What do I need to do if I want to take some time off from my studies?

If you wish to take time off from your studies, you will need to apply for Approved Leave. You can apply for up to 12 months of Approved Leave at a time.

If you do not complete any units in a given semester or trimester, and don't successfully apply for Approved Leave, you will be considered to have discontinued your course (enrolment lapsed). This means you will need to re-apply to the University if you wish to return to your studies at a later date.

International students
You should contact the International Student Support team to talk about any plans to take time off from your studies as you need to have extenuating or exceptional circumstances for your application to be approved.

Apply for Approved Leave if:

• You do not intend to study any units in a calendar year.
• You withdraw from all of your units for a calendar year without achieving any results.

Lodging an application
Applications for Approved Leave can be lodged online via studentConnect (select 'Discontinuation/Approved Leave'  under COURSE DETAILS and follow the prompts). Applications can be submitted up until the Academic Withdrawal Date (the final date to withdraw from a unit without academic penalty) for the relevant semester - for details see Important Dates.

Note: Whilst applications can be submitted up until the relevant Academic Withdrawal Date for the teaching period, applications which are made after the Census Date and approved, will result in the student remaining financially liable for any enrolled unit fees and the Student Services and Amenities Fees. In order to avoid any financial penalty, students should lodge an application for Approved Leave prior to the Census Date, where possible.

Re-enrolment
If you are granted Approved Leave you need to make sure that you re-enrol within the stipulated re-enrolment dates or apply for another period of Approved Leave, failure to do so may result in a late fee.

Eligibility
There are many reasons why students take time off from their studies: employment, medical, financial, study, travel and other reasons. You normally don't need to specify a reason to be eligible for Approved Leave, but it is important you consider how Approved Leave will impact your course progression and completion time. A decision on whether to grant Approved Leave will be made by your Student Advising Office.

Please read the University Policy on Student Enrolment and visit the Current Students website for further information on Approved Leave.

For further advice on Approved Leave, submit a query using Email Us.