Defer my offer

You may be eligible to defer commencement of your offered course for up to one year.

What deferral is

If you’ve received an offer to study but aren’t ready to start just yet, you may be able to defer – allowing you to delay the commencement of your course for up to one year. Deferral lets you secure your place while you take time for other commitments, such as travel, work or personal reasons. This page outlines how to request a deferral, which students and courses are eligible, key deadlines and what to consider before applying.

Deferral guidelines

You must submit your deferral request online before your earliest subject census date. If the census date has passed, you cannot defer. Instead, you must withdraw from your subjects to discontinue your course. Withdrawing after census dates incurs a fee and will be noted on your academic transcript and statements. For more information, visit the Census dates, Subject withdrawal and Course withdrawal pages.

Before applying to defer, check the eligibility details, deferral request deadlines, and turnaround times for your offered course. Please note that:

  • You must set up your student account to defer
  • Some courses do not offer deferral options
  • Deferrals are not automatically granted
  • If approved, you cannot undertake any other tertiary study during your deferral period.

You will be notified of the outcome of your deferral request by email. If your deferral request is not approved, you can commence your studies in the originally offered intake period, or withdraw from your course and reapply when you are ready to begin your studies.

Apply to defer

Apply to defer

Please note: A new, easier-to-use deferral form launched on 19 March. If you have already submitted a request on the old form, you do not need to resubmit a new form.

Deferral eligibility

Undergraduate domestic students

Refer to the list below to check which undergraduate courses do not offer deferrals, or only offer limited deferrals.

  • Biomedicine, Biomedicine (Graduate Degree Packages) and Biomedicine (Chancellor’s Scholars Program) deferrals are reviewed individually. Deferral requests should include as much detail as possible, including any compassionate or compelling reasons to defer.
  • Music and Music (Chancellor’s Scholars Program) deferrals, for the Performance major, are available for six months only. Deferrals are not available for any other majors in Music and Music (Chancellor’s Scholars Program) courses.
  • Oral Health does not offer deferrals due to the high demand for places in the course. The Bachelor of Oral Health has a single intake each year. If you're unable to commence study in Semester 1, or are considering a gap year, you may want to reassess your course preferences or plan to reapply for the following year's intake.
  • Fine arts (all streams) and Science (Extended only) do not offer Semester 2 (mid-year intake) deferrals.
All other undergraduate courses currently consider deferral applications for both Semester 1 (start-year intake) and Semester 2 (mid-year intake).

Undergraduate international students

For international undergraduate students, all deferral requests are considered individually based on information provided in your deferral request and the status of your course application/course acceptance at the time of your deferral request.

  • If you currently have a Conditional course offer, your request to defer will be considered on the basis of the information that you provide in the deferral application – please click the ‘Apply to defer’ link below to submit your online deferral request.
  • If you currently have an Unconditional course offer, your deferral request will be considered on the basis of the information that you provide in your deferral request and on the status of your course application/your progression through the acceptance and enrolment process:
    • If you have already accepted your Unconditional offer and received your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), a deferral can only be approved if you demonstrate that there are compassionate or compelling reasons to defer commencement of your studies. For more information, refer to the University’s webpage about compassionate or compelling circumstances.
    • If you have received your CoE and feel that your reasons for requesting a deferral are compassionate or compelling, please click the ‘Apply to defer’ link below to submit your online deferral request, noting that supporting documentation may be required.
    • If your application for deferral is granted, your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) will be updated to reflect your new commencement date after you have accepted your new offer. For more information, please refer to the ‘Will I receive a new offer letter or a new Confirmation of Enrolment?' frequently asked question (FAQ) below.

Graduate coursework domestic students

All deferral requests for domestic graduate coursework students are assessed by the relevant graduate school. Some graduate schools require that you apply for a deferral before the offer lapse date indicated in your course offer letter. Other graduate schools allow you to request a deferral at any time before the earliest census date for any of your first semester’s subjects.Commencing students who are considering a course deferral are advised to contact admissions staff at the relevant graduate school to discuss the possibility of deferral before submitting a request.
Please note:

  • Some graduate coursework programs, such as the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, do not offer deferral options at all
  • If you defer commencement of a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) in a graduate course, it is not guaranteed that this fee type will be rolled over to your deferred place in a future intake. Deferral of CSPs is at the discretion of the relevant graduate school and is impacted by the availability of CSPs in future intakes*.
    • *Graduate Degree Package (GDP) holders will retain a CSP for up to 12 months after successfully completing their undergraduate degree, provided they have met the conditions for the GDP.

