If you’ve found yourself at the right place but the wrong time, you can hold off from starting your studies at ACU. Learn how to defer your offer, take a break or withdraw from university altogether.

Take your time, apply to defer

We know things can change when you plan for your future. That’s why we’ve made our deferment and withdrawal processes simple, so you can get back on track as soon as possible. To get your deferment or withdrawal underway, read our instructions for your enrolment or offer type.

New undergraduate students

If you're a new domestic undergraduate student and you haven't enrolled in any units, you can defer beginning your course for a maximum of 12 months. You should elect to defer your undergraduate place at the time of responding to your offer. Deferment is not available to students who have transferred to a new course/campus, or have received an offer to study an honours course or non-award units.

To defer your offer, fill out and submit the DEF Application to Defer online form before the end of the second week of semester.

Go to Application to Defer

For further information, read the deferment of offer section in our admission to coursework programs policy.

View Deferment of Offer policy

New postgraduate students

If you’re a new domestic postgraduate student and who hasn’t enrolled in any units and deferment is available for your course, you can defer beginning your studies for a maximum of 12 months. Elect to defer your postgraduate place at the time of responding to your offer.

Deferment is not available to all postgraduate courses, and for some courses there may be additional criteria to consider before choosing to defer:

  • Postgraduate courses that have specific employment conditions or professional registration conditions as a part of their eligibility criteria will need you to demonstrate that you still meet those conditions at the time that you begin your studies.
  • Postgraduate courses that have an interview component to the selection process may need you to re-interview at the point of commencing studies.
  • Postgraduate courses that offer specialisations may not be able to guarantee that your preferred specialisation will be on offer when you begin your studies.
  • Commonwealth Supported Places within postgraduate courses are not available for deferment.
  • Students who are studying as a part of a sponsored-cohort will need to check with their sponsoring body for approval to defer.

To find out whether your postgraduate course is available for deferment, and any additional criteria that may apply to deferment, consult your course listing in the Course Browser.

Go to the course browser

To defer your offer, fill out and submit the DEF Application to Defer online form before the end of the second week of semester.

Go to Application to Defer

For more information, read the deferment of offer section in our admission to coursework programs policy.

View Deferment of Offer policy

New international students

You may request permission to defer your place if you have received an ACU offer letter but are not ready to commence your studies.

Most students defer until the next available opportunity to enter their course – usually the following semester. In some cases, you may have to wait until the following year.

To request to defer your offer, contact International Admissions and provide the following information:

  • your full name
  • your date of birth
  • the reference number on your offer letter
  • your reason for deferring
  • the new date you would like to commence your studies.

International Admissions

Email: international.admissions@acu.edu.au

Please note: In some circumstances, such as highly competitive courses, deferral may not be possible. Our International Admissions team will advise you if this applies to you and what options you may have to undertake study in the future.

Taking a break or withdrawing

If you no longer wish to continue your course, you can choose to take a break from your studies or withdraw entirely from ACU.

Apply for a study break

You can take a break from your studies if you have received final results for at least one semester in your course.

You can do this by submitting an Application for Interruption of Study. You can find this form on Student Connect.

For more information, read the interruption of studies section of our academic regulations in the ACU handbook.

View Interruption of Studies policy

Withdrawing from your course

You can choose to withdraw from ACU if you no longer wish to study your course. This removes all your current and future enrolment at ACU.

Withdrawing is a formal process with significant responsibilities. You should consult with a course coordinator and make sure you understand what’s involved.

For more information, read the withdrawal section of our academic regulations in the ACU handbook.

View Withdrawal policies

Your withdrawal may come with financial penalties. However, if you withdraw before the census date, you may be eligible for a full or partial refund. To learn more about the refunds process, visit payments and refunds.

Payments and refunds

If you are feeling unsure about your options or whether withdrawing from your course is the right decision, please contact a Connect2Uni advisor today.

Returning to study

Find out how you can commence your studies after deferment, or apply for readmission following termination or exclusion.

Starting your course after deferring

When you are ready to begin your studies, you will need to submit a Commencement of Studies Following Deferment (CD) form online.Your offer will expire if you don't begin your studies within one year of deferring.

Go to Commencement of Studies Following Deferment (CD) form

Application deadlines

The CD form must be lodged by:

  • 30th June if you want to begin study in Semester 2 of this year
  • 30th November if you want to begin study in Semester 1 next year.

Please note: Some courses do not offer a Semester 2 intake. Information about course availability for Semester 2 is published in early April. If you want to start studying in Semester 2, you should check for course availability before submitting this form.

Returning after a study break

If you take an approved study break for more than a year (two or more standard study periods), your course might require changes in order for you to complete it. If you take an approved study break for more than two years (four or more standard study periods), you might need to complete additional units or assessments to make sure that your knowledge in the field is up-to-date.

You should consult with your course coordinator to discuss the requirements for completing your course after your time away and use the Application for Interruption of Studies form in Student Connect to request your re-activation.

For more information, read the interruption of studies section of our academic regulations in the ACU handbook.

View Interruption of Studies policy

Applying for readmission

If your studies were discontinued and you want to pick up where you left off, you can apply for readmission by visiting Terminated or excluded students.

Visit Terminated or excluded students

Search for the right course for you

Find a course

You might also like

Internal transfer

Looking for a change of scenery? Find out about transferring between our different courses and campuses.   

Let's go

Important census dates

Make sure you’re aware of the census date, which is your last day for changing your enrolment.   

Check upcoming dates

University handbook

The handbook is the definitive guide to ACU. Learn about our course rules, regulations and general information.

Read handbook

Get in contact with us

Didn’t find the answer you were looking for? Get in touch with our AskACU team or search for your answer on our knowledge database.

Get answers

Have a question?

We're available 9am–5pm AEDT,
Monday to Friday

If you’ve got a question, our AskACU team has you covered. You can search FAQs, text us, email, live chat, call – whatever works for you.

Live chat with us now

Chat to our team for real-time
answers to your questions.

Launch live chat

Visit our FAQs page

Find answers to some commonly
asked questions.

See our FAQs