# Error message in online application (309)



## Liza (Mar 4, 2014)

Hello,

I hope someone can help me with this. I am getting this error message when entering data into two of the boxes for relationship details: "can only contain standard English alphabetic characters including numeric, whitespace and punctuation characters." I have read through my entries and cannot find anything that does not comply. Even when I clear the box and write in a single English work I am getting the same error message. The other three boxes are fine.

Thanks!


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## Liza (Mar 4, 2014)

PS I have logged off and back on twice to see if that would make a difference but it didn't.


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## Maggie-May24 (Jul 24, 2011)

I recall having issues entering responses at times. Copy/paste can cause issues as can some punctuation. I was usually able to get around it by going to the previous screen and then going back and trying again. I'm not sure what else to suggest other than seeing if DIBP has a technical support line you can call.


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## Engaus (Nov 7, 2013)

I had this error when I copied and pasted a paragraph in there. I had to remove it, save the application, go back a page and then enter the details again - but type them out. Maybe give that a go?


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## ikuyo (May 14, 2014)

I had the same error and tried pasting it into notepad first to remove formatting which usually works in those scenarios- but not this time. In the end, I retyped everything.


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## Liza (Mar 4, 2014)

Thanks for your responses.
I have tried to get back in to my account. I can login but as soon as I try to go to my application I am getting an error message. I have gotten a few different ones. One even said fatal error. The latest is:"This service is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later". Is this familiar at all? It has never happened to me before.


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## ikuyo (May 14, 2014)

I have seen the error where it won't progress past a certain screen on the application. It sort of lags out and comes back with a message about the system being unavailable. I just tried again a few hours later and system was back. If you're getting an error like that try it a bit later in the day. They definitely need to do some perfecting on their online version of the app.


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## Liza (Mar 4, 2014)

Thanks ikuyo. I will try again tomorrow.


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## dmuk (Aug 31, 2014)

I was having the exact same problems. I tried other browsers and computers and got the same errors.

The problem seems to be caused by using an invalid character in any of the fice text fields. *The character in question is an apostrophe (').* You can try using another character or simply using a space ( ).

Even after correcting the error it may still show you an error message. Try going to the previous page and then forward (using the form buttons).

This seemed to work for me. Hopefully the Aussie Government don't reject the form due to poor grammar!

I am going to write them an email and get a reference number just in case there are problems down the line.


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## shimul (Nov 20, 2012)

I just removed the apostrophe (') and in one answer and it worked. I didn't have to write the whole thing again. Just copied from my written word file. Thanks dmuk


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## dmuk (Aug 31, 2014)

Solved one problem and found another.

I cannot submit my application (final step) as keep getting an 'unexpected error' when I confirm my application for submission.

Hoping it is just a Sunday error and will retry tomorrow.


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## IndyMama (Jul 13, 2014)

I had some success doing a "plain text" paste from a word doc, but ended up retyping most of my answers directly into the webform. Troublesome and a waste of time, but it's what had to be done to get past the error messages.


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## IndyMama (Jul 13, 2014)

shimul said:


> I just removed the apostrophe (') and in one answer and it worked. I didn't have to write the whole thing again. Just copied from my written word file. Thanks dmuk


I wish I'd known that! I hope other people read this thread before they get all frustrated like I did


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## dmuk (Aug 31, 2014)

dmuk said:


> Solved one problem and found another.
> 
> I cannot submit my application (final step) as keep getting an 'unexpected error' when I confirm my application for submission.
> 
> Hoping it is just a Sunday error and will retry tomorrow.


So finally submitted the application this morning. The 'unexpected error' didn't appear. However could not pay with my Mastercard Credit Card as received a 'declined' message each time. Ended up using a Visa Debit Card.

Note that card surcharges apply and there is no other option for 309's but paying by card.

Good luck to others!


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## shimul (Nov 20, 2012)

Just submitted.

Dash (-) doesn't work either. I had to get rid of all the dash (-) and apostrophe (') before final submission.


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## TaniaTM (Feb 26, 2014)

An easy tip to get rid of all special character is to copy/paste your text in a notepad for windows or TextEdit for mac and run the find and replace command on the entire doc, which should be easier than manually going over long statements.


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## missnoir (Sep 5, 2014)

shimul said:


> I just removed the apostrophe (') and in one answer and it worked. I didn't have to write the whole thing again. Just copied from my written word file. Thanks dmuk


This also worked for me.


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## LizBee (Jul 18, 2013)

Liza said:


> Hello,
> 
> I hope someone can help me with this. I am getting this error message when entering data into two of the boxes for relationship details: "can only contain standard English alphabetic characters including numeric, whitespace and punctuation characters." I have read through my entries and cannot find anything that does not comply. Even when I clear the box and write in a single English work I am getting the same error message. The other three boxes are fine.
> 
> Thanks!


We got this error several times. It happened when:
1. we had written our evidence in a Word doc and then copy-pasted into the online application. Once we typed it out it was fine. 
2. Try another computer if you have access to one. One of our laptops seemed to do this more than the other. 
3. Don't worry about the 'fatal' errors or 'system offline' errors - they happened to us often. It took us TWELVE hours to do our application online so be patient. 
4. Have you tried logging out and back in? The other thing to check is that your computer doesn't cache information - it might be caching this error message. I'm not sure what computer you are using but try googling "clear cache on a ____ [whatever your computer is]" and do it.

good luck!


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## Jane Joseph (Sep 24, 2012)

This error message was very frustrating. I cut and paste from notepad - didn't work. I deleted *'* and* -* to no avail so I left them in.

I saved it and logged out and like magic, I was able to move on!


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## Alyonka (Sep 20, 2015)

I had the same problem. Just retyped all text and it solved the problem.


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