Australian Tertiary Admission Rank

The Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) for all domestic students, or the ATAR-based Combined Rank (CR) for all International Baccalaureate (IB) students,^[2] are the primary criteria for determining the Selection Rank (SR) for admission into undergraduate courses in Australian public universities.^[3] Domestic Students are students who are Australian or New Zealand citizens, or Australian permanent residents, or the holder of long-term refugee visa. ATAR & CR are not applicable for international students as they must apply directly to each university separately and their SR is calculated by the university. The ATAR is calculated by each state or territory's own state-level Tertiary Admission Center (TAC) for all domestic students studying within their geographical limits. Interstate Domestic Students must apply to the TAC of their respective state. The Selection Rank is calculated by each University separately based on the ATAR or CR as well as additional points for each university's unique criteria such as a student's educational disadvantage or subject performance. ATAR is not a mark, but rather a percentile ranking between 0.00 and 99.95 which shows the student’s relative position compared to all other students in the range of 16 to 20 years old who would have completed their respective year 12 exams in that state in a year.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

The ATAR rank provides an indication of the overall position of the student in relation to the student body for that year across the state. A higher ATAR gives preference to that student for the course to which they wish to enrol in a university of their choice. The ATAR is used by all Australian public universities via their respective state-level Tertiary Admissions Centers, which are the unified admission center for all the universities within that state or territory.^[9] These bodies then allocate positions for the tertiary institutions in their relevant states. Private universities, with the exception of Bond University,^[10] do not primarily consider the ATAR and students must apply directly. The list of state-level TACs are as follows:

• Australian Capital Territory & New South Wales: Universities Admissions Centre (UAC).^[9]

• Northern Territory & South Australia: South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre (SATAC).^[9]

• Queensland: Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC).^[9]

• Tasmania: University of Tasmania, Tasmania is an exception, where the University of Tasmania is the only tertiary institution and therefore acts as a self-governing admissions centre.^[9]

• Victoria: Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC).^[9]

• Western Australia: Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC).^[9]