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Discontinue a unit

Sometimes your circumstances unexpectedly change during the semester, and you may need to drop part of your studies. This can happen for a range of reasons, such as changes in your personal circumstances, finances, or family situation.

The University has strict deadlines for withdrawing or discontinuing a unit of study. It’s important to keep track of the key dates for your degree and semester.

If you are an international student, it’s a requirement of your visa that you are enrolled in a full-time study load. If you cannot maintain a full-time load due to circumstances beyond your control, you may be eligible to apply for a reduced study load.

Discontinuing a unit by census date

If you experience circumstances that might make it very difficult or impossible to study, it’s best to withdraw from a unit before census date. The census date is set for each unit when your enrolment is confirmed.

If you drop a unit before or on the census date, it is called a withdrawal, and your transcript will show a grade of WD. This grade does not count towards your weighted average mark (WAM) and academic progression. You do not have to pay course fees for units withdrawn by census date.

It’s important to make sure that the unit has actually been removed from your enrolment page in Sydney Student. Students who remain enrolled due to error or technological issues will experience academic and financial penalty. If you have any difficulty withdrawing, contact Student IT and your subject coordinator promptly.

Census dates differ depending on the semester or intensive units you are enrolled in. Find your census date.  

Discontinuing a unit after census date

In some circumstances, you may need to withdraw from a unit after the census date has passed. In this case, you may have one of the following options:

Apply for a ‘discontinue fail’ (DF) grade

If you withdraw from a unit after census date, but before the last day of teaching for this unit, you will receive a Discontinue Fail (DF) grade. 

While the grade is not counted towards your WAM, it is counted as a fail when calculating your academic progression. This may trigger a notice that your academic progression is at risk, so you may want to contact us for advice on your academic progression before withdrawing.

You can find the last day to apply for a Discontinue Fail (DF) grade on the University website. This must be completed before the last day of teaching in your unit. Remember to check that the unit has been removed from your enrolment record in Sydney Student.

You will need to retake the unit if it is a core unit, or select another elective unit to make up the credit points.

Apply for a ‘late discontinuation under special circumstances’ (DC) grade

If you experience circumstances beyond your control that make it impossible or very difficult for you to study after the census date, you can apply for a DC grade. If approved, you will get a fee refund for the unit of study and the grade will not be counted towards your WAM or progression.

You have 12 months from the last teaching day of the relevant teaching period, or since you withdrew from the unit, to apply for a DC grade. If it has been more than 12 months, you will need to provide a reason for your late application and attach additional supporting documentation that addresses the lateness.

Special circumstances are defined as circumstances that:

• were beyond your control
• did not make the full impact until on or after the census date of the unit, and
• made it impracticable for you to complete the unit.

Circumstances are considered beyond your control if they are:

• unusual, uncommon or abnormal
• not due to any action or inaction by you, and are therefore not your responsibility.

Examples of special circumstances include:

• illness or a worsening, or changing, medical condition
• the death of a family member
• a family member suffering from a serious medical condition
• financial difficulties experienced by you or your family
• unavoidable changes to your employment
• changes the University made that disadvantaged you
• a natural disaster or other emergency in Australia
• any other compelling circumstances that the University is satisfied made it unreasonable to expect you to have completed the requirements for the unit.

How to apply for a DC grade

You can apply for a DC grade using the late discontinuation under special circumstances form. This is a very strict process with rigid requirements for documentation. We encourage all students considering applying for a DC grade to contact a SUPRA caseworker for advice.

The University must be able to form a view of your circumstances independent of any statement that you provide. This means that your external documentation, such as doctor’s letters, eviction notices or court notices, should contain all the information the University needs to make their decision. Your application must not rely on Student Declarations, letters, or just a statement written by you.

Your supporting documentation must include the period of time you were affected. Generally, for a DC grade, this must extend to the end of semester – otherwise, special consideration may be deemed more appropriate.

We recommend you include the following in your application:

• Include a cover letter that provides a timeline of what has happened and how it impacted your studies after the census date, and explains how your supporting documentation proves that you experienced ‘special circumstances’.
• If your circumstances are medical or mental health-related, include a Professional Practitioner Certificate (PPC), which states you were either ‘totally unable to study’ if applying to discontinue from all enrolled units, or ‘severely impacted’ if you are not applying for all units. Your medical documents need to be verifiable from an Australian practitioner registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).
• If you’re an international student, it’s recommended you get an Australian Practitioner to verify your overseas practitioner documents, and assess your condition and provide a PPC if possible. Otherwise, ensure to get all international medical documentation translated by an accredited translation agency such as NAATI.
• If your circumstances are not medical-related, include evidence appropriate to your circumstances, such as: police documentation; an obituary, death certificate or funeral notice; a letter from a financial counsellor; a termination letter; a doctor’s letter documenting carers’ responsibilities; or an event report from emergency services.
• If your circumstances are related to political unrest, war, oppression of a minority to which you belong, or broad-scale natural disaster, include news articles that document these events. Articles should be in English and from mainstream news outlets.
• If you are NOT applying for all units for the teaching period, you must explain why the unit/s you are applying for were specifically impacted and why you were able to stay enrolled in the other units.

Read the full list of documents you can submit to support your application.

All documentation must be in English, or translated by a National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI)-certified translator before it is submitted to the University of Sydney. Find a NAATI-certified translator.

Receiving your outcome

DC grades are administrative decisions that are reviewed by Student Administrative Services. If your application is approved, you will automatically be given a fee refund. You won’t need to take any further steps to receive your fee refund.

If your application is declined, you can request an administrative review of the decision. Appeals can be lodged through the Student Portal in Sydney Student. It is important to note that you only have one opportunity to appeal this administrative decision. We strongly encourage you to contact us for advice and support in preparing a Late DC review.

Other discontinuations

All other discontinuations from a unit will result in financial liability and the result will count towards your WAM and progression. Your transcript will show either an Absent Fail (AF) or Fail (FA) result. We recommend you get advice from one of our caseworkers in these circumstances. Contact us for help.

More information

To find out more about discontinuing a unit before the census date, or how to discontinue a unit after the census date, read the information on the University website.

Policy

Check the University policy register, in particular:

• Coursework Policy 2021 (especially Section 92)
• Late Discontinuation Under Special Circumstances Procedures 2025
• International Student Fee Refund Policy 2017.

 Written by SUPRA Postgraduate Advocacy Service September 2025

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