Release FAQs

A student is not required to apply for a release letter if they have already completed six months of their principal course or where they decide to withdraw from the University and return to their home country. In such cases, where evidence has been provided to the University of their departure from Australia, the student's CoE will be cancelled.

The principal course is one for which a student visa has been issued at the highest level of study in the program. For example, for a DUELI program of 10 weeks and postgraduate program of 78 weeks, the student will be issued with a visa for 88 weeks in duration with the highest level of study (postgraduate) as visa sub-class 573, higher education. In this case, the postgraduate program will be the principal course.

Another example would be of an Deakin College/Deakin packaged student. In this case, the Deakin course (whatever that may be) is considered to be the principal course because it is the higher level course.

Students must apply for a release by completing the release application form. The form and all accompanying documentation must be emailed to int.release.refund@deakin.edu.au. This is the only method by which an application can be accepted. A paper application is not acceptable.

Apart from the relevant application form, the release application must include the following documentation:

• Personal statement from the student outlining the reason they are requesting a release from Deakin
• Official transcript of study
• Evidence of an offer of study at another provider
• Evidence of compelling or compassionate circumstances (if relevant)

Please refer to the release guidelines if you wish to apply for a release from Deakin.

Yes. Under the National Code, a student may appeal a decision not to grant a release by writing to Appeals Administration via email at di-release-appeals@deakin.edu.au within 20 working days of the date on the outcome letter. If a student wishes to appeal, they must attach any previously unsubmitted new evidence with their appeal.

In the case that you have unsuccessfully appealed against the decision to refuse a release, you two options. These are:

• You can remain at Deakin until you have completed 6 months of your course and can then discontinue from your course at Deakin without restriction; or
• You may depart Australia. Once evidence of your departure has been provided to Deakin International Quality and Compliance, your CoE will be cancelled. This will enable you to apply for a new visa with a new provider

Under the Streamlined Visa Processing (SVP) guidelines, we will not release a student who has entered Australia on a visa for an SVP-eligible course who, after visa grant, is seeking to transfer to a non-SVP eligible course at another provider. Student visa holders who arrive in Australia under SVP arrangements and then purposefully transfer to a non-SVP eligible course without applying for a new student visa will likely be in breach of their student visa and may be subject to visa cancellation.

Details of the SVP program can be found on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection's website.

You should also read the information about changing courses on the DIBP website.

If you want to apply for both a release and refund, you MUST apply for your release letter first. You can not lodge an application for release and refund at the same time.

Once you have received your release outcome letter, you can then apply for a refund.

If you submit your release and refund applications together at the same time, your refund application will be rejected and you will need to submit a new refund application after you have received your release outcome letter.