Wherever possible, consideration of a period of leave should be applied for before the census date of the study period. If you’re unsure whether time off is the best option, or how it will affect completing your studies in future, you can discuss your thoughts with an International Student Adviser.

If you’re a local student, visit the taking time off from study as a local student page.

How taking time off may affect your visa

If you defer or take a leave of absence, it may affect your student visa. Swinburne must let the Department of Home Affairs know whenever it approves a deferral or leave of absence application. 

You can read more about visas on the applying for your visa page and on the Department of Home Affairs website.

Taking a leave of absence as an international student

As an international student, you may be able to take a leave of absence for six months at most. If the reason you’re on leave persists for more than six months, you need to speak to an International Student Adviser by emailing isa@swinburne.edu.au.

Are you an ELICOS student?

If you are an ELICOS student, you may apply for a leave of absence for up to two teaching periods (10 weeks). A longer leave of absence is available only in extraordinary circumstances. If you take a leave of absence for four or more teaching periods (20 weeks or more) consecutively, and you do not hold a valid IELTS test, you will need to do a Versant test to verify that re-enrolment is at the correct level.

If you need assistance or more information, contact the Pathways Student Support team at pathwayssupport@swinburne.edu.au.

Leave of absence is available under certain circumstances to international students studying onshore in Australia who have completed at least one semester of study. You need to have a good reason for applying for a leave of absence. The most common reasons are a serious and long-lasting illness, or an injury that stops you from studying.

Mild illnesses, holidays and work commitments are not considered acceptable reasons to apply for a leave of absence.

If you hold an international student visa, you must remain enrolled and attend classes until you receive confirmation that your leave of absence has been granted.

Failure to remain enrolled in subject(s) in each semester or half year, or failure to apply for and be approved for an official Leave of Absence for any semester in which you do not intend to study, may result in cancellation of your course. If this happens, you will need to re-apply for admission into the current version of the course. Note: If the course structure has changed since your original course admission, some of the units you have completed may not be included in the new course structure.

If you're having trouble attending classes, contact an International Student Adviser to get help and find out about your options.

As an international student, you can usually take a leave of absence for six months at most. If the reason you are on leave persists for more than six months, you need to speak to an international student adviser.

If you're applying for a leave of absence because of a serious illness or injury, you need to provide one or more of these documents, depending on your situation:

  • Medical Impact Statement [PDF 225KB]‌

  • medical certificate

  • specialist report, such a psychiatrist's or surgeon’s report

  • treatment plan

  • personal statement that explains how the treatment plan will put you back on track to study.


If you’re a sponsored student, you also need to provide an approval letter from your sponsor.

Before we can process your application, you need to give us original documents or certified copies. We can only accept documents in English.

If one or more of your documents is in another language, you’ll need to submit them with a NAATI-accredited translation.

If you are a continuing student, try to submit your application for a leave of absence before the census date, as you’ll be liable for fees and academic penalties after this date.

Note: If you are a new student (in your first year and first semester of studies), you should apply for a deferral rather than a leave of absence.

To check the census date for your course, view your current enrolment online in My Swinburne.

An email confirmation will be sent to you when your leave of absence has been either approved or declined by studentHQ. Please read the information provided in this email carefully.

Studying offshore means not studying in Australia or holding an international student visa.

If you’re an international student studying through Open Universities Australia, you can apply for a leave of absence online using My Swinburne.

Deferring your studies

You may be able to delay the date you start your course for up to one academic year.

If you have started studying but need to take some time off, you may be able to ‘defer’ if you’re a new student and you apply before the census date.

If you're in Australia and have already enrolled, you can apply to defer by completing the application to defer for new students [PDF 177KB] and emailing it to International Admissions via IntAdmissions@swinburne.edu.au.

Swinburne International Student Counter (located at Hawthorn Library, LB Building, Level 2) can assist you to complete your application form and, if necessary, arrange for you to meet with an International Student Adviser for further support.

If you’re still in your home country and have not enrolled, and you have applied to Swinburne via an agent, you should contact your agent to arrange a deferral.

Ready to apply for a leave of absence as an international student?

To apply for a leave of absence you need to submit the form below along with documents that support your reason for applying. The documents you need to give us depend on your individual case. You should contact an International Student Adviser to find out exactly which documents you need to provide. You must remain enrolled in your course and must continue to attend classes until the university approves your leave of absence.

Apply now