No, you can't 'defer' like at uni.
Only in some circumstances do they allow refunds (see below). If there is a 2nd semester intake (ask the head teacher) then you should be able to reapply (if it is an application course), but you would have to pay for another concession fee (e.g. $50 if on Centrelink benefits) or else the course fee again (half year = half price). Another option is to do just one or two units so your enrolment remains active.
Especially if you have paid in full upfront and want to keep your place, see the head teacher about co-enrolling in some of the following modules (from your course) at OTEN (TAFE by distance) as they don't look too structual engineering specific. Co-enrolling means you still are a student at your local TAFE, but also an OTEN one too.
BSBFLM501B Manage personal work priorities and professional development 40
BSBFLM502A Provide leadership in the workplace 40
BSBFLM506A Manage workplace information systems 40
CHCCOM4B Develop, implement and promote effective communication techniques 70
Best person to speak about your particular circumstances is the engineering head teacher.
From the TAFE website...
Withdrawing from your course or applying for a refund
If you are withdrawing from your course or applying for a refund you need to complete a Withdrawal/Refund Application Form (Adobe PDF format – 47kB) and post it or return it to your campus of enrolment.
A refund of all or part of the TAFE NSW fee may be given in the following exceptional circumstances:
You have overpaid the TAFE NSW fee.
You enrolled in a course that has been cancelled by the campus or Institute.
You have paid the full TAFE NSW fee but now receive Youth Allowance or Austudy commencing within two weeks of the date of enrolment or the date of first attendance at class (you will be eligible for a concession).
You are offered and accept a place in a course at university or at the same/another TAFE NSW campus within the first three teaching weeks.
You enrol in a course only to repeat a failed unit/module but are then granted a pass in that unit/module by an Assessment Review Committee.
You formally advise the campus, before classes commence and with no attendance, that you are withdrawing from the course.
You made full-year payment and withdrew with no attendance in Semester Two. You may be eligible for a refund of the Semester Two TAFE NSW fee.
The campus delegate is of the opinion that you would be unreasonably disadvantaged if you were not granted a refund, for example, if you meet with a serious misadventure and you were unable to continue your enrolment.
Other appropriate circumstances, such as:
extended hospitalisation or illness (two weeks minimum) supported by a medical certificate and resulting in extended absence from classes. In this case a refund of the TAFE NSW fee for the second semester may be given;
pregnancy/childbirth (other than in cases of medical complication covered by the above). In this case a refund of the TAFE NSW fee for the second semester may be given.
Circumstances not usually regarded as grounds for a refund include:
job change
change in work hours
inconvenience of travel to college
moving interstate
redundancy/retrenchment.
