Deferment
In most cases, you can defer your QTAC offer by the date and time specified in your offer letter. The institution will contact you to advise on the next steps.
Explore options to defer your offer
Deferment lets you delay starting your course. Usually, you can defer for up to a year, but some institutions allow deferment for longer periods. However, other institutions do not allow deferment.
Institution deferment policies
Select an institution for information on their deferment policy.
Australian Catholic University
Bond University
You cannot defer the Bachelor of Medical Studies and the Doctor of Medicine (MD) (020741) - Undergraduate or Graduate Entry.
CQUniversity Australia
You cannot defer a course offer with CQUniversity. Once you have formally accepted an offer, some courses may allow you to commence by enrolling into a later term of study. However, this is only available for limited courses and is dependent on unit availability.
The following courses do not permit you to commence at a later date:
- Bachelor of Medical Science (Pathway to Medicine) (888000, 888001)
- Bachelor of Medical Sonography/Graduate Diploma of Medical Sonography (881691)
- Bachelor of Echocardiography and Cardiac Physiology/Graduate Diploma of Echocardiography (881851)
- Bachelor of Medical Imaging (841681)
- Bachelor of Oral Health (858701)
- Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) (811422)
- Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) (851431)
- Bachelor of Paramedic Science (851711, 851715)
- Bachelor of Paramedic Science/Graduate Certificate in Emergency and Disaster Management (851720, 851725)
- Diploma of Nursing.
Griffith College
In most cases, you can defer your course for one year. You may lose your deferred place if you apply for other courses. Deferment is not possible for:
- Diploma of Health Care (081591)
- Diploma of Health Care/Bachelor of Nursing (088671, 088681, 088691).
For more information and conditions, contact Griffith College.
An applicant who wishes to defer should respond to QTAC accordingly. Griffith College will contact the applicant in writing as soon as possible, automatically approving their request for deferment. Once an applicant’s deferment has been approved Griffith College will send them a revised offer letter.
Applicants are not entitled to hold a deferred place and apply for other programs. If an applicant wishes to apply for other programs, including Griffith College programs, they must apply through QTAC. An applicant’s deferred place may be withdrawn if they are subsequently excluded from another tertiary institution, neglect to notify Griffith College about a change of address, or apply for other programs through QTAC.
Griffith University
Griffith University allows applicants who receive an offer to most of the university’s undergraduate programs, to defer the commencement of their study in that program. Applicants are placed on a one year deferment initially.
Applicants who wish to extend or shorten their deferment, provided their program allows, should email [email protected]. Deferral must not exceed one year. Deferment is not available for all programs.
Applicants who defer an offer outright are not eligible to be considered for any other preferences. If an applicant wishes to apply for other programs, including Griffith University programs, then they must conditionally defer and reorder their QTAC preferences. An applicant’s deferred place may be withdrawn if they subsequently receive an additional offer or are excluded from another tertiary institution; or apply for other programs through QTAC. For more information on Griffith University's deferment processes, including exclusions, please visit griffith.edu.au/taking-break-from-study.
James Cook University
Successful applicants can defer the start of their course for a maximum of 12 months.
JCU writes to applicants who have applied to defer, advising them how to take up their deferred place.
If an applicant applies for semester 1 and is approved to defer for 12 months, JCU will allow the applicant to receive an automatic offer if applying for Semester 2 in the same year, subject to the course being offered.
Queensland University of Technology
Deferment is only available to domestic students who have been offered a place via QTAC. All courses and applicants are eligible for deferment except for:
- Some courses with audition, interview, portfolio, and/or questionnaire additional entry requirements
- Some course with prior studies requirements; eg graduate teaching
- Courses that are not offered in following year or whose entry requirements are changing.
Further information on QUT deferment processes can be found at qut.edu.au/deferment.
SAE University College
Applicants who are offered an undergraduate place at the university may apply directly to SAE University College to be considered for deferment; conditions apply.
Southern Cross University
Applicants must request deferment by using the deferment option when responding to their QTAC offer and also submitting a request for deferment to SCU. Deferment may be granted for a period of 12 months. Further information is provided with the offer of admission. Applicants who received an offer to a SCU course in 2025 who were granted deferment will be contacted individually by SCU. These applicants are not required to apply through QTAC.
