How the ATAR works in each state

• The ATAR is a rank against the whole age cohort, not a mark. It runs from 99.95 down to 30.00 in 0.05 steps.
• Every system scales subjects so that results from different subjects can be compared before they are added together.
• Only final-year (Year 12 or Stage 2) results count. Year 11 never contributes directly.
• Scaling and the aggregate-to-ATAR conversion are recalculated after results are final, so every calculator is an estimate built on the previous year's data.

Victoria (VCE, calculated by VTAC)

Inputs are study scores out of 50. VTAC scales them and adds your English study, your next best three, and 10% of your fifth and sixth. VTAC publishes full scaling tables each year. Read the VCE guide or open the VCE ATAR Calculator.

New South Wales (HSC, calculated by UAC)

Inputs are HSC marks, themselves an average of exam and moderated school marks. UAC scales each course to a mark out of 50 per unit and adds your best 2 units of English plus your best 8 other units, for an aggregate out of 500. Read the HSC guide or open the NSW ATAR Calculator.

Queensland (QCE, calculated by QTAC)

Inputs are subject results out of 100 for General subjects. QTAC scales each and adds your best five (at least four General) into a TEA out of 500. A C in an English subject is required for eligibility but need not count. Read the QCE guide or open the QLD ATAR Calculator.

Western Australia (WACE, calculated by TISC)

Inputs are combined marks (50:50 moderated school and exam) in ATAR courses. TISC standardises and scales them and adds your best four into a TEA out of 400. From 2026 there are no TEA bonuses. Read the WACE guide or open the WA ATAR Calculator.

South Australia and Northern Territory (SACE and NTCET, calculated by SATAC)

Inputs are grades (A+ to E-) on 20- or 10-credit subjects. SATAC converts and scales them and builds a 90-credit University Aggregate: your best three 20-credit subjects plus a 30-credit flexible option. Read the SACE guide or open the SA ATAR Calculator.

Tasmania and the ACT

Tasmania (TCE, ranked by TASC) and the ACT (ACT Senior Secondary Certificate, ranked by the BSSS using the ACT Scaling Test) produce ATARs on the same 30.00 to 99.95 scale. We do not yet offer calculators for either.

• How many results count: four in WA, four plus two increments in Victoria, five in Queensland, ten units in NSW, and 90 credits (roughly four and a half subjects) in SA and NT.
• Whether English must count: it must in Victoria and NSW; it is an eligibility hurdle but need not count in Queensland; in WA and SA it is a certificate requirement rather than an ATAR one.
• How much the final exam is worth: half of every HSC mark in NSW and every WA combined mark; 25% or 50% by subject in Queensland; 30% of a SACE grade; and study-specific in Victoria.
• Transparency: Victoria publishes mark-by-mark scaling, Queensland publishes percentile anchors, NSW and WA publish summary statistics, and SA publishes only the final conversion table.

Because every system produces a rank on the same scale, an ATAR from any state is accepted by universities in every other state. You do not convert it. What differs is only how it was built, so if you move mid-course the receiving state's rules decide which of your results can count.