How to apply
Looking to advance your career, build on your previous studies, or completely change your career path? Begin here by exploring a wide range of courses and programs designed to help you achieve your goals. Your future starts now!
How to apply
How to apply
How to apply
Looking to advance your career, build on your previous studies, or completely change your career path? Begin here by exploring a wide range of courses and programs designed to help you achieve your goals. Your future starts now!
Admissions Criteria
How we match you with the best courses
Admissions criteria focuses on eligibility and merit. Eligibility and merit go hand-in-hand when meeting admissions critiera.
Eligibility
Eligibility refers to the minimum criteria required to apply for a course as set by the institution. Each institution sets its own admission criteria, which apply to every applicant for every course offered.
These criteria can vary between institutions but commonly include:
- English language proficiency
- Course quota (the estimated number of places available in a course)
- Exclusion (whether you have previously been excluded from an institution; this might affect your application)
- Age requirements
- Prerequisites
Some courses require additional admission criteria like personal statements, questionnaires, portfolios, auditions, interviews, or tests, which may supplement or replace academic qualifications.
Institutions offer alternative pathways for applicants who don’t meet standard requirements. For details, visit the individual institution pages.
Competing for a place in Order of Merit
QTAC places all competing applicants in ‘order of merit’. This means applicants with the highest ATAR/selection rank are in the first offer, then applicants with the next highest ATAR/selection rank second etc.
By going down the ‘order of merit’, applicants receive offers until all the places are filled. There is a minimum selection threshold. This is the lowest ATAR/selection rank that can earn an offer.
The minimum selection threshold:
- is not set in advance
- can serve as a guide for future cut-offs
- typically remains stable but can change
- may vary across semesters and offer rounds within the same semester
- reflects the course’s supply and demand (number of places, number of applicants, and applicant quality). It is not an indicator of course quality.
Preferences
Have you got your wish list of courses ready?
With QTAC, more preferences mean more opportunities to choose your future.
What are Preferences?
Your preferences are your wish list that we use in the context of your QTAC application. Our system lines up your preferences in light of your ATAR and selection rank to ensure your best chance for applying to your ideal tertiary education course.
If you fill in more options you’re more likely to obtain an offer.
With QTAC, more preferences mean more opportunities to choose your future. Using all 6 preferences maximises your chances of getting an offer.
Documentation
Submitting your documents
When submitting your documents to QTAC, we only ask for and accept types of documents that our institutions need and recognise.
How to submit your documents
The fastest way to submit your documents is through our QTAC Application Portal. Log in and upload your documents directly under Outstanding Documents. Ensure your files are below 15MB.
Documentation due dates
Ensure we receive your documentation by the due date so we can assess it in time. Visit Key dates and fees for documentation due dates.
Offers
What happens when I receive an offer?
Reaching the offer stage in your tertiary application journey is an exciting moment. It’s important to understand how you’ll be notified and the options available to you.
How we notify you of your offer
We notify you of your offer by email, and may also notify you by SMS.
You only get one offer each offer date. This is for your highest eligible preference (ie the highest preference for which you have met the admission criteria and selection rank requirement, if applicable).
Find out about how entry requirements determine who gets an offer.
Responding to offers
Respond to your offer by the date and time specified on your offer letter so that it does not expire.
To respond to your offer:
- Log in to Application Services.
- Select your response option (ie Accept, Reject, Defer – if deferment is an available choice) button.
- Select the offer response again, and confirm your choice.
Assistance Schemes
Assistance Schemes
If you’ve faced some challenges or personal circumstances in your last study years, there might be some assistance schemes that could help you.
Elite Athlete Adjustment Scheme
The Elite Athlete Adjustment Scheme considers the impact of an applicant’s sporting demands on their educational outcomes in the past 2 years. Elite athletes, coaches, and referees applying through QTAC to eligible courses offered by Griffith University, Queensland University of Technology and University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) may be eligible to receive adjustments to their selection rank or ATAR via this scheme.
Educational Access Scheme (EAS)
The Educational Access Scheme (EAS) can help you if you have experienced circumstances that negatively affected your most recent studies.
If you are eligible for EAS, you may get adjustments to your selection rank to help you to get into a course, and/or financial assistance from institutions.
Financial Assistance
There are several government, institution and private schemes that can provide financial assistance to students.
Rural Access Scheme
The Rural Access Scheme exists to recognise the challenges that are often faced by students from Rural and Remote backgrounds.
Some institutions offer courses with a number of places reserved for applicants from rural and remote backgrounds. This is part of the Rural Access Scheme, designed to support students like you.
Altnerative entry
There's more than one way to get in
If you didn’t complete year 12 or you don’t have an ATAR, don’t worry! There are multiple ways to enter tertiary education.
INFORMATION ON
Enabling programs and bridging studies
Enabling programs and bridging studies provide opportunities for students to meet entry requirements for their desired courses. They also serve as pathways to advanced studies, preparing students for tertiary education by developing essential skills and knowledge.
INFORMATION ON
Pathways
Pathway are approaches that you choose, to help you transition into your preferred course. You could complete these within the same or a different tertiary institution. This method is often chosen when you do not meet direct entry requirements for a preference.
INFORMATION ON
STAT and employment pathways
You can use your employment experience to contribute to your QTAC selection rank, improving your chances of getting into your chosen course. Your employment experience doesn’t necessarily have to relate to the course you wish to study. It can be used on its own or combined with the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT).
English subject prerequisites
Meeting the requirements
Before applying, you will need to prove your proficiency in English.
English subject prerequisite and English language proficiency
The English subject prerequisite and English language proficiency are two distinct requirements. The English subject prerequisite refers to the specific subject you study in Years 11 and 12. On the other hand, English language proficiency pertains to your ability to speak, write, read, and understand English.
How to meet the English subject prerequisite
If you didn’t study or pass a General English subject up to the Year 12 standard, there are alternative ways to meet this requirement based on the policy of the institution you’re interested in.
The institution policy tables below offer guidance on how to meet the English subject prerequisite for various institutions and sometimes for specific courses. This summary provides an overview, but if you believe you meet the English requirement through other means not listed here, it’s a good idea to check directly with the institution.
Essential information
Keep checking these pages, as they are date-specific, updated regularly, and contain important information that you’ll need as you plan to submit your application for each offer round.