Deferring Your Offer

If you have just been made an offer of admission to an undergraduate or graduate coursework program, you may be eligible to defer your enrolment for one or two semesters. See information below for conditions and how to apply.

Current students who have completed one or more semesters at The Australian National University must apply for program leave NOT deferment. Please contact the Enrolments Office for information on program leave.

Returning from Deferment

If you have an offer that you have deferred and are now ready to return to study, you will need to attend an Enrolment Session. Please see the Enrolments website for dates and more information.

Undergraduate students who are returning from deferment should confirm their intention to take up their place. See more information below.

HOW TO DEFER

International Applicants

Email The Admissions Office (admissions@anu.edu.au) to request deferment. Include in the email your full name (as it appears on your passport), ANU ID or UAC Number, date of birth, how long you wish to defer (6 or 12 months) and the program you have received an offer for that you wish to defer.

An Admissions Officer will respond to let you know your application has been received. If your deferment is approved, you will receive a new offer letter with your updated commencement term on it. Please allow a week for the initial response and up to 3 weeks for your deferral request to be assessed.

Domestic Applicants

Click on the relevant link below:

Undergraduates

Graduate

Higher Degree Research

Returning from Deferment? See information below

UNDERGRADUATE APPLICANTS

Eligibility

You can defer your enrolment if you meet the following conditions:

You apply on or before the census date for the relevant semester (31 March for First Semester; 31 August for Second Semester).

note that it's preferable to apply for deferment before semester begins. Please do not accept your offer first.

Your program is one that can be deferred:

all undergraduate programs except Music
note that if you wish to defer until Second Semester, there may be restrictions on what courses you can commence in Second Semester (especially languages and those courses which have First Semester pre-requisites).

You have a valid reason for wishing to defer. These include:

wanting to take a break between school and university
wanting to travel or undertake a 'gap year'
needing to work before commencing study
health reasons

You do not undertake any other study while deferred. This is because ANU considers the full academic record of its applicants, so if you undertake additional study while deferred we would need to re-assess your qualifications against any new entrance requirements.

There are some exceptions:

undertaking an exchange year in a secondary school
undertaking TAFE / AQF studies at Certificate level

If you intend undertaking any other study, please explain your intentions fully when you apply for deferment and be aware that deferment may be refused. You would then need to re-apply for admission via UAC for the following year.

Remember

Deferment is a concession granted by the University, not a right.
We try to process applications for deferment quickly, but this is not always possible.
If your application is granted, you will be advised of the correct procedures to confirm that you will be returning after deferment. You must follow these procedures, otherwise your place will be re-assigned to a new applicant.
We strongly recommend that you appoint an agent to act on your behalf if you will be away from home and that you give that agent full access to your e-mail account and any paperwork that we have sent you.
The excuse that you failed to meet the deadline to confirm your intention to return from deferment because you were travelling in a remote region, had been sick, or because your agent did not act as you instructed will not be accepted except under extreme circumstances and with properly verified documentation. Such appeals against the cancellation of your deferment will not be entertained after 31 December (for Semester 1 commencement) or 30 June (for Semester 2 commencement).

Procedures

Applying for deferment:

Applying for deferment is simple - click here to apply online [applications will be open from 5pm Friday 6 January 2012 until midnight Saturday 31 March 2012 for defering a Semester One 2012 offer. Please note that this form is not fully interactive - it allows you to provide information to ANU. You will not receive an immediate decision, nor will you be able to log in and check the progress of your application. We will contact you when a decision has been made. Please follow the instructions on the final page of the form about keeping a copy of that page. It will be your only record of lodging an application.

Enquiries should be directed to deferment@anu.edu.au