News

Year 12 students: your guide to uni application dates

20 Mar 2026

Thinking of further study once you’ve finished school but not sure where (or when) to get started?

You’ve come to the right place. When you apply through UAC, you can choose from 2,500+ courses at more than 30 universities and colleges, all in one simple online application. 

To help you plan ahead, here's a timeline of all the important application, scholarship and early offer dates.

Remember, it’s okay not to know exactly where you’re heading next year. You’ll get support from your school over the coming months, plus UAC will be here with you every step of the way – from researching courses and submitting your application through to receiving and accepting an offer from your uni of choice.

Contact us if you need help: we’re always here to answer your questions. You might even meet our Community Engagement team at your school or at an expo or uni open day.

Good luck with your studies. We look forward to joining you on your application journey!

Terms 1 and 2

8 April

Applications open for domestic students

  • Not all courses will be available for selection straight away but they'll all be there by August
  • UAC PINs emailed to NSW and ACT students on this day: you need it to start your application (and view your ATAR in December)
  • Need help getting started? Read these steps to uni for Year 12 students

Term 3

early August

All courses available

  • All courses will be available to preference on your UAC application
August/
September

Uni open days

  • Talk directly to university staff and students and tour the campus at institutions you are interested in
  • Check upcoming dates on UAC's uni open days web page
11 September

Schools Recommendation Scheme closing date 

30 September

Early bird applications close

  • Apply and pay by 11.59pm on this date to avoid a substantial increase to the application processing charge
  • If you're unsure about which courses to choose, you can change your preferences later

Term 4

October/
November

HSC exams

  • Good luck for your final assessments and exams! We’ll provide tips and resources from experts to support you
  • Reach out to friends, a trusted adult or professional if you feel overwhelmed

Next steps

November

Entry scheme deadlines

  • If you’ve applied for SRS, finalise your UAC application preferences by 5 November. SRS conditional and unconditional offers will be released on 12 November
  • If you're submitting an Educational Access Scheme application, make sure you've submitted and uploaded your documents by 19 November so that it is considered in December Round 2 (first ATAR-based offers)
16 December

ATAR and HSC results released

18 December

IB Admissions Score (IBAS) released

  • IBAS emailed to NSW and ACT students by UAC from 10am

December Round 2 deadline

23 December

December Round 2 offers

  • First round of ATAR-based offers released
  • Accept your offer and remove it from your preferences: you can still receive offers in later offer rounds, even if you’ve already accepted a previous offer
  • Change your preferences for the next offer round
January to March 2027

Offer rounds continue

  • January Round 1 offers, the second round of ATAR-based offers, released early January
  • Institutions will continue to make offers until they have filled all places in their courses
  • Most courses start between mid-February and early March