Intermission (study leave)

There are many reasons you might need to pause your studies, from managing personal or health challenges to needing time to reset or focus on other responsibilities. Whatever brought you here, this page will help you find the right path forward.

If you're a domestic or international coursework student studying at Monash University, you're in the right place. If that's not you, you'll find the information you need below:

• Research students (Australian campuses) Apply in the graduate research portal • Monash University, Malaysia students Intermission eligibility and application process • Monash Online students Apply in the Student Hub • Monash College students Intermission request steps and conditions

Before you apply

Once you've started your course and your first census date has passed, you may be able to apply for intermission (study leave). If you haven’t started your course yet (or you’ve enrolled but the first census date hasn’t passed), you’ll need to defer your offer instead – see the deferral page for details.

You can apply for a break of up to 12 months during your course, which you can take over two separate or consecutive teaching periods.

You need to complete your course within a certain time frame (which includes study leave), so make sure you have enough time left before you apply for intermission. See study load for more information.

Thinking about taking a break?

Before you decide to take intermission, it's a good idea to weigh your options and the support available.

Tell us a bit about your situation and we can point you to the right support.

Firstly, what kind of student are you?

Domestic student

International student

Still deciding?

If you’re not sure whether to take a break, you should re-enrol in your units for now. This keeps your place in the course active while you consider your options. You have until the census date of the teaching period to apply for intermission without any financial or academic penalties.

How to apply

Ready to move forward? Follow the steps to apply your intermission.

Step 1: Check your eligibility

Your eligibility depends on whether you’re a domestic student, or an international student on a student visa.

Domestic coursework students are eligible to apply for study leave using the intermission form below, with some exceptions.

Exceptions

Arts honours students may only take study leave in exceptional circumstances, for a maximum of one semester. You need to seek approval from your honours coordinator before applying.

Science honours students must complete an honours supplementary form (pdf, 0.6 mb) and attach the signed form to their intermission application.

Student visa conditions

If you're on a student visa, approval for study leave is given only in compassionate or compelling circumstances (unless intermission was recommended by an Academic Progress Committee panel).

Compassionate or compelling circumstances are personal circumstances that:

• are involuntary and outside your control (such as medical, family, wellbeing, or enrolment circumstances), and • present you with limited or no choice but to take a break from your studies.

Examples include:

• a serious illness or medical condition affecting your ability to study • bereavement of a close family member where you need to provide assistance or support • social or political upheaval in your country that is affecting your family • course progression restrictions or unit unavailability.

Supporting documents

You'll need to provide supporting documents as evidence. Keep in mind, the Government may cancel your student visa if you provide fraudulent evidence/documents to Monash University when applying for study leave (check our documentation integrity page for examples and penalty information).

Not on a student visa?

If you're not on a student visa, you can go ahead and apply for intermission – you won't need to show compassionate or compelling circumstances.

Step 2: When to apply

If you’re sure you want to apply for intermission, timing matters – applying at the right time means you’ll avoid financial and academic penalties:

• if you already know you won't be studying in the following teaching period – apply during the timely re-enrolment period, before enrolling in units for the next academic year • if you decide to take a break after you’ve enrolled and the semester has started – apply before 11.59pm (Melbourne time) on the census date.

If you're only taking leave for one semester or teaching period, don’t forget to re-enrol for the following semester or teaching period – see re-enrolment dates and details.

Penalties incurred after the census date

If you apply for study leave after the census date, you’ll be charged for all enrolled units and receive a Withdrawn or Withdrawn Fail grade. For penalty dates, see census dates and teaching periods.

Fees

If you've paid your fees up front and apply for study leave before 11.59pm (Melbourne time) on the census date, you can apply for a refund. Fees will not be refunded if you apply for study leave after the census date. If you fail to re-enrol for the following year on time, and then apply for study leave, you'll be charged a late enrolment fee.

Exception

If you can provide proof that the reason you applied for study leave after the census date was due to exceptional circumstances, you can apply for a fee reversal.

