Exceptional circumstances are the conditions required to grant additional powers to a government agency or government leader so as to alleviate, or mitigate, unforeseen or unconventional hardship. The term is commonly used in Australia, where it has been applied in various contexts, most recognizably in relation to special consideration policies for students and

drought relief A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

payments for farmers known as ''Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payments'' or ECRP.

Australia

Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payments

The Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payments or ECRP program was established in 1992 and has continued in various forms since. It provides financial assistance to farmers considered to be experiencing exceptional circumstances. Eligibility is generally determined by geographic location; specific areas are considered to be experiencing worse-than-normal drought conditions and, as such, farmers in those areas qualify for assistance. Farm-dependent small businesses may also be eligible for assistance. In February 2009, the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government ...

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry announced that the payments would continue for an additional 12 months in 52 areas throughout Australia.

Exceptional Circumstances Interest Subsidy

The Australian Government has also established a program to provide low-interest

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

s via private financial institutions which receive a subsidy from the Government. The program is known as the Exceptional Circumstances Interest Subsidy support scheme. Qualification is based on terms (geographical location) set by the Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payments program.

Other Australian Government Departments

The term has been used in a range of other governmental contexts in Australia including, but not limited to: *The

Department of Health and Ageing The Australian Federal Department of Health and Ageing was an Government of Australia, Australian government Government department, department that existed between November 2001 and September 2013. The department was created after th ...

accreditation of

aged care Elderly care, or simply eldercare (also known in parts of the English-speaking world as aged care), serves the needs and requirements of senior citizens. It encompasses assisted living, adult daycare, long-term care, nursing homes (often call ...

facilities. *The Department of Immigration and Citizenship - visas,

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, a ...

and refugees.

Uses elsewhere

* The term has been used by various other governments in relation to unconventional circumstances where a

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

is required to make use of

reserve power In a parliamentary or semi-presidential system of government, a reserve power, also known as discretionary power, is a power that may be exercised by the head of state without the approval of another branch or part of the government. Unlike in ...

s. * The term is used in the ACM/

IEEE The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operat ...

Software Engineering Software engineering is a systematic engineering approach to software development. A software engineer is a person who applies the principles of software engineering to design, develop, maintain, test, and evaluate computer software. The term '' ...

Code of Ethics Ethical codes are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between right and wrong and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of bus ...

and Professional Practice.

Non-government

The term has also been used to refer to other extraordinary circumstances which might result in a person acting in a manner not ordinarily accepted as common practice, such as the circumstances described by Dr. Muhammad Hedayetullah in relation to the Islamic prayer, salat.Muhammad Hedayetullah - ''Dynamics of Islam: An Exposition''

References

This article in most part is based on

statutory A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

and

published Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, news ...

case law. {{DEFAULTSORT:Exceptional Circumstances Law of Australia Legal doctrines and principles