the duration of their enrolment at Federation University, including periods of Leave from Studies and lecture breaks. For International Students, this also includes any periods of their student visa where this is outside of the length of their Confirmation of Enrolment. This procedure (or parts of) can be enacted when the University receives notification of the death of a former student.

Legislative Context

  • Federation University Australia Academic Regulations
  • Federation University Australia (Academic) Regulations
  • Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic)
  • Standard 6 – Student Support Services:  National Code of Practice for Providers of Education and Training to Overseas Students 2018
  • The Tertiary Education Quality and StandardsAgency Act 2011 (TEQSA Act)

Definitions

A complete list of definitions relevant to this procedure is contained within the Policy Glossary.

A further list of definitions specifically relevant to this procedure is included below:

Term Definition
Case Manager A Federation University staff member appointed by the Chief Learner Experience Officer to lead and direct all actions pertaining to the death (or reported death) of a student.
Crisis Management Incident Register The University’s central repository for all record-keeping in relation to crisis management.
Crisis Management Team A University department with overall responsibility for managing critical incidents and crises involving the University, its staff and students.
Partner Contact Officer A designated member of staff at a Partner Provider to whom the Case Manage may delegate certain responsibilities under this procedure.

Actions

1. Appointing a Case Manager

  Activity Responsibility Steps
A Appointing a Case Manager Chief Student Experience Officer (CLXO)
  1. Appoint a Case Manager to act in accordance with this policy.
    a) The CLXO will appoint the Director of Student Services and Registrar as the Case Manager.

    Note: The Case Manager may delegate to designated Case Coordinator as approved by CLXO.

  2. If the student is a student of a Partner Provider, the Provider shall appoint a Partner Contact Officer, who will operate under the direction of the Case Manager.

2. Notification

  Activity Responsibility Steps
A. Notifying Police or Emergency Services

All Staff (including Partner Providers)

Security

Case Manager

All Staff (including Partner Providers)
  1. When a student dies on campus, Security must be notified immediately (1800 FED SEC). The Incident and Emergency Management Procedure otherwise applies.
  2. Security will coordinate emergency service response and notify the CLXO and Case Manager.
  3. In all cases, the Case Manager or CLXO must notify the Vice-Chancellor and Crisis Management Team Leader or Coordinator of the death as soon as possible.
  4. If death occurs off-campus, staff must contact Emergency Services (000), and notify their Dean/Director who will notify the Case Manager. Staff at Partner Providers must contact Emergency Services (000) and notify the Manager, Partner Relations, who will notify the Case Manager.
  5. Case Manager will make arrangements to contact deceased students next of kin in all instances that occur on/off campus.
B Where a staff member is notified of a student death by a third party All Staff
  1. Obtain the student’s name and student number.
  2. Obtain the name, contact phone number and relationship to the student of the person making the notification.
  3. Notify their Dean or Director (or for staff at Partner Providers the Manager, Partner Relations) who will notify CLXO, or the Case Manager, as soon as possible and within 1 day of the initial notification and forward to the Case Manager, all information obtained.

3. Verification of the death

  Activity Responsibility Steps
A. Verifying the death Case Manager
  1. The Case Managerwill take reasonable and sensitive steps to verify the death. This may include via:
    • A reliable source such as the student’s family;
    • Notification from an official government agency such as the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages;
    • A copy of the Death Certificate, Coroner’s Report or police report which explicitly indicates the student’s death;
    • A letter from a solicitor or executor of the deceased’s estate;
    • Death notice in the local newspaper; or
    • Other evidence as deemed appropriate by the Case Manager.
  2. The Case Manager will be the contact point for all external individuals/bodies and emergency services in the process of verifying the death.
  3. In the event that the student’s death cannot be verified, the Case Manager will instruct the Senior Manager, Registrar Services to halt all correspondence to the Student until such time as the death can be verified.
B Notifying the Crisis Management Team Case Manager The Case Manager will notify the Crisis Management Team
C Documenting student death in the Crisis Management Incident Registrar Crisis Management Coordinator

The Crisis Management Coordinator will document the student’s death in the Crisis Management Incident Register. This should be done within 24 hours of notification.

Note :

Applies for all students for the duration of their enrolment, including during approved Leave from Studies and University holidays, until graduation. 

For International Students this includes the entirety of the duration of their Confirmation of Enrolment and/or their student visa.

4. Communication

  Activity Responsibility Steps
A. Communicating with family Case Manager
  1. The Case Manager shall act as the point of contact with the deceased student’s family and coordinate all formal interactions.   
  2. The Manager, Corporate Communicationswill coordinate sending of letters of condolence from the University
B. Communicating with the media Crisis Management Team
  1. The Crisis Management Team will
  • Co-ordinate all external communications regarding the death; and
  • Ensure that all relevant staff and students are appropriately briefed as to how to direct and handle media enquiries.