Step 3: Submit an application

To apply for intermission, submit the request form.

Intermission Request form

In the form, you’ll be asked to explain why you’re taking a study break. Understanding what has influenced your decision helps us identify support services for you, and improve the experience for other students. You can also elect to be contacted by Monash Connect about our services and next steps.

After you submit your form

Once you’ve submitted an intermission request, we’ll usually get back to you within two University working days to discuss your request and take you through the process (although this may take longer during busy periods).

Step 4: Next steps

Here's what you need to know while you’re on intermission, and what to do before you return.

During your study leave

While you're on study leave, you:

• remain a current student of Monash University with access to University services, including the library, WES, Student Portal and the Monash intranet • must keep your contact details up to date to receive communication from the University • must check your Monash email account for important information.

Returning from study leave

You'll receive a reminder to re-enrol ahead of the re-enrolment period for coursework students. To avoid a late fee and keep your place in your course, make sure you re-enrol during this period.

If you want to return early, message Monash Connect.

During your study leave

We’ll notify the Department of Home Affairs that you’re on study leave. You’re still considered a current student when you’re on study leave (intermission), with access to University support services and academic services, including the library, WES, Student Portal and the Monash intranets.

Keep your contact details up-to-date and check your Monash email regularly so you don't miss University updates.

Your student visa and CoE

If you’re granted study leave for compassionate or compelling circumstances, there are a few things you’ll need to do:

• apply for a new Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) before you return from study leave (your current CoE will be cancelled when you go on study leave). You’ll receive your new CoE with a revised completion date when you return from leave • apply for a new student visa with your new CoE • check your visa status in VEVO before you resume your studies – if your student visa has been cancelled, you’ll need to get a new one to enter Australia. • resume your studies once your intermission period has ended, otherwise the Government may cancel your student visa.

Returning from study leave

If you want to return early, message Monash Connect.

Extending your leave

If you need to take a longer period of study leave than you initially requested, submit a new intermission request. Intermission extensions beyond 12 months of total leave are only approved in exceptional circumstances, and at the discretion of the faculty. You may need to provide supporting documentation.

Supporting documents

Do not, under any circumstances, submit fraudulent documentation

You must give us information that is true, accurate and complete – without intending to mislead or gain advantage. If you make a false statement or provide a falsified document:

• your application will be rejected, and • we'll refer the matter to Student Conduct and Complaints for an academic misconduct investigation.

You’re responsible for making sure the documents you supply to us are genuine, accurate and complete. Penalties for submitting a forged, altered or falsified document can include exclusion from the University, a fine of up to AUD $1,000 and a permanent record in Monash systems.

To find out more about your responsibilities (and what you should do if you don’t have the required supporting documents), see our documentation integrity page.

You’ll need to provide supporting documents that clearly show:

• your compassionate or compelling circumstances • when they occurred • how long they lasted • their level of impact.

All documents need to:

• be from an independent source or authority • be recently dated • confirm that your circumstances are ongoing and relevant to the timeframe.

To support your intermission request, you can provide a:

• medical certificate or letter from a medical professional which specifically suggests taking a study break and how long the break should be (even if your doctor has filled in your intermission request form) • letter from a social worker, lawyer, or psychologist • detailed statement from a counsellor (like the University's Counselling and Psychological Services team) who has been involved in your assessment and/or treatment • death notice or certificate and evidence of relationship • police report • statutory declarations from you or relevant people • notification from defence services.

Depending on your circumstances, you may need to provide more than one of the documents listed above.

If you have been seeing a counsellor in an ongoing way about issues affecting your study, you can talk to your counsellor about completing a Health Professional Report (HPR) to support an application under compassionate and compelling circumstances.

Documents issued in a language other than English must be translated into English by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) or an overseas notary department with a common seal.

For more details, see supporting documents for compassionate or compelling circumstances.

Related links

• Enrolment Procedure – section 6 (pdf) • Census dates and teaching periods