Graduate coursework international students

For international graduate students all deferral requests are considered individually, on the basis of information provided in your deferral request and the status of your course application/course acceptance at the time of your deferral request:

  • If you currently have a Conditional course offer, your request to defer will be considered on the basis of the information that you provide in the deferral application – please click the ‘Apply to defer’ link below to submit your online deferral request.
  • If you currently have an Unconditional course offer, your deferral request will be considered on the basis of the information that you provide in your deferral request and on the status of your course application/your progression through the acceptance and enrolment process:
    • If you have already accepted your Unconditional offer and received your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), a deferral can only be approved if you demonstrate that there are compassionate or compelling reasons to defer commencement of your studies. For more information, refer to the University’s webpage about compassionate or compelling circumstances.
    • If you have received your CoE and feel that your reasons for requesting a deferral are compassionate or compelling, please click the ‘Apply to defer’ link below to submit your online deferral request, noting that supporting documentation may be required.
    • If your application for deferral is granted, your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) will be updated to reflect your new commencement date after you have accepted your new offer. For more information, please refer to the ‘Will I receive a new offer letter or a new Confirmation of Enrolment?' frequently asked question (FAQ) below.

Graduate researchers

If you are a graduate research candidate who wishes to discuss options for deferring the commencement of your candidature, please contact the graduate research administrator for your graduate school or faculty.

  • For international graduate research candidates all deferral requests are considered individually, on the basis of information provided in your deferral request and the status of your course application/course acceptance at the time of your deferral request:
    • If you currently have a Conditional course offer, your request to defer will be considered on the basis of the information that you provide in the deferral application – please click the ‘Apply to defer’ link below to submit your online deferral request.
    • If you currently have an Unconditional course offer, your deferral request will be considered on the basis of the information that you provide in your deferral request and on the status of your course application/your progression through the acceptance and enrolment process:
      • If you have already accepted your Unconditional offer and received your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), a deferral can only be approved if you demonstrate that there are compassionate or compelling reasons to defer commencement of your studies. For more information, refer to the University’s webpage about compassionate or compelling circumstances.
      • If you have received your CoE and feel that your reasons for requesting a deferral are compassionate or compelling, please click the ‘Apply to defer’ link below to submit your online deferral request, noting that supporting documentation may be required.
      • If your application for deferral is granted, your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) will be updated to reflect your new commencement date after you have accepted your new offer. For more information, please refer to the ‘Will I receive a new offer letter or a new Confirmation of Enrolment?' frequently asked question (FAQ) below.

Frequently asked questions

  • All deferral applications are considered individually – please refer to the information above, as relevant to your citizenship type and study level.

    Domestic students: If your request to defer is approved, you will be advised by email. You will not be required to complete your administrative or subject enrolment until you return from your period of approved deferral.

    International students: See the ‘Will I receive a new offer letter or a new Confirmation of Enrolment?’ FAQ below.

    If your deferral request is not approved, you will need to either commence studying on the original start date that you have been offered or reapply at a later stage when you are ready to commence your studies.

  • The University defines compassionate or compelling reasons as circumstances that are generally beyond your control, and which have had an impact upon your course progress or wellbeing.

    For more information, refer to the University’s webpage about compassionate or compelling circumstances.

  • Domestic students: If your request to defer commencement of your studies is successful, you will be contacted by email prior to your new start date with information about accepting your deferred offer and commencing your studies.

    International students: See the ‘Will I receive a new offer letter or a new Confirmation of Enrolment?’ FAQ below.

  • You have up to 12 months following the completion of your undergraduate study at the University of Melbourne to commence the graduate course you have been guaranteed a conditional place in.

    Note that 12 months is the maximum time that you can take and still maintain eligibility for your Graduate Degree Package.

    If you are deferring a Graduate Degree Package, you must not commence other higher education studies prior to starting your deferred package.

    After 12 months, or if further study has been undertaken, entry to the graduate professional entry degree is no longer guaranteed, and your application will be considered as part of the general applicant pool.

