Exceptional circumstances

Exceptional circumstances or exceptional situations are the conditions required to grant additional powers to a government agency, particularly a government leader or a judge, 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 payments for farmers known as "Exceptional Circumstances Relief Payments" or ECRP. It is similarly used in the law of the United States, particularly in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
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 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 loans 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:
United States.
In the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) of the United States, "[t]he term 'exceptional circumstances' refers to exceptional circumstances (such as battery or extreme cruelty to the alien or any child or parent of the alien, serious illness of the alien, or serious illness or death of the spouse, child, or parent of the alien, but not including less compelling circumstances) beyond the control of the alien." Some authoritative sources refer to the term as "extraordinary circumstances" or "extraordinary situations." 
It is well-established that, whether in criminal proceedings or in removal proceedings under the INA, miscarriages of justice manifestly constitute "exceptional circumstances" in the United States. In addition to a miscarriage of justice, a fraud upon the court similarly constitutes an exceptional situation for the victim to request an appropriate relief against the perpetrator(s) of the fraud. This is especially true when the case involves an "outrageous governmental misconduct," which must be "so offensive that it shocks the conscience."
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.
References.
This article in most part is based on statutory and published case law.