Withdrawing from study without being charged

If you don’t want to continue studying, you must complete your university or higher education provider's withdrawal process by the census date. Each provider will have their own process for withdrawing.

Your provider’s official withdrawal form is usually available online or through a student portal. You will need to know where to send the completed form to have it processed by the census date. Make sure you withdraw properly from your course and all units of study you are enrolled in otherwise you will continue to be charged fees for your course.

Make sure you keep a copy of your withdrawal documents and confirmation emails as proof that you withdrew.

If you are studying more than one course, or are studying at more than one provider, you must withdraw from each one.

Withdrawing after the census date:

If you withdraw from your study after the census date, you are still required to pay the fees. This means that you will still have a HELP debt to repay and you will lose any upfront payment you made.

Your provider might also have academic and financial penalties.

If you have a reason that you missed withdrawing by the census date because of special circumstances, you can apply to not be charged the fees. You will need evidence to prove your special circumstances in your application. You will need to be able to show that the special circumstances were:

  • beyond your control
  • the full impact occurred on or after the census date of the unit of study, and
  • it was impracticable for you to complete the unit of study.