Deferring your offer

Apply for an undergraduate degree

Thinking about deferring your offer?

Congratulations on your offer to study at Flinders.

If you don't wish to commence studying straight away, you may be eligible to have your offer deferred for a full calendar year of study. The University can hold your place in the majority of our courses for up to two consecutive years.

Alternatively, if you're finding the transition to university challenging, you may want to seek additional support before making the decision to defer. We offer a range of activities and services that can provide you with this support. Please see Transition to Uni for further information.

Commencing mid-year?

If you wish to delay commencing study only by one semester deferment is not necessary. For example, if you receive an offer for mid-year 2025 entry and you wish to commence in Semester One 2026 instead, you can do so by enrolling in topics when enrolment for 2026 opens in late 2025, provided the course offers two intakes per year.

Similarly, if you receive an offer for Semester One 2025 but do not wish to commence until Semester Two 2025 you can delay your study by enrolling in topics for mid-year only.

Already studying at Flinders?

If you're a continuing student and wish to take a year break from these studies, you may be eligible for leave of absence.

Am I eligible to defer?

All undergraduate courses are deferrable, except for the following:

Bachelor of Clinical Sciences/Doctor of Medicine (SATAC code: 214941)
Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) (Honours) Degree Apprenticeship
Bachelor of Health Sciences/Master of Occupational Therapy (SATAC code: 224071)
Bachelor of Health Sciences/Master of Physiotherapy (SATAC code: 224081)
Bachelor of Health Sciences (Vision Science)/Master of Optometry (SATAC code: 244631)
Bachelor of Medical Science (Laboratory Medicine) (SATAC code: 244581)
Bachelor of Medical Science (Laboratory Medicine) (Regional Placement) (SATAC code: 244583)
Bachelor of Midwifery (Pre-registration) (SATAC code: 214431)
Bachelor of Nursing (Pre-registration)(City Campus) (SATAC code: 285351)
Bachelor of Nursing (Pre-registration)(Online) (Flinders Online)
Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (SATAC code: 214381)
Bachelor of Paramedicine (SATAC code: 244971)
Bachelor of Paramedicine (Regional External Program) (SATAC code: 244977)
Bachelor of Speech Pathology (SATAC code: 214352)
TAFE SA dual offers
One-year Honours
Undergraduate Certificates
Diploma of Digital Technologies
Diploma in Sport Business
Diploma in Sports Management

Postgraduate courses cannot be deferred, with the exception of the following:

Bachelor of Letters (Archaeology) (Graduate Entry) (SATAC code: 2BG026)
Bachelor of Letters (Creative Writing) (Graduate Entry) (SATAC code: 2BG010)
Bachelor of Letters (Health) (Graduate Entry) (SATAC code: 2BG022)
Bachelor of Letters (History) (Graduate Entry) (SATAC code: 2BG024)
Bachelor of Nursing (Graduate Entry) (SATAC code: 2BG007)
Bachelor of Psychological Studies (Graduate Entry) (SATAC code: 2BG008)

Are you an international student?

To defer your offer, you need to apply for deferral with Flinders International.

Defer your offer

How do I defer my offer to a competitive course?

If you receive an offer to one of the following competitive courses, you'll need to either accept and enrol OR defer by the deadline stated in your offer letter to secure your place. Please read your offer letter carefully.

245071 Bachelor of Allied Health (Occupational Therapy) (Riverland)
244991 Bachelor of Allied Health (Occupational Therapy) (Mt Gambier)
245061 Bachelor of Allied Health (Occupational Therapy) (Port Pirie)
245091 Bachelor of Allied Health (Physiotherapy) (Riverland)
245001 Bachelor of Allied Health (Physiotherapy) (Mt Gambier)
245081 Bachelor of Allied Health (Physiotherapy) (Port Pirie)
245111 Bachelor of Allied Health (Speech Pathology) (Riverland)
245011 Bachelor of Allied Health (Speech Pathology) (Mt Gambier)
245101 Bachelor of Allied Health (Speech Pathology) (Port Pirie)
244975 Bachelor of Paramedicine (Northern Territory)

*For limited intake courses, you will need to either accept and enrol, or defer by the deadline stated in your offer letter.

How do I defer my offer to all other courses?

To defer your offer, you must first accept it in the Flinders Student System. To access the system, you must:

Activate your Flinders Account to obtain your Flinders Authentication Name (FAN) .
Then log in to the Student System with your FAN and password.

Then, as long as you don’t remain enrolled in any topics or undertake any study in the course for two consecutive semesters, your offer will be automatically deferred on your behalf.

If you've accepted your offer and enrolled in topics but later choose to defer, remember to withdraw from any enrolled topics before the topic census date. You can find detailed instructions on how to withdraw from topics at enrolling in and withdrawing from topics.

Watch: How to accept or defer an offer

How to accept your offer

After you've activated your account and obtained your FAN, you can accept your offer in the system. To do this:

Go to My Applications.
Click Respond on the offer you want to accept.
Click Accept to accept the offer.

You should receive confirmation that you've accepted your offer. It may take a few minutes for the status in the system to update to ‘Accepted’.

What happens if I change my mind?

If you change your mind and wish to commence the course after all, you can do so by enrolling in course topics, provided enrolment for your preferred commencing semester is still open.

For example, if you received an offer for Semester One and did not enrol nor attempt any study in the course in that semester and Semester Two enrolment is still open, you can enrol in topics to commence the course in Semester Two, provided the course offers a mid-year intake.

Courses with one intake per year

The following courses have only one intake per year. If you change your mind on deferring after the last day to enrol in topics for Semester One, commencement will not be possible until the following year:

214571 Bachelor of Creative Arts (Screen)
245161 Bachelor of Early Childhood Education - Birth to 5 (Bedford Park)
284951 Bachelor of Early Childhood Education - Birth to 5 (Flinders City Campus)
244491 Bachelor of Early Childhood Education – Birth to 8 (Bedford Park)
284961 Bachelor of Early Childhood Education – Birth to 8 (Flinders City Campus)
245241 Bachelor of Education (Inclusive Education)
244501 Bachelor of Education (Primary)
234551 Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science
234571 Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science / Master of Clinical Exercise Physiology
244981 Bachelor of Geospatial Information Systems/Bachelor of Surveying
241921 Bachelor of Languages
244651 Bachelor of Medical Science (Accelerated)
2BG007 Bachelor of Nursing (Graduate Entry)
214311 Bachelor of Nursing (Preregistration)
214312 Bachelor of Nursing (Preregistration) Riverland
245121 Bachelor of Performance (Acting)
245131 Bachelor of Performance (Directing)
234231 Bachelor of Science (Chemical Science)
234381 Bachelor of Science (Honours) (Chemical Sciences)
216061 Diploma in Language
284971 Bachelor of Urban and Rural Planning

What happens after my offer is deferred?

Provided that you're not enrolled in topics in an eligible course or attempt any study for two consecutive semesters, your offer will be deferred on your behalf.

We'll be in touch with you in late November of the year you had your Semester One offer deferred with instructions on how to take up your offer the following academic year.

If your Semester Two offer was deferred, we will be in touch with you in May/June the following year with instructions on how to take up your mid-year offer that same year.

How do I take up my deferred offer?

Once you have received instructions from us on how to take up your offer and you wish to commence your studies, you will need to follow the enrolment process.

If you are eligible to defer again for another year, provided you Accept your offer and do not enrol in the course or attempt any study for two consecutive semesters, your offer will be deferred again on your behalf and the above information applies again.

Please note not all courses will allow you to enrol on a full-time basis if commenced in semester 2. Seek for course advice here.

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