Arrangements between NZ and Australia
New Zealand has arrangements with Australia that allow NCEA to be recognised for entry to Australian tertiary study.
Australia uses the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) to compare student achievement for admission into tertiary study. ATAR helps education providers and tertiary admission centres decide which students can be offered places in courses that have limited spaces.
Australia has a federal education system. Each state and territory manages its own curriculum, assessments, and tertiary admissions processes.
The Australasian Conference of Tertiary Admission Centres (ACTAC) ensures states and territories use a common approach to compare student achievement and rank students for tertiary entrance. The ACTAC has given ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ responsibility for converting NCEA results into ATAR scores.
This means New Zealand students can apply directly to Australian tertiary admission centres or education providers.
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ supports this process by calculating ATAR scores for eligible students each January using a method agreed by the ACTAC. ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ also shares relevant information with Australian tertiary admission centres and some university admission departments.
ATAR scores derived from NCEA only include results from completed academic years when a student was enrolled in secondary school.
ATAR was previously known as the Interstate Transfer Index (ITI).
On this page
Planning and course selection to study at an Australian university
If you plan to attend university in Australia, we recommend you plan your NCEA subjects in advance. This will give you the best chance of getting into an Australian university.
In Australia:
- Year 12 is the equivalent of New Zealand Year 13 and NCEA Level 3
- each state has its own secondary education system
- university entry requirements can be different in each state
- each university sets its own admission requirements and criteria.
Contact the university or education provider you wish to attend as early as possible to ensure that your Year 13 course will meet all the entry requirements.
If you have questions about the entrance requirements for your chosen university, ask ACTAC for contact details of tertiary admission centres and universities.
To be considered for admission to an Australian university, you must:
- have a sufficient ATAR score
- achieve New Zealand University Entrance
- meet the entry criteria for the Australian state where you are applying. Make sure you check the state’s English requirements for New Zealand students. Credits must be from Level 3 University Entrance-approved English. Some states require up to 20 English credits
- meet any English language proficiency requirement if there is one.
To maximise your potential ATAR score, you should:
- have results for at least 90 assessed Level 3 credits (those with results of Not Achieved, Achieved, Achieved with Merit, and Achieved with Excellence)
- aim to get as many Level 3 excellence and merit results as possible in externally and internally assessed achievement standards in University Entrance approved subjects.
How to apply to an Australian university
The Australian education system treats New Zealand citizens as domestic interstate students.
Most students apply through a Tertiary Admission Centre, which manages applications for universities in a state or territory.
For particular courses at some universities, you will need to apply directly to the university.
- MFAT
Prepare the information the university will need
You can plan ahead, especially if you have completed NCEA Level 3 or are in your final year of NCEA Level 3 study.
If you expect to gain University Entrance, you will need to:
- provide your New Zealand National Student Number (NSN) when you apply (make sure this is accurate)
- ask your school’s Principal Nominee to check that your tertiary release indicator (privacy flag) on the school management system is set to Yes so that the Australian Tertiary Admission Centres and universities can access your results
- tell the Australian Tertiary Admission Centre or university you applied to if your results change after the January results release, either from a review and reconsideration, or if results are reported late.
You do not need to contact ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ to send a copy of your results record and ATAR score.
What we provide
If your tertiary release indicator is set to Yes, Australian Tertiary Admission Centres and some Australian universities can access your results through a secure ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ portal. This includes your:
- University Entrance status
- NCEA Level 2 and Level 3 results
- ATAR score and the academic year it was calculated.
We can’t provide students with official documentation of ATAR scores. But you can download a PDF statement of your ATAR score in the MyÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ learner portal:
When we release results
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ sets the annual NCEA results release date as early as possible.
After ATAR scores are calculated in early January, ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ shares them with Australian Tertiary Admission Centres before they are released to students. This gives the centres time to process data for students who have applied.
We work with Tertiary Admission Centres to agree on a release date that best meets:
- ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½â€™s marking requirements
- Tertiary Admissions Centres' application timelines.
