--- sourceDocument: Australia Governance, Risk, and Compliance sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/governance-risk-compliance Release : - australia ft:locale : - en-US ft:publication_title : - Australia Governance, Risk, and Compliance ft:clusterId : - grc bundleId : - grc workflow : - Technology --- # Delegation # Delegation in Smart Assessment Engine {#ariaid-title1} Release version: Australia Updated September 3, 2026 ![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 2 minutes to read Summarize ![AI sparkle icon](https://servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ai-sparkle-icon) Summarized using AI This content was generated using new OpenAI-powered functionality. Results are provided on an as is basis and are not guaranteed to be accurate or complete. ## Summary of Delegation in Smart Assessment Engine Delegation in the Smart Assessment Engine enables a user to designate another user to act on their behalf for specific assessment actions during a defined time period. This ensures continuity of work when the original responder or requestor is unavailable, preventing workflow delays. The feature leverages the standard ServiceNow platform delegate functionality and is available from Australia Patch 2 onwards. Show full answer Show less ## How Delegation Works * A user adds a delegate via their user profile under the Assignments option, setting a start and end date for the delegation period. * During this period, the delegate can perform actions on the user's Smart Assessments according to the roles and permissions assigned. * Delegation at the user level requires that the assessment category also has delegation enabled by an assessment administrator. * Delegation differs from section-level collaboration, which assigns contributors to specific sections rather than whole assessments. ## Delegate Actions by Role * **Owner's delegate:** Can respond to and submit assessments. * **Requestor's delegate:** Can cancel, reassign assessments, and edit due dates while assessments are open. * **Contributor's delegate:** Can respond to questions within the contributor's assigned scope. **Important:** Delegation extends the ability to act on assessments but does not grant new roles. Delegates must already possess the necessary Smart Assessment roles (e.g., Assessment actor role) to perform delegated actions. ## Visibility and Tracking Delegated assessments appear in the delegate's assignment list, making delegation transparent. All actions taken by the delegate, such as submitting or canceling assessments, are recorded against the delegate's user record for clear auditability. Delegation lets another user act on your assessments on your behalf for a set period, so work doesn't stall when a responder or requestor is unavailable. ## Delegation overview {#delegation-in-sae__section_delegation_overview} In an assessment, some actions can be done only by specific people: only the owner can submit, and only the requestor or an assessment admin can cancel or reassign. If that person is unavailable, their part of the workflow stalls. Delegation addresses this by letting a user name another user to act on their behalf for a defined time period. Note: This feature is available starting with Australia Patch 2. Delegation in the Smart Assessment Engine uses the standard ServiceNow platform delegate feature. A user adds a delegate on their user profile, selects the Assignments option, and sets a start and end date. During that period, the delegate can act on the user's Smart Assessments. For the steps, see [Set up a delegate for your assessments](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/DZWuSRBBsb3H6jgPGEk3GQ "Name another user to act on your Smart Assessments on your behalf for a set period."). Important: This delegation is different from the granular, section-level delegation used in collaboration, where an owner assigns contributors to specific sections. For section-level access, see [Collaboration in assessments](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/yIaHj6w8llDRrZ8Pxb1rBQ "Collaboration in Smart Assessment Engine enables you to add multiple contributors to an assessment and support live collaboration with real-time updates. It also displays presence indicators to show who is active on the assessment."). ## Enabling delegation for a category {#delegation-in-sae__section_delegation_enable} Delegation is turned off by default and is enabled for each template category. An assessment administrator can enable it, for more information see [Create an assessment template category](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/g5~UJpVWKj5qbY5jPq8YoQ "Create an assessment template category in the Smart Assessment Engine application so that you can organize and grant access to the assessment templates that are related."). Enabling delegation at the category level isn't enough on its own. Each user must also add a delegate and select the Assignments option on their own user profile before delegation works on their assessments. For the user-level steps, see [Set up a delegate for your assessments](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/DZWuSRBBsb3H6jgPGEk3GQ "Name another user to act on your Smart Assessments on your behalf for a set period."). ## Delegate actions by role {#delegation-in-sae__section_delegation_rights} A delegate inherits the ability to act in place of the user who delegated to them, based on that user's role in the assessment: * A delegate of the **owner** can respond to and submit the assessment. * A delegate of the **requestor** can cancel and reassign the assessment, and edit its due date while it's in the open state. * A delegate of an **assessment contributor** or **section contributor** can respond to questions within that contributor's scope. {#delegation-in-sae__ul_delegation_rights} Note: Delegation extends what a user can do on specific assessments; it doesn't grant roles. A delegate must independently have the Smart Assessment role that the action requires. For example, to submit an assessment on someone's behalf, the delegate must also have the Assessment actor \[sn_smart_asmt.actor\] role. ## Delegation visibility {#delegation-in-sae__section_delegation_experience} Delegation is transparent. During the delegation period, the assessments that a user can act on for others appear in the delegate's assignment list, and the delegate works on them as usual. Actions the delegate takes, such as submitting or canceling, are recorded against the delegate.