TAFE Queensland
TAFE Queensland allows deferment once for up to one year in the following courses:
- Associate Degree in Civil Engineering (555948, 555037)
- Bachelor of Dental Prosthetics (555145).
Applicants do not need to re-apply through QTAC the following year. To apply for deferral an applicant must choose the deferment option when responding to their QTAC offer. Deferment may also be available for degree courses offered by TAFE Queensland in partnership with University of Canberra. For more information contact TAFE Queensland on (07) 3215 1447.
The University of Queensland
The University of Queensland allows deferment for up one year in all undergraduate programs (and QTAC-administered postgraduate programs). Deferment is only available to applicants who receive an offer in semester 1. Deferment is not available for offers made in mid-year (Sem 2, 2020 deferments were available only due to the exceptional circumstances surrounding COVID-19).
To apply for deferment: applicants must respond to their QTAC offer by selecting the deferment offer response option by the offer response/lapse date. Deferment will be automatically granted for all programs (except where a program is being discontinued and in its final intake, in which case deferment cannot be granted and the defer response option will not be available in the offer response service). The University of Queensland will send confirmation (via email) of the deferment by April. Each November The University of Queensland will contact deferred applicants advising them of the process to enrol for the following year.
Note: Applicants who are offered a place in Semester 1 but wish to commence studies in Semester 2 should check with the relevant faculty- for more flexible programs that have Semester 1 and Semester 2 intakes, students may accept their offer but enrol in Semester 2 courses only e.g. Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. More structured programs can only be commenced in Semester 1 – e.g. Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours).
Torrens University
Deferment is available for successful applicants once they have accepted their offer through QTAC and Torrens University Australia student system. Successful applicants are encouraged to contact the Future Student Advisors at 1300 575 803 or email [email protected] for further advice as some programs do not permit deferment or have special conditions.
University of New England
UNE may allow successful applicants to defer for up to two years for most UNE courses (with students needing to request to defer for one year at a time). To apply for deferment all applicants must respond to their QTAC offer and send in a request for deferment to UNE via AskUNE. Applicants approved to defer their course by UNE do not need to re-apply through QTAC the following year. Enrolment information will be emailed to deferred students advising them they can enrol as their deferred intake start date approaches. The Bachelor of Nursing (666991) cannot be deferred.
University of Southern Queensland
Applicants who are offered a place may defer their study for one year. Deferral is not permitted in the following UniSQ Programs:
- Bachelor of Biomedical Science (Medicine Pathway) (906941, 906961, 906951)
- Bachelor of Midwifery (Graduate Entry) (906295)
- Bachelor of Nursing (906391, 906395, 936391, 916391, 906385)
- Bachelor of Nursing (Enrolled Nurse Entry) (906491, 906495, 936491, 916491)
- Bachelor of Occupational Therapy (Honours) (906181, 936181)
- Bachelor of Paramedicine (936151)
- Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) (909185)
- Bachelor of Speech Pathology (Honours) (936371)
- UniReady (902001, 902005, 922001, 932001)
To defer your QTAC offer, contact QTAC by responding to your offer. Applicants do not need to re-apply through QTAC the following year as enrolment information is automatically forwarded to deferred applicants. For more information, visit the UniSQ website or call 1800 269 500.
University of the Sunshine Coast
UniSC allows deferment for up to one year in most Undergraduate programs, the Master of Teaching programs and the Tertiary Preparation Program. Exceptions apply.
Successful applicants who have accepted their offer through the QTAC system may defer the commencement of their program by selecting deferment when registering their offer response direct with UniSC.
Note:
- Deferment is not automatically approved for the Bachelor of Medical Science (Griffith MD Provisional Entry for School Leavers) (013231). Applicants made an offer for this program must request deferment by emailing [email protected] outlining the reasons for the request.
- Deferment is not permitted for Undergraduate Certificate programs.
Applicants holding a deferred place will be notified by UniSC on the process to commence their program. If the deferment period is still valid, these applicants will not be required to re-apply through QTAC. Contact UniSC for more information.