The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) outbreak has impacted many of our alumni, and you are at the forefront of our minds at this difficult time. We want to express our sympathies and concern for you, our alumni community, and your family, friends and colleagues.

As you will be aware, the Australian Government has temporarily implemented travel restrictions for those arriving into Australia from mainland China. This has impacted many people in our community and has impacted our Chinese students particularly hard. 

Many of you will know students who are currently unable to join their peers in Melbourne.

We are facilitating delayed start dates, online learning, catch up arrangements and deferrals for affected students on a course-by-course basis to meet the varied needs of individuals.

The University has support teams who are reaching out to affected students to assist them with adjustments to their study programs, and we have made more than 11,000 calls so far to individual students to assist them in whichever way we can. If you or anyone you know are impacted, you can access up-to-date information on our student support page. 

Impacted students can also contact the University directly via our help centre Stop 1.

The University is following the expert advice of the Australian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), which is consistent with the Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer and Department of Health, and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) travel restrictions in relation to coronavirus. The University also receives advice from its own expert advisory panel.

The University is also working with an Australian network of laboratories and public health networks and all appropriate authorities, including deploying our expertise and resources within the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (a partner of the University of Melbourne), to assist with this global health issue.

As the situation develops, please visit the website for up-to-date information. We are thinking of our community of students, alumni and staff, and will continue to work collaboratively to support all those impacted.