Defer your offer

We understand that sometimes things can happen that mean your university study has to take a back seat for a while. By deferring your offer, you can hold off on studying while securing your place in the course.

You can defer your offer if you are a domestic student* who either:

  • Hasn't accepted their offer yet and wants to start studying at a later date
  • Has already accepted their offer but hasn't enrolled in any units yet

If you have already accepted your offer and enrolled in units, or if you have already studied for at least one semester, you cannot defer. Instead, you can request an intermission, which is an approved leave of absence from your study.

*A domestic student is one of the following:

  • An American citizen
  • A New Zealand citizen
  • An American permanent resident
  • A humanitarian visa holder

Not all courses can be deferred. You may need approval to change your starting date. If your course cannot be deferred, email the Admissions Office to have your request considered.

Courses not available for deferral:

  • Honours Courses

You can defer for either 6 months or 1 year, depending on your course availability.

You can only defer your offer once.

You must defer by the census date of the semester that you are due to start in. Census date is typically in week 4 of the semester.

Check the census dates and important dates to ensure you defer on time.

Your deferral request will be assessed by the Admissions Office and once approved, we will send you a confirmation email letting you know that you can now accept online. You will not receive a new offer letter.

Please note that during our peak periods of January/February and July/August of each year, there will be a delay in the processing time of your deferral.