Submitting your thesis

How to prepare and how to submit your doctoral thesis for examination in Panoho.
Submission deadlines for 2026

Registration end date

Submission deadline

Friday 31 July 2026Friday 31 July 2026, 11:59pm
Monday 31 August 2026Monday 31 August 2026, 11:59pm
Wednesday 30 September 2026Wednesday 30 September 2026, 11:59pm
Saturday 31 October 2026Monday 2 November 2026, 4:00pm
Monday 30 November 2026Monday 30 November 2026, 11:59pm
Thursday 31 December 2026Tuesday 5 January, 2027, 4:00pm

A doctoral degree represents at least 3 years of full-time study at an advanced level. You must have been registered (i.e., not on suspension) for a minimum of 36 months full-time (or equivalent) before your thesis can be submitted for examination.

Around three months before you plan to submit your thesis for examination:

  1. Check that you are currently registered and will have been registered for the three months immediately prior to submission. Contact the FGR Student Adviser team if you need to discuss your registration.
  2. Talk to your primary supervisor (and your School's Postgraduate Administrator) about your intention to submit and discuss how long they will need to review your final draft. Your supervisory team may ask you to make changes to your thesis before they approve your submission.
  3. Save a PDF of your Abstract and share this with your supervisors as they will use this when approaching examiners. Having examiners approved before submission helps avoid delays.
  4. In Panoho, create an Examination Record and complete the Notice of Intention to Submit form.
  5. Consider the University’s guidelines on presentation of your thesis.
  6. Read the University’s guidelines for including publications in a doctoral thesis. You will be asked about publications when you complete your Thesis Submission form in Panoho.
  7. Check your thesis length. If required, submit a Permission to Exceed the Word Limit form in Panoho. Find this form in the Candidature Change Requests section.
  8. Check the expectations around thesis availability. If required, apply for a Thesis Embargo in Panoho. Find this form in the Candidature Change Requests section.
  9. Read the Artificial Intelligence Guidelines for the Faculty of Graduate Research and discuss with your supervisor(s) whether you need to include an acknowledgement statement in your thesis.

Submitting your thesis in Panoho

To submit, you will need to upload a PDF of your thesis via the Thesis Submission form in Panoho by the deadline (see the table above).

This form will open once your Notice of Intention to Submit (NOITS) is completed. NOITS needs your supervisor to approve it, and then the FGR Advisers Team to complete it, so allow plenty of time for this form to be processed. This form also prompts your supervisors to nominate your examiners, so it's good to complete this early to avoid unnecessary delays.

Your submission form flows to your supervisor to support. Then the FGR Exams Team will update your Student Record and you will be notified by email from the system that your submission is complete.  You can also track the progress of your exam in Panoho.

If you submit by the deadline (see above), it will be considered on time, even if your supervisor’s approval is delayed. Missing this deadline may require an extra month of registration and fees. For more details, refer to candidature changes.

Once your submission is completed, you can download a Confirmation of Submission for Examination letter from Panoho. This document can be used to support a Post-Study Work Visa application if needed

On the final day of your registration, you will receive an automated email advising that access to University resources will end in 28 days. The Exams Team will update your status to “under examination” before your access is affected, ensuring continued access to University systems throughout the examination period and for 28 days after you deposit your thesis in the Library.