Census dates

Students are encouraged to seek support whenever needed. 
Please visit the Health, Safety & Wellbeing webpage for available support services. 

What is Census Date?

Census dates are an administrative deadline attached to each course offering at the University. Census dates impact a range of student enrolment and fee activities, and is the deadline for you to:
Domestic StudentsInternational Students
  • Drop a course(s) without financial or academic penalty. 
  • Submit a request to access Commonwealth HELP schemes (HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, SA-HELP).
  • Accept an offered Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP).
  • Make an upfront payment before outstanding tuition costs are deferred to HELP (for eligible students who have submitted a valid request for HELP).
  • Pay outstanding tuition costs before incurring penalties such as a late fee, access restrictions, or cancellation of enrolment (for non-HELP eligible students).
  • Defer an ANU offer (commencing undergraduate students only).
  • Submit a request to withdraw from your program without financial or academic penalty for current course enrolment.
  • Apply for a Reduced Study Load to drop a course(s) without financial or academic penalty. 
  • Apply for Program Leave in the current study period without financial or academic penalty.
  • Pay outstanding tuition costs before incurring penalties such as a late fee, access restrictions, or cancellation of enrolment.
  • Change residency status for the current semester (i.e. have your fee liability status changed from international to domestic).
  • Submit a request to withdraw from your program without financial or academic penalty for your current enrolment.
The following standard census dates apply at ANU:
  • First Semester Census Date is Friday 5 April
  • Second Semester Census Date is Saturday 31 August

For course census dates in non-standard sessions please refer to Programs and Courses.

Dropping courses in a semester

When a course is droppedResult on transcript
On or before the course Census DateNo grade on transcript

Last date to drop without failure (receive WD grade):

- Semester 1 2024: 3 May 2024

- Semester 2 2024: 4 October 2024

WD (Withdrawal without failure)

Last date to drop course with failure (receive WN grade):

- Semester 1 2024: 29 May 2024

- Semester 2 2024: 30 October 2024

WN (Withdrawn with failure)

Dropping courses in Summer, Autumn, Winter or Spring Session

When a course is droppedResult on transcript
On or before the course Census DateNo grade on transcript
On or before the last day of the courseWD (Withdrawal without failure)
On or before the day before exams startWN (Withdrawn with failure)

How to swap or drop a course

For information regarding how to swap or drop a course, please visit the Swapping or dropping a course web page.

Reach out for support

Please remember that you have access to a range of support services including wellbeing, mental health, and study support. Please visit the Health Safety & Wellbeing web page for further information.

Have any questions? 

If you have any questions about Census Date, please get in touch with Student Central. 

Principal dates

05
Apr
2024

Semester 1 census date

03
May
2024

Last day to drop Semester 1 courses without failure (WD)

29
May
2024

Last day to drop Semester 1 courses with failure (receive WN grade)

31
Aug
2024

Semester 2 Census Date

04
Oct
2024

Last day to drop Semester 2 courses without failure (WD)

30
Oct
2024

Last day to drop Semester 2 courses with failure (receive WN grade)

Related websites

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