Information for advisors

Primary Advisors, Chairs and Associate Deans, Research Education (ADREs) play an important role in preparing candidates for thesis submission, completing required reviews and supporting candidates through examination.

Your role is to:

• Complete assigned reviews and approvals promptly.
• Provide clear, constructive guidance to the candidate.
• Support the candidate through submission, examiner feedback and preparation for the oral examination.

Link to MyStudent Portal

The HDR Candidature Milestone Sequence

Every milestone evaluation moves along the same chain:

Before thesis submission

Complete the Pre-Completion Evaluation

The Pre-Completion Evaluation generally occurs around three months full-time equivalent before the candidate plans to submit.

Primary Advisors:

• Evaluate the candidate’s draft thesis. Log in to MyStudent Portal Student Management CiA and go to My Tasks, or click on the link in your email.
• Assess whether it can be ready for submission within three months.
• Provide comments where required.
• Support the candidate to address feedback and prepare for examination.

Chairs:

• Complete the Chair review after the Primary Advisor submits their evaluation.

ADREs:

• Complete the ADRE action after the Chair stage and before the workflow progresses to the Graduate Research School.

The workflow follows this order:

Candidate → Primary Advisor → Chair → ADRE → Graduate Research School.

Important: A Satisfactory Pre-Completion outcome automatically notifies the candidate. Other outcomes are handled separately and do not generate an automatic candidate email. An Inadequate or Unsatisfactory outcome requires a comment.

HDR Thesis Submission and Examination

Nominate external examiners

Examiner nominations should begin during Pre-Completion, while the candidate is finalising the thesis.

The Primary Advisor is responsible for commencing the Nomination of Examiners process. The form is available via a direct link in the email, or log into My Sutdent Portal Student Management CiA , go to Forms and locate the Nomination of Examiners form. Select Fill Out. This form can be accessed throughout candidature.

The Primary Advisor should:

• Identify recognised experts in the candidate’s field.
• Consider examiner independence.
• Submit the nominations early to help avoid examination delays.

The GRS finalise examiner nominations.

The Graduate Research School manages the formal examination process once the thesis is submitted.

Review the submitted thesis

Once the candidate submits the thesis in the MyStudent Portal, the following actions should be completed in the Student Management CiA workflow :

The candidate submits their thesis using the Thesis Submission Form in the MyStudent Portal.

How you will be notified

• Email notification when the thesis has been submitted.
• A task will appear in your Student Management CiA My Tasks  action list.

Select Fill Out to review the submission.

• The Primary Advisor reviews the submission.

• provides advice to the Graduate Research School regarding the candidate's readiness to proceed to examination.
• Following Advisor review, the thesis progresses to the Associate Dean, Research Education (ADRE) for approval to proceed to examination.
• No advisor action is required during this step unless contacted by the ADRE or GRS.
• The Graduate Research School processes the submission and prepares the thesis for examination.
• No advisor action is required during this stage unless additional information is requested by the GRS.

• Work with the GRS to address concerns where required.
• The Chair completes the next review in the workflow.
• The ADRE completes the assigned approval action.

• The Graduate Research School prepares the thesis for external examination.

Complete assigned workflow actions promptly to avoid delaying the candidate’s progression.

Thesis Examination

Following successful processing, the thesis moves to external examination.

External Examiner Review

External examiners review the thesis and submit their feedback and examination reports to the Graduate Research School.

No advisor action is required during this stage unless contacted by the GRS.

During external examination

• The Graduate Research School manages the examination and communication with external examiners.
• Advisors must not contact examiners before the oral examination begins. During this period, Advisors should continue supporting the candidate and help them prepare to discuss the thesis methodology, significance and limitations.

Respond to examination feedback

Following receipt of examiner reports, the Graduate Research School reviews feedback and shares it with relevant stakeholders, including the Primary Advisor.

When examiner reports are received, Advisors should:

• Review the feedback with the candidate.
• Help the candidate understand any required revisions.
• Agree on a plan and timeline for completing revisions.
• Prepare the candidate for the oral examination, where applicable.

Revisions and amendments are a normal part of the thesis examination process.

How you will be notified

• Communication from the Graduate Research School.
• Tasks may be assigned through Student Management CiA .

Oral Examination Scheduling

The Graduate Research School schedules the Oral Examination.

Advisors do not participate in the oral examination itself but may attend if invited by the candidate.

The Advisor’s key role is to help the candidate prepare to explain and defend their research, including its methods, findings, significance and limitations.

Approve Examination Outcome

Following completion of the Oral Examination, approvals progress through the relevant stakeholders. Advisors are one of the approval points in this stage.

Your responsibilities

• Review examination outcomes.
• Complete Advisor approval tasks when assigned.
• Work with the ADRE and Chair of Examination where required.


How you will be notified

• The Graduate Research School will coordinate the approval process and provide relevant notifications.