These are indicative ATAR cut-off scores for 2022 going into 2023. They are not guaranteed by us. Always check with the individual uni first. You may be able to get in with a lower score, especially if you have adjustment factors in your favour that increase your selection rank.

Minimum ATAR Scores by University and Degree

University Arts Bus STEM Avg
University of Melbourne 88 93 85 89
University of New South Wales 80 93 80 84
University of Sydney 80 96 80 85
Australian National University 80 80 80 80
University of Queensland 70 78 80 76
University of Western Australia 75 75 75 75
Macquarie University 75 80 75 77
University of Technology Sydney 74 85 75 78
Western Sydney University 72 70 70 71
Monash University 70 75 75 73
Queensland University of Technology 70 70 70 70
University of New England 73 73 73 73
University of Wollongong 70 70 75 72
RMIT University 70 70 70 70
Curtin University 70 70 70 70
Edith Cowan University 70 70 70 70
Murdoch University 70 70 70 70
Bond University 65 65 65 65
University of Notre Dame Australia 70 70 70 70
University of Adelaide 70 80 75 75
Swinburne University of Technology 60 60 65 62
Griffith University 65 65 65 65
University of Newcastle 62 70 65 66
CQUniversity 60 60 69 63
University of South Australia 65 65 68 66
Deakin University 60 63 62 62
La Trobe University 60 55 66 60
University of Southern Queensland 58 63 66 62
Torrens University Australia 50 50 50 50
Southern Cross University 60 60 60 60
Flinders University 60 60 60 60
Australian Catholic University 59 59 59 59
Charles Sturt University 55 60 65 60
University of Tasmania 52 52 65 56
University of the Sunshine Coast 51 51 51 51
Charles Darwin University 60 60 60 60
James Cook University 60 60 67 62
Federation University Australia 50 50 60 53
University of Canberra 60 60 60 60
Victoria University 50 50 50 50
Last updated: 14 September 2022
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Arts: Bachelor of Arts (or similar). May be for a specific major such as Creative Writing, History or Journalism.
Business: Bachelor of Business, or Bachelor of Commerce (general entry)
STEM — Science: Bachelor of Science degree. May be for a specific major, such as Biology or Environmental Science.

ATAR stands for Australian Tertiary Admission Rank.

Each university has its own policies around ATARs and the figures are not perfectly comparable. But they do provide a guide as to what sort of score you need to comfortably gain entry into the relevant university program. Please check university course guides before making final enrolment choices.

  • The figures are from university websites and were gathered shortly before being published in the table.
  • Universities often use the final cut-off score for previous years as guidance. Some unis have fixed ATARs or selection ranks. Other unis adjust cut-off scores depending on demand for places.
  • Where there are different scores for a subject at a uni (e.g. by campus or specialisation), the lowest or most common score is generally reported.
  • A score of 50 may mean that the university sets low admission standards and doesn’t use ATARs.

The average ATAR score for each university effectively gives a ranking of the hardest and easiest universities to get into in Australia. Note that average scores for enrolled students may be significantly higher than the minimum ATARs shown. If you just make the cut off, you would probably be towards the bottom of the class in terms of Year 12 academic achievement.

Convert an ATAR to an IQ Score

Find out what your ATAR implies about your general intelligence quotient using this slider.

To do the calculation, we mapped the ATAR onto a normal distribution. If you’re an average student, the result may be quite close to your IQ. For overachieving students, who study harder than normal, your ATAR could overstate your IQ. For underachievers, who are slack with study, you might have a higher IQ than your ATAR indicates.

Scoring 70 for example means you beat 69 out of every 100 people in your age group. Those 69 either didn’t record an ATAR or scored less than you. An ATAR of 70 corresponds with an IQ of 108.

Average ATAR and Good vs Bad Scores

Average ATAR results

Is your ATAR good, average or bad? Well, just recording an ATAR is an accomplishment. Not everyone does it. But what is the average ATAR?

The average ATAR for people finishing Year 12 in Australia is around 70.00. Females usually score slightly better than males. The average ATAR reduces to 50.00 once you include people who dropped out or failed.

What is a good ATAR score?

You want to achieve an ATAR that allows you to study the field you’re interested in, preferably at the university of your choice.

For most people, a good ATAR score is 80.00. Eighty is the minimum ATAR for entry into most programs at the Australian National University. ANU has the fourth highest undergraduate admission standards in Australia. With a score of 80.00, you’re in a strong position and have plenty of options.

An ATAR from 70.00 and 79.95 is also a creditable outcome that will open doors for you. A score of 70.00 will get you into major programs at around two-thirds of Australia’s 40 mainstream universities.

Several mid-ranking universities in Australia set 70.00 as the minimum selection rank for popular courses. These include QUT, RMIT, Curtin, ECU and Murdoch University. At last count, 15 universities had average cut-off scores from 60.00 to 69.95.

An 80 ATAR is difficult to achieve since only 20 percent of people score 80.00 or more. Out of five kids who you went to high school with, only one on average will go on to get an 80 ATAR or better.

An ATAR of 75 is hard to get when you consider that only one in four people manage to do it. You can interpret this score as saying that 75 percent of people in the age cohort either didn’t get an ATAR or scored lower. Only 25 percent, or one-quarter, of people did better.

Of all the ATAR scores, 65 is the one best described as OK. A 65 ATAR automatically qualifies you for entry into about half of Australia’s universities. While your choices are somewhat limited, you should still be able to find a suitable course and receive an offer.