    • If you have deferred commencement until the Semester 1 (start year) intake: You will be contacted by the end of November in the preceding year.
    • If you have deferred commencement until the Semester 2 (mid-year) intake: You will be contacted by the end of May.

    To avoid missing important emails, please ensure that your email address is current. Please ensure you are regularly checking your emails for important updates. We advise you to use a personal email account (for example, Gmail) and not a high school or work email account.

    How do I check and update my email address?

    You can check and update your email address via my.unimelb. For more information, see our ‘how do I update my contact details?’ FAQ.

    If you need assistance please call Stop 1 @ 13 MELB (13 6352) and select option 2.

  • If you have been made an offer for a place at the University of Melbourne, you can request to defer commencement of your course for up to 12 months. Once your deferral period has ended you may have the opportunity to apply to extend the deferral period as appropriate.

    If you're a domestic undergraduate student and have deferred your studies to work towards gaining independent status under Youth Allowance eligibility criteria, you may be permitted to extend a deferral period by six months or 12 months. The period of extension will depend on your preference and the structure of the course that you hold an offer for.

  • If your request to defer is approved and you are an international student:

    Offer Offer letter issued by email

    Unconditional

    You will receive a new unconditional offer letter listing your new start date.

    Places in the program may be limited. If the limit is reached before you accept the program and pay the tuition deposit, the deferred offer will no longer be valid and will automatically lapse. We recommend that you accept and pay the tuition deposit for your deferred unconditional offer as soon as possible to secure your place. We may also withdraw the deferred offer at any time by notice to you.

    Conditional

    You will receive a new conditional offer letter listing your new start date.

    Places in the program may be limited and you are encouraged to submit your documentation in order to meet offer conditions as soon as possible. Please be aware that places may be full by the time you submit your final required documents, and we may not be able to issue an unconditional offer. If the limit is reached before you accept the program and pay the tuition deposit, the deferred offer will no longer be valid and will automatically lapse. We may also withdraw the deferred offer at any time by notice to you.

    If your request to defer the commencement of your studies is approved for reasons not considered compassionate or compelling, and you have already been issued a Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE), your CoE will be cancelled and re-issued to reflect your new commencement date. You will need to submit your new acceptance agreement before your CoE is re-issued. Please note that if you are currently residing in Australia on a student visa and you are not continuing studies at the University of Melbourne, you will need to depart Australia or make other visa arrangements with the Department of Home Affairs within 28 days of the cancellation of your CoE, or by your visa expiry date (whichever date is earliest). For information about your visa options please contact Home Affairs on 131 881 or visit the Department of Home Affairs website.

    Where your deferral is deemed as being due to compassionate or compelling reasons, we will record this on your existing CoE and provide you with an updated CoE with new start and end dates after you have submitted your new acceptance agreement. If you have already been granted a student visa, your visa will remain valid during your period of deferral, and you may remain in Australia.

  • If your request to defer the commencement of your studies is approved, you will be sent updated offer information – together with instructions about accepting your offer and commencing your enrolment – ahead of the intake that you will now commence studying in. Please refer to the ‘When will I be contacted about my return from deferral?’ FAQ above.

  • You are not permitted to undertake other tertiary study during your deferral period. If you do so, your offer will be reassessed and this may impact your eligibility. This may result in your offer being rescinded.

    If your offer is deemed valid, no credit will be granted for study done whilst on deferral, as per section 4.17 d) of the University of Melbourne’s Credit, Advanced Standing and Accelerated Entry Policy (MPF1293).

  • If you have also been offered a place in a University of Melbourne concurrent diploma, you must decline this offer (or withdraw from the diploma, if you have already accepted the offer) if your request to defer your main degree is approved. Concurrent diploma studies must be undertaken at the same time as your degree, so you cannot commence the diploma while on an approved period of deferral from your main degree. It is also not possible to defer commencement of a concurrent diploma – you will need to reapply for the diploma when you are ready to commence studying your main degree.

  • Check your scholarship offer letter for deferral details, or submit an enquiry if you require assistance.

  • Once the offer lapse date passes, your offer is cancelled and no longer valid. You will then need to re-apply for the next intake you wish to study in.

Need help with your offer?

Submit an online enquiry to Stop 1.

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