Official guides / Academic rules & policy

Exclusion: Implications for international students

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Monash University

Last checked: 25 Oct 2026 UTC

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International students studying in Australia
International students studying in Malaysia

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International students studying in Australia

If you’re an international student studying in Australia holding a student visa, you need to understand the potential consequences of your response to a Notice of APC hearing, including a failure to respond.

Condition 8202 of your student visa requires that you maintain satisfactory academic progress for each study period as required by Monash University. You’re also required to remain enrolled in a registered course.

If your visa is cancelled because you’ve breached this visa condition, you may have a three-year exclusion period imposed (meaning that you may be unable to study in Australia for three years). For further information, see the Department of Home Affairs.

If you’re excluded for unsatisfactory academic progress, or you choose to discontinue, Monash is required to report this to the Department of Education, under section 19 of the Education Services for Overseas Students Act 2000.

For a full list of conditions, see the government website on visa conditions.

International students studying in Malaysia

If you’re an international student studying in Malaysia, exclusion from your course at Monash may put you in breach of your Student Pass conditions.

If you’re excluded for unsatisfactory academic progress, or choose to discontinue, you’ll need to notify the International Student Pass office to officially cancel your student pass before you leave Malaysia.

For more information, see cancelling your student pass.

To get in touch, see contacts and locations.

Related questions

How many hours can I work on a student visa?

The rules are each country's, not Monash's, and they are different. Australia: work rights for student visa holders are set by the Australian Government, and the cap has changed several times in recent years. Monash's page links to the current Department of Home Affairs conditions - always confirm the number there before relying on it. Malaysia: with a Student Pass you may work only during semester breaks or public holidays of more than seven days, and for no more than 20 hours a week, at restaurants, petrol kiosks, mini markets or hotels; the page lists jobs that are not allowed. Every job has to be approved by the Immigration Department: you apply through the International Student Pass office and must be there in person when the application is submitted.

I got an email about unsatisfactory academic progress - what does it mean?

All campuses

Monash reviews academic progress after each review period and assigns one of three risk levels. Level one (Advice) means you failed a unit but did not meet any unsatisfactory progress criterion. Level two (Monitoring) means you met a criterion for the first time: you must complete My Progress and Support, and your faculty may set conditions on your enrolment. Level three (Intervention) - for example meeting a criterion two periods in a row, or failing a compulsory unit twice - means you must complete My Academic Progress Response and may be called to an Academic Progress Committee hearing, which can exclude you from your course. Do what the email asks by its deadline: your engagement is taken into account later.

Can I take less than a full-time load on a student visa (underload)?

Only with approval, and the rules depend on the campus. Australia: on a student visa you must finish your course in the time stated on your CoE, so you can apply to underload only for compassionate or compelling circumstances, such as serious illness or a course structure that prevents a standard load. You do not need approval if you are in your final year and will finish within the time on your CoE. Apply before 11.59pm (Melbourne time) on the census date. Malaysia: with a Student Pass, a full-time load is 48 credit points a year (usually 24 a semester). You can go down to no less than 18 credit points a semester, and only for an academic progress condition; course structure, progression rules or unit availability; illness or exceptional personal circumstances; or a final semester or year that needs fewer credit points. Talk to the International Student Pass Office (mum.student.visa@monash.edu) about your Student Pass first, then apply with the underload form in SORS (sors.monash.edu.my/sites/student-online-forms/enrol/underload-application) with supporting documents by Friday of Week 2 of the semester to avoid a financial penalty. If you have a scholarship, bursary or study loan, check with its office too. Below 18 credit points a semester you have to apply for intermission.

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