M365 OneDrive Storage Quota Pilot

As part of the Microsoft 365 Storage Clean Up Project, UNSW IT are trialing a OneDrive storage quota pilot within ITU.

Commencing on 21 September, ITU professional staff will be included in a pilot introducing a 350 GB OneDrive storage quota.

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This is part of work to support more sustainable data storage practices in response to upcoming Microsoft licensing changes.

What’s Changing?

A 350GB OneDrive storage quota will apply to ITU professional staff
Staff already exceeding 280 GB (80% of the quota) are excluded from the pilot

What happens as staff approach their quota?

Once storage usage reaches 90%, staff will receive an email from SharePoint Online, desktop pop-up notifications and a banner notification when accessing OneDrive through the web browser. These notifications will prompt staff to review their OneDrive and remove duplicate or unnecessary files, and empty their recycle bin.
At 100% (quota reached), OneDrive becomes read-only. Existing files can still be viewed, downloaded, or deleted, but nothing can be uploaded, edited, or synced until usage is brought back under the limit.
Staff who still need more space after reviewing can request it via the Microsoft 365 Additional Storage Request form in Service Point.

What you need to do

No immediate action is required
Be aware of the pilot and your storage usage
Act on any automated notifications if received

For questions or support, contact the IT Service Centre.

FAQs

UNSW ITU will be participating in the OneDrive Storage Quota Pilot to support more sustainable data storage practices across UNSW. The pilot will begin in early September 2026 and run through to the end of September. Feedback gathered during this period will help inform any future changes. During this time ITU staff will be the first to trial a 350GB OneDrive storage quota. Please note staff already exceeding 280GB (80% of the quota) will be excluded from the pilot.

Piloting OneDrive storage quotas in ITU provides the opportunity to identify issues early and refine the approach before any potential broader rollout across the University. We’re also looking for feedback and to understand how the new quotas impact our staff. Starting with IT helps us gather more information to support the University in this transition.
A storage quota is the amount of storage you have available on your OneDrive account. Each document you create on OneDrive needs to be stored somewhere, and a storage quota determines how many documents or data sets you can store in one place.

A small number of users are using a large share of storage. Around 1% of users account for 41% of total storage and drive most of the additional cost. We want to address this storage challenge now while minimising disruption to current ways of working. To support this, the ITU pilot will introduce quotas while exempting high-storage users so existing business activities can continue without impact.

For ITU staff, the new quota will be 350GB.

350GB can hold approximately:

70 hours of HD video recordings
Over 3,000 hours of Audio
70,000 documents
The storage quota only applies to OneDrive and does not affect Exchange or Teams & Sharepoint. Files stored in Exchange, Teams and SharePoint are not counted towards your OneDrive quota.
OneDrive is for personal or non-project files only. For project related work, use Microsoft Teams & SharePoint, and RAMS for files that need to retained or archived.
You can view your current OneDrive storage directly from the OneDrive home page:

On the main page, look to the left-hand side panel and scroll to the bottom to view your usage

Click on the storage indicator to view more details, including viewing your largest files

This view shows both how much space you’re using and what’s taking up the most storage, helping you decide what you can safely clean up.
You will get three notifications when your storage reaches 315 GB (90% of your quota). These notifications will let you know that you’re close to the limit:

Online banner notification when accessing OneDrive through the web browser
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Email from noreply@sharepointonline.com with guidance
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Desktop pop-up notification
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If you receive a notification, please review your OneDrive and remove any duplicate, outdated or unnecessary files, and empty your recycle bin to free up additional storage space.

If you still need more space after reviewing your files, you can request additional storage via the Microsoft 365 Additional Storage Request form in Service Point.
When you reach your OneDrive storage limit, your existing files will remain, but some features will be restricted:

You will not be able to upload new files, create new documents, or edit existing files.
File synching will also stop, meaning any changes on your device won’t be uploaded to OneDrive.

To restore full access, you will need to reduce your storage by deleting any duplicate, outdated or unnecessary files. If you have already reviewed your files and still need more storage, you can request additional storage via the Microsoft 365 Additional Storage Request form in CASD.
If you require more storage for your role, you can request additional storage via the Microsoft 365 Additional Storage Request form in CASD. Once you log into CASD, you should see the following form:

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While completing the form, you will be asked to:

Outline why you need additional storage and what it will be used for
Attach supporting URLs or documents
Provide any additional explanation in the ‘Describe your Issue’ section

Once you have filled out the form, click on the blue Submit your Ticket button to submit your request. Once submitted, you will receive a confirmation email from ITU Service Centre (itservicecentre@unsw.edu.au). UNSW IT will review your request as soon as possible and provide approval or request further information via email.
No, your existing files in OneDrive will not be deleted or changed as part of this pilot. You will continue to have access to all your files. The only impact is on your available storage if you reach the quota.
No, collaboration in Microsoft Teams and SharePoint will continue as normal. These services are not affected by the OneDrive storage quota. You can continue to create, share, and work on files in Teams and SharePoint without impact.
It is recommended that you regularly review your OneDrive storage to help manage your usage and avoid reaching the quota. A good practice is to check your storage when you receive a notification, or periodically throughout the year, and remove any duplicated, outdated, or unnecessary files.
If you have any questions or would like to provide feedback, please email SMO@unsw.edu.au. A member of the team will be monitoring the inbox to ensure a timely response.

IT walk-in service centres

Upper Campus IT Hub - Room G06, D26 Biological Sciences Building (Next door to XS Cafe) (View on map)
Middle Campus IT Hub - G008, Ground Floor H13 Anita B Lawrence Centre (Formerly the Red Centre Building off University Mall) (View on map)
Paddington Campus IT Hub - Ground Floor, Block D, Paddington Campus (View on map)
UNSW Canberra ADFA Campus IT Hub - Ground Floor, Building 14, UNSW Canberra ADFA Campus (View on map)

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