When Do VCE Results & ATAR Come Out?

How and when results are released

VCE results come out in mid-December, about three to four weeks after the written exams finish. Two separate organisations release two different things on (usually) the same morning:

• VCAA releases your study scores and your statement of results — your marks for each Unit 3 & 4 subject.
• VTAC releases your ATAR — the single ranking derived from your study scores, used for university and TAFE selection.

Both are available online from early in the morning (commonly around 7:00am). You'll need your VCAA and VTAC login details — set these up well before results day so you're not locked out at the moment that matters.

Study scores vs the ATAR — what's the difference?

This is the part most families find confusing. A study score is your result in a single subject, out of 50, ranking you against everyone in the state who studied it. The ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) is a percentile from 0 to 99.95 that combines your scaled study scores into one number. It's calculated by VTAC from your English study score, your next best three scores, and 10% of your fifth and sixth scores — after each score is scaled to account for subject difficulty.

Because of scaling, your ATAR isn't simply the average of your raw study scores. A harder-scaling subject like Specialist Mathematics can lift your aggregate more than its raw mark suggests. To see how study scores translate into an ATAR, use an ATAR calculator.

What to do when results come out

If your results are strong: confirm your VTAC preferences before the change-of-preference deadline and make sure your top choices reflect your actual result. If they're below what you hoped: don't panic. There are more pathways into every course than students realise — change of preference, alternative entry, a bridging year, or starting a related course and transferring. A below-target ATAR closes far fewer doors than it feels like on the morning.

For students continuing into another VCE year, results day is also the clearest signal of where to focus next. Our VCE tutoring starts with exactly that — reading the result, finding the highest-leverage subjects, and building a plan for the year ahead.

Before results day

Results follow the November exam period and the September GAT. If you want to understand exactly how your exam marks become a study score, read VCE exams explained.