Under no circumstances should staff (including Partner Providers) make any external comment or communication about the death without the express authority of the Crisis Management Team.
C. Notifying Student Records Case Manager/Others as indicated
  1. Following verification, or subject to Activity 3A above, the Case Manager will notify as soon as possible:
    1. Student Administration to:
      1. Send out a Deceased Student Memorandum to the parties listed in C.1.a-k .
      2. Add the deceased NSI to the student's enrolment record and change student course plan status to discontinued for active courses;
      3. Change student’s address and contact details to:  c/- Student Administration and  remove enrolments into subjects
      4. Tick the ‘No communication’ field on the student study plan in FDL
      5. Update the CRM student record to ‘deceased; to stop communications
    2. Director, Fed Services who will instruct the relevant School to remove the student from all class lists.
    3. The Senior Manager, Student Wellbeing, who will assist in notifying relevant staff and students about the availability of counselling and support services.
    4. The Director, University Library, who will:
      1. Update the relevant systems to ensure that no automatic requests or notifications are sent to the student;
      2. Use sound judgement and act sensitively in seeking to recover any outstanding library items, if deemed appropriate to do so.
    5. The Director, Information Technology Services, who will make the necessary arrangements in respect of the student’s email account, network access and the student's learning technology accounts. Student email account is deactivated automatically once student’s Campus Solutions profile is marked as deceased. After 90 days, the account is deleted.
    6. If the deceased student is a Federation University Living student, notify the Associate Director, Commercial Services and Technology Park. The procedure relating to the death of a student who was resident in University accommodation is set out below.
    7. The Head, Financial Operations, who will halt all bills, invoices and/or requests for payment pertaining to the student.
    8. The Manager, Advancement and Alumni, if the student is an alumnus.
    9. The Senior Manager, University Service & Contact Centre, who will direct:
      1. Calls from the media or public to the Corporate Communications Office;
      2. All other calls to the appointed Case Manager.
    10. If the deceased student is an International/Overseas Student, notify the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Global, Engagement and Quality and the Critical Incident Management - International Students Procedure also applies.
    11. If the deceased student is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander person notify the Aboriginal Education Centre. The Aboriginal Education Centre will request the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags to be flown half-mast if appropriate.

5. Academic Status

  Activity Responsibility Steps
A. Amending student’s record Student Administration
  1. The student’s recordwill be marked as ‘Deceased.’
  2. In cases where a deceased student has completed, or is close to completing, the requirements of their academicaward the University’s Posthumous (Coursework) Awards Procedure applies.

6. Federation Living Students

  Activity Responsibility Steps
A. Dealing with matters related to Federation University Living Case Manager
  1. Where the deceased student was a resident of University accommodation at the time of death, the Case Manager will:
    1. arrange for the collection and return of the student’s personal effects; and
    2. Ensure that an appropriate member of staff is available to escort the student’s representative to the student’s room in the event that they wish to collect the effects in person;
    3. Instruct the Associate Director, Commercial Services and Technology Parks to undertake any of the following steps as relevant:
      1. Lock and secure the student’s room;
      2. Where relevant, co-operate with police and ambulance services;
    4. Consult with the Senior Manager, Student Wellbeing, regarding the management of information to other student residents, and measures that may assist with the management of grief. This will include information about counselling for students and staff.

7. Students of Partner Providers

  Activity Responsibility Steps
A. Dealing with matters related to students enrolled at Partner Providers Partner Provider/others as indicated
  1. If the deceased student is enrolled at a Partner Provider:

Supporting Documents

Forms

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 Approval Authority.

Promulgation

This procedure will be communicated throughout the University community via:

1.    A FedNews announcement and on the ‘Recently Approved Documents’ page on the University’s Policy Central website.

2.    Distribution of e-mails to Deans and Directors group

3.    Distribution of emails to Partner Providers via the Manager, Global Professional Services

Implementation

This procedure will be implemented throughout the University via [delete or add to as appropriate]:

1.    A FedNews announcement and on the ‘Recently Approved Documents’ page on the University’s Policy Central website.

2.    Distribution of e-mails to Deans and Directors group

3.    Distribution of emails to Partner Providers via the Manager,  Global Professional Services

4.    Training of the Case Manager (including temporary appointments when Case Manager is on Leave) conducted by Crisis Management Team

5.    Staff induction sessions.

Records Management

DOCUMENT TITLE LOCATION RESPONSIBLE OFFICER MINIMUM RETENTION PERIOD
Records of all actions and decisions pertaining to this procedure by the Case Manager and Crisis Management Team, and records of all student deaths (including Partner Provider students, and deaths off-campus) Crisis Management Incident register. Crisis Management Coordinator 2 years
Deceased Student Procedure Checklist Crisis Management Incident Register Case Manager 2 years
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Policy Glossary

Approval Authority: Chief Learner Experience Officer Original Issue 15/02/2018
Policy Sponsor: Director, Student Services and Registrar Current Version: 07/04/2025
CRICOS Provider Number 00103D Review Date: 07/04/2028
TEQSA Provider ID: PRV12151 Provider Category: Australian University
RTO Code 4909 Policy Code ST2021