What is the ATAR?

The ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) is a number between 0.00 and 99.95 that ranks Year 12 students against their age group. It is not a mark out of 100 — an ATAR of 80.00 means you finished roughly ahead of 80 per cent of the cohort, not that you scored 80 per cent. It is the main number universities use to offer places. Here is how the ATAR works in VCE (Victoria), the HSC (New South Wales) and the QCE (Queensland), what counts as a good ATAR, and how to lift yours.

What the ATAR actually is

The ATAR is a rank, not a score. It is reported from 0.00 to 99.95 in steps of 0.05, and it describes your overall position relative to everyone else in your age group. Because it is a rank, doing well means out-performing the other students sitting the same subjects as you — not hitting a fixed mark. The lowest reported rank in most states is 30.00, with anything below that shown as "30.00 or less".

How the ATAR is calculated in VCE

In Victoria the chain runs: your school assessments (SACs) and exams produce a study score out of 50 for each subject; VTAC then scales each study score so a given level of achievement counts comparably across subjects; your best scaled scores are combined into an aggregate (your best English study is compulsory, plus your next best three, plus a 10 per cent increment from up to two more); and that aggregate is ranked to produce your ATAR. For the full breakdown, read how the ATAR is calculated and VCE subject scaling explained.

How the ATAR works in NSW (HSC)

The HSC uses the same idea with different bodies. NESA reports your HSC marks; UAC scales those marks and calculates the ATAR from your best 10 units, including two units of English. Your HSC mark for each course is reported in bands (1 to 6, where Band 6 is the top), but the ATAR itself is still a rank built from your scaled marks. See how the ATAR works in NSW and how to get a Band 6.

How the ATAR works in Queensland (QCE)

Queensland runs the same idea again with its own bodies. The QCAA reports a subject result out of 100 for each General subject, built from your internal assessments and the external assessment. QTAC then applies equipercentile inter-subject scaling, so that a result means the same thing whichever subjects you took, and builds your aggregate from your scaled results before ranking every Queensland student into an ATAR on the same 0.00 to 99.95 scale. English is a requirement for an ATAR in Queensland, though it does not have to be one of the subjects that counts toward your aggregate. See how each QCE subject scales, use the QCE ATAR calculator, or browse every QCE subject we cover.

What is a good ATAR?

A good ATAR is simply the one that gets you into the course you want — it depends entirely on your goal, and entry requirements change every year. Rather than chasing a single number, look up the published requirements for your specific courses through VTAC, UAC and the universities. You can use our ATAR calculator to get an indicative estimate from your study scores while you plan (it is a guide, not your real ATAR).

How to lift your ATAR

Because the ATAR is a rank built from scaled scores, the lever you control is your achievement in each subject. The students who improve most do the same unglamorous thing: sit full exams under timed conditions, mark honestly against a proper guide, and re-drill the gaps. That is more effective than re-reading notes — the reasoning is in the best way to study for exams and how to get a good ATAR. Plan backwards from the exam dates with a VCE study schedule, and check the 2026 exam timetable.