Withdrawing from a course or program
When you withdraw from a course or program, there can be academic, financial and visa consequences.
The date you withdraw determines if you are financially liable for a course and if there are any academic penalties. If you’re experiencing overwhelming health or personal problems, consider withdrawing immediately to avoid any unnecessary penalties.
In some instances, you may be able to complete your course with the help of academic adjustments such as:
If special circumstances prevented you from completing or passing a course, even with adjustments, you may be eligible to remove your academic penalty and/or financial liability. To learn more and check your eligibility, see applying for removal of course.
Before you withdraw
Before you withdraw from a course or program, check:
3. How to withdraw
You may receive financial liability or academic penalties, depending on when you withdraw.
Withdrawing from a course
Before Census date
If you withdraw from a course on or before census date in a standard semester, it is deleted from your record and will not appear on your studies report or official transcript. You won’t face any academic penalty and you won’t be financially liable for any course fees.
Log in to mySI-net and select 'Enrolments' to withdraw from your course.
After Census date
You will be financially liable for courses you withdraw from after the census date. Depending on when you withdraw, this could also result in an academic penalty. Select where you are in semester to see how to withdraw and what penalties may apply.
Before making any decisions, we recommend you contact your faculty or school for advice.
On or before the last date to withdraw without academic penalty
You can withdraw from your courses without academic penalty:
- A grade of ‘W’ will be listed next to the course on your studies report.
- This won’t be listed on your official academic transcript.
You will be financially liable to pay the course fees, either upfront or through a HELP loan.
Log in to mySI-net and select 'Enrolments' to withdraw from your course.
After the last date to withdraw without academic penalty
You can withdraw from your course up until the first day of the examination period.
You will be financially liable for the course fees, either upfront or through a HELP loan, and will receive an academic penalty:
- a grade of ‘K’ will be listed on your studies report and your academic transcript
- for the purposes of calculating your grade point average, a ‘K’ is a zero.
Log in to mySI-net and select 'Enrolments' to withdraw from your course.
After the first day of the examination period
Once the end of semester examination period has started, you will no longer be able to withdraw from courses.
You will be awarded a grade based on any assessment you have completed and will be financially liable for the course.
After the finalisation of grades
It is not possible to withdraw from courses after the finalisation of grades, and the opportunities to change final grades are limited. In certain circumstances, you can:
From a course scheduled flexibly or in an intensive teaching period
The last date to withdraw without academic penalty will be the same as the census date. If you withdraw after this date, you will be financially liable for the course fees and receive an academic penalty.
As these courses do not typically have end of semester examinations, you can withdraw up to the last day of the course/teaching period.
Log in to mySI-net and select 'Enrolments' to withdraw from your course.
Withdrawing from a program
In some circumstances, deferring or interrupting your studies may be a better option than withdrawing from a program. To discuss deferring, interrupting your studies or withdrawing:
- talk to staff in your faculty
- contact Student Central for advice.
If you're ready to cancel your enrolment and withdraw from your studies completely:
- Undergraduate and postgraduate coursework students: log in to mySI-net and select 'Enrolments' to withdraw from all your courses.
- HDR students: learn about how to withdraw online.
- International students: submit an online request to withdraw from your program.