Once NCEA results are released in mid-January, students can view their ATAR score in MyÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½. Australian Tertiary Admission Centres and universities can then disclose ATAR scores, confirm NCEA results, and make offers to students.
New Zealand students receive their ATAR scores later than for Australian students because New Zealand’s exam season finishes later. This means New Zealand students cannot be included in early offer rounds before Christmas.
Mid-year admission to an Australian university
To apply for mid-year admission at a university in Australia, the process is the same except you will need to:
- complete a mid-year entrance application with the relevant Tertiary Admissions Centre or university
- supply a copy of your New Zealand Record of Achievement (NZROA) with your application.
New Zealand Record of Achievement
If you apply in the middle of the year, your ATAR score will usually be the score calculated in January using results from completed academic years. Results from any secondary study you complete in the current year will not be included until your ATAR is recalculated the following January.
The Tertiary Admissions Centre or university may ask ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ to confirm your results. We do not recalculate ATAR scores for mid-year applications.
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ will answer within 2 working days if an Australian university requests supporting information. We will give the information directly to the Tertiary Admissions Centre or university.
How we convert NCEA results into an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) score
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ calculates the information needed to assign ATAR scores after NCEA marking is completed in early January.
This calculation involves factors such as:
- the difficulty of standards (relative difficulty weightings)
- statistic values
- the group of eligible students
- participation rates.
ATAR scores range from 99.95 (the highest score) to 0.00 in steps of 0.05. Each ATAR score shows a student’s rank compared to other eligible students in that year group.
ATAR is based on a statistical ranking of eligible students using their Level 3 results.
ATAR scores are calculated using a student’s best 90 NCEA Level 3 assessed credits, with a maximum of 24 credits from any one subject. Some credits may be weighted more highly, depending on factors including the type of standard and the statistical difficulty of the result.
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ cannot calculate an ATAR score for students who were assessed in fewer than 60 credits at Level 3 or above while enrolled in a secondary school.
How we rank NCEA Level 3 credits
Some standards have priority when ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ calculates an ATAR score.
We use:
- University Entrance (UE) approved subject standards ahead of non-UE approved subject standards
- achievement standards ahead of unit standards
- statistical analysis to decide the relative difficulty of each standard and result.
Externally assessed achievement standards usually rank higher than internally assessed achievement standards for the same subject and result.
If a student resits a standard, the ATAR calculation uses their best grade.
ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ does not predict ATAR scores in advance. We do not advise students to rely on standard weightings from previous years, as these change every year.
ATAR updates
If your results change after January , ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ will recalculate your ATAR score. This can happen because if a review or reconsideration changes your result, or if an internally assessed result is reported late.
After NCEA results are released, ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½ identifies students with new Level 3 or higher results that were not included in the initial ATAR calculation.
The recalculation uses the same relative difficulty weightings and minimum values from the January calculation. Updated ATAR scores are usually processed overnight, but it may take a couple of days for an updated ATAR to be visible, depending on when new results are loaded.
If your updated results increase your ATAR score, the higher score will be made available.
If you receive a higher ATAR or have new results, contact the Tertiary Admission Centre or university you applied to. They can verify the updated information through ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½â€™s secure portal.
For detailed information about how we calculate ATAR scores:
Protecting your privacy
We can only make the information available to tertiary institutions if you have set your tertiary release indicator to 'Yes'. If this is set to 'No', please contact your secondary provider and ask them to change the setting. If you have left school, please contact our Data Management and Learner Records team:
We do not release information to third parties. We only release results to the tertiary institutions and the student.
There are differences between Australian and New Zealand privacy laws. This means we do not know if the Australian organisations that access your information:
- will make any use or disclosure of it in the future
- will protect your information in a way that is comparable to New Zealand's Privacy Act 2020.
Admission centres for each Australian state
If you need more information, try contacting the admissions centre in the relevant state.
Queensland
South Australia / Northern Territory
Western Australia
New South Wales / Australian Capital Territory
Tasmania
Victoria
Further information
If you still have any questions, you can email us: