Deferral: International coursework students

You may find that you need a bit more time before you're ready to start your Monash course in Australia. If so, as an international student, you can apply to defer your studies for up to 12 months. In exceptional circumstances, you may request a deferral for up to 24 months.

Not sure whether to defer?

If you've already enrolled

If you haven't accepted your offer

If you’ve already enrolled in units, take a moment to check out options for your circumstances before you apply for a deferral. We can point you to the people and services that can help.

Why are you thinking about a deferral?

Select the option that best describes your circumstances:

I'm overwhelmed or struggling with study

I'm experiencing some mental health or wellbeing challenges

I'm dealing with a medical issue

I'm having financial or cost-of-living difficulties

I'm feeling isolated or homesick

I'm unsure if this course is right for me

I have caring responsibilities

I can't arrive in time because my visa has been delayed

Something else

Clear selection

If you haven’t yet accepted your offer and are thinking about deferring, get in touch with us by submitting an online enquiry or calling +61 3 9903 4788 (select option 2). We’ll be happy to discuss your options. The right support or a short-term adjustment may be all you need to get started with your course.

How to defer

If you decide that it’s best to defer, follow the steps below to submit your request.

Step 1: Check your eligibility

You can defer if you’re:

• a current Monash University student with an active offer or enrolment
• deferring your most recent offer (you may have received more than one offer to study at Monash, but only your most recent offer is valid).

You can't defer:

• multiple offers
• enrolments in single units
• internal course transfers
• cross-institutional enrolments at Monash
• enhancement study enrolments.

Scholarships and study grants

Not all scholarships and study grants can be deferred, so you should check the conditions before you apply for a deferral. Search for your scholarship or study grant on our find a scholarship page to view its conditions.

Step 2: Choose the right time to defer

The timing of your deferral request is important – here's what you need to know before you submit the application form:

• If you’ve accepted your offer and received your Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE): You’ll need to give compassionate or compelling reasons for requesting a deferral.
• If you've already enrolled: Apply before 11.59pm (Melbourne time) on the census date of your first teaching period. You can’t defer your course after that time. If you're enrolled in a non-standard unit, check units with non-standard dates to find its census date.

A few things to consider

Not all courses offer deferral, and some have specific conditions that restrict when and how long you can defer for (including limited places in deferred intakes and fixed deferral periods of 6 or 12 months). That’s why it’s a good idea to submit your deferral request as soon as you can. This gives us time to reach out to you and discuss your options before the census date.

If we deny your request for a deferral of more than 12 months, you may need to submit a new application and provide details about additional study or work activities you’re committed to during the deferral period. For more advice about deferral conditions, submit an online enquiry or phone +61 3 9903 4788 (select option 2).

Graduate law students

If you’re already enrolled, you must defer your offer before the earliest Withdrawn Early end date of your units. See discontinuation dates for graduate law students.

After the census date

You can’t defer your course after 11.59pm (Melbourne time) on the census date, so if you want to start your studies later on, you’ll need to apply for intermission (study leave).

Withdrawing from units after census may result in financial and academic penalties – check the penalties for withdrawing from units before you proceed.

Step 3: Submit the form

If you feel that deferral is right for you, all you need to do is:

1. send a completed defer studies form, your reasons for requesting a deferral and any supporting documents to mu.documents@monash.edu or through a Monash representative/agent if applicable
2. check the requirements if you’re on a student visa.

Typically, you can defer your offer for up to 12 months, but in exceptional circumstances, you may be able to defer for up to 24 months.

Need more than 12 months?

For a deferral longer than 12 months, it’s best to seek advice by submitting an online enquiry or phoning +61 3 9903 4788 (select option 2). When you apply, you’ll need to explain your exceptional circumstances (e.g. a medical condition or compulsory military service) and provide documents to support this.

What happens next

After you’ve sent us the form, we’ll get in touch with you to discuss your support options.

Approval of your deferment request will depend on course availability in the deferral intake and the reasons you wish to defer. If approved, what happens next depends on whether or not you’ve accepted your offer or enrolled:

• If you haven’t yet accepted your offer, you’ll simply receive a new offer with a new start date – make sure to accept it to secure your place in the course.
• If you’ve accepted your offer but not yet enrolled, you’ll receive a new offer – once you’ve accepted the new offer, you’ll receive a new CoE.
• If you’ve accepted your offer and enrolled, you’ll receive a new offer – once you’ve been issued with the new offer, your previously enrolled units will be withdrawn and, once you've accepted this new offer, you’ll receive a new CoE.

Once you’ve accepted a new offer, any payments you've already made will be credited to your studies for the new intake.

If you don't accept your new offer

If you wish to revert to your original offer, Monash will need to withdraw the new offer and reinstate your originally accepted offer. You can’t revert back to an original offer if places are no longer available in your course.

If you don’t accept a new offer after it has replaced your original offer, you won’t have a valid offer to support your CoE, which will be cancelled two weeks after your course starts. Make sure to let Monash know if you’d like to revert back to your original offer to avoid cancellation of your student visa.

Your student visa

Your student visa generally won’t be cancelled if you defer your course for compassionate or compelling reasons beyond your control, but you’ll need to send us relevant supporting documents along with your deferral application.

Remember, it’s always up to the Department of Home Affairs to approve a visa extension, including one needed for a deferral. (For all the details on visa requirements, check the National Code Standard 9: Deferring, suspending or cancelling the overseas student’s enrolment.)

English proficiency

If we’ve approved your request to defer your course and you’ve received an unconditional new offer, this means that you’ve met the English language requirements for the new start date. But if your evidence of English proficiency expires before the new start date, you’ll instead receive a conditional new offer requiring you to give us new evidence, such as updated Monash-approved English proficiency test results.

While on deferment

Make sure to keep your postal address up to date in WES. This is where we’ll send your new offer letter.

Keep in mind, credit is not normally granted for other studies taken on deferral without approval from your faculty. Terms and conditions of your original course offer do not change as a result of a deferral.

Extending your deferral

If you’ve already received a deferral of 12 months or less, but now need more time due to exceptional circumstances, you can request another deferral (an extension). Your total deferral period may not exceed 24 months. To request an extension, submit another defer studies form.

Extensions are considered on a case-by-case basis, so don’t forget to provide details about why you need to defer for longer than 12 months, including any exceptional circumstances, and additional study or work activities you’re committed to during the deferral period. You’ll also need to provide any supporting documents.

Relevant policy

Admission to Coursework Courses and Units Procedure (pdf, 0.32 mb)