Australian, New Zealand and overseas secondary studies

• Australian Year 12 qualifications
• Cut-offs
• International Baccalaureate
• NZ NCEA Level 3
• Other qualifications

Institutions may also take other criteria into account such as a portfolio, interview, audition, questionnaire or a test for certain courses either instead of, or together with, the ATAR. You can find details of any additional selection criteria in the course descriptions available through the international course search.

Australian Year 12 qualifications

If you completed an Australian Year 12 qualification in or outside Australia in 2012, or will complete one in 2013, admission to most tertiary courses is based on your overall achievement in those studies.

The measure of overall achievement allows all Australian school leavers (including international students who have completed an Australian Year 12 qualification) to be treated equitably alongside each other, through the use of an overall rank on a common scale.

This overall rank goes by different names in the various Australian states and territories:

• For NSW Year 12 applicants, the ATAR as provided by UAC is used.
• For ACT Year 12 applicants, the ATAR as provided by the ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies (ACTBSSS) is used.
• For Queensland Year 12 applicants who completed the Queensland Senior Certificate, are eligible for an Overall Position (OP), and apply to UAC, the rank as provided by the Queensland Studies Authority (QSA) is used to derive an equivalent ATAR. This rank is not reported by the Board to applicants. OPs shown in the Year 12 conversion table can be used as a guide. Students who complete a Queensland Senior External Examination are not eligible for an OP; UAC calculates a UAC rank for these students.
• For South Australian and Northern Territory Year 12 applicants, the ATAR as provided by the South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre (SATAC) is used.
• For Tasmanian Year 12 applicants, the ATAR as provided by the University of Tasmania, calculated by the Tasmanian Qualifications Authority, is used.
• For Victorian Year 12 applicants, the ATAR as calculated and distributed by the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) is used.
• For Western Australian Year 12 applicants, the Murdoch ATAR as provided by the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC) is used.

Cut-offs

The interaction of three factors determines cut-offs:

• the number of places available in the course
• the number of applicants for the course
• the quality of those applicants.

These three factors mean that cut-offs change from year to year and are impossible to predict before applicants are selected for a particular course in a particular admissions period. The cut-offs for any course can rise, fall or remain the same from year to year.

The international course search shows the cut-offs that Year 12 applicants needed for entry into each course in the Main Round in January 2012 or projected cut-offs that may be required for selection in 2013. Use these cut-offs as a guide when deciding on your preferences. Remember that the cut-offs indicate the lowest ATAR accepted for entry into the course – they don't represent the average ability of the students accepted for the course. The cut-offs also include any bonus points, so some applicants may have received an offer to a course even though their ATAR was below the cut-off.

Cut-offs for entry in mid-2013 won’t be known until selection is actually made during the offer rounds. Cut-offs in the course search are supplied as a general guide to help you assess your chances of getting into a particular course.

International Baccalaureate

If you completed an International Baccalaureate Diploma in 2012, and are applying for admission through UAC, a rank will be calculated for you by UAC provided that you are eligible for award of the International Baccalaureate Diploma or Bilingual Diploma.

Read the International Baccalaureate Diploma or Bilingual Diploma FAQ for further information.

New Zealand NCEA Level 3 students

For students who've completed the NCEA Level 3, an Interstate Transfer Index (ITI) will be calculated by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) and provided to UAC; this will be used in the selection process, provided that you've fulfilled university entrance requirements as set by NZQA. NZQA does not report this ITI to applicants. Queries about this ITI and university entrance requirements should be made to NZQA.

Other qualifications

You might also have other qualifications for admission; for example, you might have attempted a school-leaving qualification before 2012 in Australia or overseas. You need to tell us about these qualifications when you apply so we can include these in your assessment profile.