ATAR
Results and the ATAR
Summary: Find out how to get your ATAR or notional ATAR. The following also explains the ATAR and scaling, including how the ATAR is calculated, why subjects are scaled, and the rules and restrictions on studies which can or can't be used for the ATAR.
Getting your results and ATAR
Current Victorian Year 12 students receive an ATAR through VTAC in December. Some International Baccalaureate (IB) students will receive a Notional ATAR. Interstate and New Zealand Year 12 students will receive their results from the relevant body administering secondary studies.
Current Victorian Year 12 students
Your VCE study scores, ATAR and VTAC Scaled Study Scores will be available to you via the Results and ATAR website and the Results and ATAR app. All current VCE students will receive a statement of VCE study scores from the VCAA.
How to access your results online
The VCE results and ATAR Service closed at 5pm (AET), 15 December.
VCE students that have applied for courses through VTAC can access their ATAR in the VTAC account.
Digital ATAR
If you are a current paid VTAC applicant, you will receive an email registration request to create a My eQuals account. Within the My eQuals portal, you can view and share your official ATAR statement and any qualifications from teritary institutions.
Previous ATAR statements
If you completed Year 12 in Victoria in a previous year, you can request a statement of your ATAR (or Notional ATAR) by submitting an order to VTAC through the ATAR reprint service.
To request previous/replacement VCE Statements of Results, visit the VCAA website.
International Baccalaureate (IB) students
If you are studying International Baccalaureate and if your school has submitted the results release service to the International Baccalaureate organisation, your IB results will be released to your school from the IB Curriculum and Assessment Office (Cardiff, UK) in late December. You can obtain your results from your IB coordinator.
If you are eligible for a notional ATAR, have applied for courses through VTAC this year, and paid your VTAC processing fees you will be sent a notional ATAR statement.
For the IBAS to notional ATAR conversion table and other information specific to IB applicants, please visit our IB Applicants page.
Do you need to supply results to VTAC?
Most VTAC applicants do not need to provide VTAC with documentation. This includes documentation of Australian Year 12 results, New Zealand results and most Australian tertiary results. If you are required to supply documentation, you will be notified by VTAC as a part of the application process. For the types of documentation that VTAC may require see Results and qualifications VTAC cannot access from Australia or New Zealand
When applying through VTAC with international qualifications (other than New Zealand), you need to provide high-quality copies of relevant transcripts, certificates, translations or assessments. See Overseas results and qualifications.
The ATAR and scaling
Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR)
The ATAR is not a score out of 100 – it is a rank. It shows a student's achievement in relation to other students.
The ATAR (previously known as ENTER) is calculated by VTAC solely for the use of tertiary institutions to compare the overall achievement of students who have completed different combinations of VCE studies. VTAC forwards the ATAR along with application information to selection authorities at institutions.
VTAC has created a guide to understanding scaling and ATAR rules and restrictions. The most recent guide applies to students that will complete year 12 in 2027.
Students completing year 12 in 2025 or 2026 should refer to the following guides:
How is the ATAR calculated?
VTAC uses VCE results issued by the VCAA (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority) to calculate the ATAR. The ATAR is a percentile rank, so it shows the relative performance of each student compared to everyone else in their age group.
The ATAR is a rank based on each student’s aggregate (or total) produced by adding:
- The VTAC scaled study score in one of English, English Language, Literature or English as an Additional Language (EAL)
- The next best three VTAC scaled study scores permissible; and
- 10% of the fifth and sixth permissible scores that are available.
Transcript of the video: How is the ATAR calculated
How is the ATAR calculated?
The ATAR stands for the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank.
It is a tool for tertiary selection based on relative performance in the VCE.
It allows tertiary courses to make fair comparisons between students who have completed different combinations of senior secondary subjects.
It is a nationally-equivalent ranking and is not a score for the VCE. It is a rank showing relative performance.
So how is it actually calculated?
Once your study scores have been scaled, VTAC commences the ATAR calculation.
First, we calculate your aggregate, which is the sum of your primary four scaled scores PLUS up to two permissible increments.
A maximum of six studies can contribute to your aggregate.
Your primary four aggregate is the sum of, your highest eligible English group subject and your next three highest eligible subjects.
If applicable, a maximum of two increments can be added to your primary four.
