Census dates

Every subject offered by the University has a census date. It’s important to be aware of your subjects’ census dates and how they impact your enrolment, fees and academic record.

Semester 2, 2020 enrolment date changes

To provide flexibility for our students, census dates and last dates to withdraw without fail have been extended by two weeks for standard Semester 2 subjects (which includes Semester 2, Semester 2 Early Start, and Semester 2 Extended subjects). Dates for non-standard subjects that start in the second half of the year have also been reviewed and some have been extended. All date changes are now reflected in the Handbook. As dates vary by subject, always Check the Handbook entry for each of your enrolled subjects and be aware of these important dates.

Note that incorrect subject census dates may continue to show on your student invoice or statement of liability. You should refer to the Handbook as the source of truth for your subject census dates. Your Student Invoice will still display the correct payment due date.

The census date is the last date you can withdraw from a subject, withdraw from your course, or apply for a leave of absence without remaining liable to pay for the subject, and without it appearing on your academic transcript. As the census date can vary between subjects it’s important to be aware of your subjects’ census dates.

How to check your census dates

There are three ways to check your census dates:

my.unimelb – displays the census date for each subject you are enrolled in . To check your census dates, visit the Current Enrolments page in my.unimelb.
Handbook - census dates are in each subject entry under 'Dates and times'
Fee statements - your current Student Invoice and Statement of Liability show the census dates for your enrolled subjects with fees due.

How census dates impact enrolment changes

Enrolment change	By the census date	After the census date
Withdraw from a subject that you do not wish to study	Subject fee is cancelled (not payable) No grade recorded Subject is removed from your transcript	Subject fee remains payable Grade recorded (see subject withdrawal for more information) Subject will appear on your transcript You cannot re-enrol in the subject (either by yourself or via an Enrolment Variation form) after withdrawing
Withdraw from your course if you do not wish to continue	Fees are cancelled No grades recorded Course will not appear on your transcript	Fees remains payable Grade recorded (see subject withdrawal for more information) Subject will appear on your transcript
Take leave if you need to take a break from your studies	Subject fees are cancelled No grades recorded Leave of absence noted on your transcript	Cannot apply for a Leave of Absence. Simply withdraw from all your subjects (see first row of this table).

Commonwealth Supported Place students

Your census date is also the last date to pay your student contribution amounts, or if eligible apply for HECS-HELP to defer your fees. Due to recent changes to Federal Government legislation that affects how the University of Melbourne reports to the Government, the payment due date for Mandatory student contribution is 2 weeks before the census date. Your enrolment will be cancelled if you do not pay mandatory student contributions or apply for HECS-HELP by the relevant census date.

Australian fee-paying students

If you are eligible and want to defer your fees, you must apply for FEE-HELP before the census date. If your subject’s census date has passed, you cannot defer the subject’s fee to FEE-HELP and you will need to pay the fee upfront.

More information about fees and enrolment

Need help?

If you need advice about enrolment changes or course planning, support is available. Book an appointment with a course adviser to discuss your options.