Notwithstanding this, earning an ATAR of 65 is a solid achievement. Just over a third people in your age cohort (35% to be exact) achieved a higher score.

An ATAR of 60.00 is not a good score. In terms of gaining admission into Australian universities, you could consider it a bare pass. School leavers with a score below 60 have limited options for university study.

Getting to 60 is important since that increases the number of universities you can go to from about 6 to more like 16. That’s why it’s like a passing grade in the world of the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank.

But you should know that you’ll be towards the bottom of your class in terms of academic achievement if you enter university with a 60.00 score. As you look around the room in your first lecture and think about which students might be the ones to fail, the first person you probably should be looking at is you. You’ll need to step up from what you did in secondary education to do well at university.

A poor ATAR is any score below 60.00. With that kind of result, you still may be eligible to attend university. After all, a couple of universities don’t even require an ATAR. But you’ll have slim pickings in terms of universities you can attend and programs that will accept you.

You may have to consider a move to regional Australia to become a university student. Universities that may accept a selection rank in the 50s include UTAS, FedUni and the University of the Sunshine Coast. Torrens University and Victoria University are another couple of potential options since they don’t use ATARs.

An ATAR of 50 is a fair achievement but won’t help you get into university. Scoring 50.00 means that you did about as well as average. Half of your age group either didn’t get an ATAR or their score was lower.

In terms of going to university, a 50 ATAR is bad. Universities that require an ATAR have minimum standards that begin with the University of the Sunshine Coast at 51. Without adjustments factors, an ATAR of 50 is of little to no help by itself.

In theory, the ATAR is a number ranging from 0.05 to 99.95 in intervals of 0.05. The lowest rank is 0.05, the next lowest 0.10, and so on. But the lowest reported rank is 30.00, with all ranks below 30.00 simply reported as ‘less than 30’.

About University ATAR Cut-Off Scores

University student studying

The table of university course entry scores uses ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) cut offs for bachelor degrees. These provide guidance for 2023 admissions. They represent the minimum ATAR required or lowest selection rank.

An ATAR score of 70 out of 100, for example, means you are in the top 30 percent for academic achievement in your cohort. Only 30 percent of people around your age completed secondary education and achieved better grades.

ATAR scores are published by the universities and indicate the score a school leaver needs to achieve to receive an offer. Some are fixed while others are estimated scores based on final cut-offs for 2022 applicants. The sample consists of three of the most popular undergraduate degrees: Arts, Business/Commerce, and Science/Engineering.

Universities often convert ATAR scores into selection ranks when making placement offers. The selection rank or adjusted ATAR is based on your raw ATAR score. You may be able to access a program with a score below the minimum ATAR after your ATAR is adjusted upwards.

Points may be added to account for factors such as: your performance in certain HSC subjects, school location, special entry access scheme, TAFE qualifications, completion of a pathways program, and the grade point average for previous university study.

If you have your heart set on a particular program but don’t qualify, you may consider pathway programs and other study options, including university study, to boost your selection rank.

Other eligibility criteria may also apply depending on the particular program. Some examples are subject prerequisites (e.g. you must have done well in mathematics), a portfolio of projects, a personal statement, questionnaire responses, or an audition, test or interview.

ATARs are used as entry requirements for Australian students. For international students, you will need to achieve an equivalent academic standard to gain entry into university degree programs. International students also need to meet English language proficiency requirements.

Uni Admission Score Practices

University students walking along corridor

Universities that are hard to get into are considered prestigious. Demand for places is strong, so they can set admission standards above the norm. Are they better? Maybe, maybe not. But a degree from a university with tough entry standards will tend to be valued more than a degree from an “average” university.

A. Elite (high ATAR) universities

For prestige reasons, universities often actually have lower ATAR requirements than advertised. They want to fill places but don’t want to admit to having lower standards. You may receive an offer even if you don’t meet the published ATAR requirement.

Getting into a university with high ATAR cut-off scores is great. But many other things are worth considering when choosing a uni and course. Too many students decide to go to the most prestigious university that will have them—when there are better options available.

Universities with the highest course entry standards tend to be the older universities based centrally in major cities—for example, Melbourne Uni, Sydney Uni and UNSW. By studying there, you can get a highly valued degree while experiencing the big city. But city life is not for everyone and you may have to relocate.

There can also be an academic downside to attending elite universities. Because other students have high academic ability on average, you may struggle to stand out. Would you rather be an average student at a prestigious university or a high achiever at a normal one? Ultimately, whichever university you attend, your performance as a student is what really matters.

B. Universities with low ATAR cut-off scores

Universities that set modest or low course admission standards do it for different reasons. Some universities target students who have average ATAR scores and can’t into other universities. They are competing with other universities and set scores low enough to attract students.

Often universities with modest course entry requirements are the main university in a region (e.g. University of the Sunshine Coast or the University of Tasmania). They need to provide places for all students finishing Year 12 with the ability to complete a degree. Regional Australian universities can have many outstanding students.

C. Universities without ATAR requirements

A couple of universities – Torrens University Australia and Victoria University – don’t have any ATAR requirements at all. We indicate this with a minimum ATAR of 50 in the league table. You’re still expected to have at least either (a) finished Year 12 or (b) achieved something after leaving school in terms of work experience or vocational education.

While you may be eligible to enrol, you might want to first ask yourself if it would be a good move. Are the issues that prevented you from excelling in secondary education going to persist into university studies? University is worthwhile only if you’re able to succeed with your studies.