Increments may include, 10% of a fifth or sixth scaled study score (VCE Unit 3 and 4 sequence). A permissible non-scaled VCE VET or VE3 increment. A permissible higher education study increment. A year 12 credit for studies completed interstate.
If you have more than six results, only the highest-scoring six will be used for your ATAR calculation.
Once aggregates are calculated for all students, they are ranked and placed on a percentile scale - converting them into ATAR’s.
Your aggregate is the total of your permissible scaled study scores, which can range from 0 to over 210 (in exceptional cases). Aggregates are placed on a percentile scale to produce ATAR from 0 to 99.95.
The group of students with the highest aggregates will be assigned the highest ATAR of 99.95.
ATARs below 30.00 are reported as ‘less than 30’ on ATAR statements.
Why isn’t there an ATAR of 100?
As the ATAR is a percentile ranking, it ranks you against everyone in the Year 12 age group.
Your ATAR represents the percentage of people you performed higher than.
Therefore, it’s statistically impossible for students with the highest result to perform better than themselves.
For more information, visit www.vtac.edu.au or call our team on (03) 9926 1020.
Who gets an ATAR?
VCE students: VTAC calculates an ATAR for all VCE students who have successfully completed the VCE and satisfied minimum tertiary entrance requirements. Only applicants who have at least four VCE study scores in an acceptable combination will have an ATAR calculated.
Interstate Year 12 students: If you are studying an interstate Year 12, VTAC receives your results and ranks from your state admissions centre/authority. Interstate Year 12 authorities provide you with an ATAR.
Notional ATAR
A notional ATAR is a rank calculated by VTAC used to directly compare the results of applicants who have studied under different Victorian educational systems. For example, if you have gained a Victorian secondary qualification other than the VCE (e.g. Matriculation, HSC, IB), you will not have an ATAR. A notional ATAR is calculated to indicate that you meet minimum tertiary entrance requirements in Victoria.
A notional ATAR is created for:
- all applicants who have successfully completed a full Victorian Year 12 attempt prior to 1992;
- all applicants with a combination of pre-1992 and post-1992 Victorian Year 12 subjects (including English) who have for the first time, at least four VCE study scores, VCE (HSC) Group 1 subjects or their predecessors;
- all applicants who have studied International Baccalaureate in Victoria, qualified for the IB Diploma and sat the GAT (or received formal exemption).
ATAR profile
Courses that use the ATAR in selection publish an ATAR profile. This is a summary of selection data from the previous selection round.
The profile shows the highest, median and lowest ATARs of applicants to whom offers were made: firstly for the ‘raw' or unadjusted ATAR before any adjustments such as SEAS or subject bonuses are applied, and secondly for the selection rank—the ATAR after adjustments are applied.
The ATAR profile displayed on VTAC CourseSearch entries is the data from the main offer round in January. Institutions may also publish further tables on their websites, which adjust the profiles based on subsequent offers made through VTAC or directly to the institution.
Courses which make a small number of offers based on the ATAR will publish “L/N” (low number) or “<5 offers” instead of numeric data to protect the privacy of those applicants. For courses which do not use the ATAR in selection, you may see an “N/P” or “–” (not published) indication.
The lowest selection rank
The piece of data in an ATAR profile that is most useful when applying is the ‘lowest selection rank'. This represents the minimum selection rank (ATAR or adjusted ATAR) needed to have been sure of selection into that course in that selection period (if course requirements including prerequisites were also met).
Lowest selection ranks are not set ahead of selection—they are produced as a result of the selection process. You can use the lowest selection rank from the previous year as a broad indicator of how competitive entry into a course was that year, and it can assist them to evaluate their chances of an offer in the next selection period. Keep in mind, that if your ATAR is below the lowest selection rank, it may still be worth listing this course as a preference as you might be eligible for adjustment factors such as interviews, tests, auditions, and/or special consideration for access and equity schemes, and the lowest selection rank might be lower in the year you apply than the year before.
The ATAR profile provides an array of other data that you can read about in The ATAR profile explained fact sheet.
Subject adjustment points
Subject adjustment points may be awarded to eligible Year 12 applicants as part of the selection process. Subject adjustment points are applied to the aggregate, not the ATAR. Use the subject adjustment tool to estimate your course selection rank.