Victorian Certificate of Education

Victorian Certificate of Education examination
A mock-up of an exam paper's front page
AcronymVCE
TypePaper-based Standardised Exam
AdministratorVictorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority
Skills testedVaries depending on the subject, but in almost all VCE subjects general knowledge, fundamental writing, and numerical skills are tested.
PurposeAdmission to undergraduate programs of universities and colleges
Year started1987 (1987)
DurationVarious
Score range0–50 study scores
OfferedBiannually[a]
Restrictions on attemptsSame unit cannot count twice towards unit requirements
RegionsVictoria, Australia[b]
LanguagesEnglish[c]
Annual number of test takers90,780 (2022)[1]
FeeFree for local students
AU$75.2–465.0 for international students depending on units taken[2]
Used byUniversities, mainly through Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC)
Websitewww.vcaa.vic.edu.au/curriculum/vce/Pages/Index.aspx

The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is the credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria as well as in some international schools in China, Malaysia, Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam.

About 67% of all 19-year-olds in Victoria had completed the VCE in 2020.[3]

Study for the VCE is usually completed over two years, but can be spread over a longer period in some cases.

The VCE was established as a pilot project in 1987. The earlier Higher School Certificate (HSC) was abolished in 1992.[4][5]

Delivery of the VCE Vocational Major, an "applied learning" program within the VCE, began in 2023.[6]


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  1. ^ Senior Secondary Completion and Achievement Information, 2022, VCAA, retrieved 13 April 2023
  2. ^ "Fees and charges". www.vcaa.vic.edu.au. VCAA. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Senior Secondary Certificate Statistical Information 2020". Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Government of Victoria. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  4. ^ "Curriculum and Assessment: A Question of Politics?" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2007. Retrieved 10 November 2009.
  5. ^ "Public Records Office Victoria". Archived from the original on 19 September 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
  6. ^ Carey, Adam; Precel, Nicole (28 January 2023). "Students to benefit from hands-on reform of VCE". The Age. Retrieved 19 September 2023.