ATAR in Queensland: how QTAC works it out from your QCE

What the ATAR is in Queensland

The ATAR replaced the Overall Position (OP) in 2020, when the first cohort graduated under the new QCE system. QTAC describes it as a rank rather than a mark, showing your position compared with other students in your age group for the year, whichever subjects you studied. From 2020 QTAC calculates it. Before 2019 the QCAA did.

Your QCE and your ATAR do different jobs. The QCE, awarded by the QCAA, certifies your learning and shows your results in each subject against everyone who took it. The ATAR is only for selecting applicants for tertiary study, and ranks you among the whole Queensland Year 12 age cohort. It is based on scaled results.

Who is eligible for an ATAR

1. Complete five General subjects at Units 3 and 4, or four General subjects plus one Applied subject at Units 3 and 4, or four General subjects plus a completed VET qualification at Certificate III or higher.
2. Satisfactorily complete (C or higher) an English subject: English, English as an Additional Language, English and Literature Extension, Literature or Essential English.
3. Collect the results within a five-year period.

If you are "ATAR ineligible" at the end of Year 12, you can keep adding QCE subjects and VET qualifications until you qualify in a later year. To improve an ATAR you already have, you need to complete a minimum of three new General subjects, or two General subjects and one VET or Applied. The QTAC ATAR hotline is 1300 193 173.

How the ATAR is calculated

The short version: QTAC scales each subject result, adds your best five scaled results, ranks everyone, and places students in 2000 bands. How the scaling works is in QCE scaling explained. As in every state, an ATAR of 90.00 means a rank, not 90 per cent of your marks: it places you ahead of about 90 per cent of your age group. Scores below 30 are reported as "30.00 or less".

Getting your ATAR

• Register in the QTAC ATAR Portal yourself. You need your full name, date of birth, LUI and a personal email.
• The 2026 ATAR is released at 9 am on Friday 18 December 2026.
• Your QCE results are in your QCAA learning account, not in the ATAR Portal.
• You choose whether to share your ATAR with your school. Schools only see it with your consent.

The 2026 QCE results are released two days earlier, on Wednesday 16 December. See QCE results and ATAR release 2026.

The ATAR and getting into a course

QTAC says most courses attract more applicants than places. The first step is whether you meet the prerequisites, such as a science subject for physiotherapy. Then applicants who meet them are ranked, for most courses by ATAR for current school-leavers. Some courses add a portfolio, interview, audition or test. A prerequisite is shown as "Subject (Units 3 and 4, Letter Grade)", and a C in Units 3 and 4 of a General subject meets most. Some need a B.

Adjustment factors, once called bonus points, can raise your selection rank for a course but never your ATAR. Common ones are a subject adjustment for a language other than English or Specialist Mathematics, and equity, location and elite athlete adjustments. Each institution has its own rules and caps.

Practise for the results behind the rank

Every subject is worth a share of your five, so your external assessments matter, and in mathematics and science they are 50 per cent of the subject result. Try today's Year 12 Maths, Year 12 Physics, Year 12 Chemistry or Year 12 Biology paper under timed conditions. Each is a short paper of 8 questions worth 25 to 35 marks, and the results page shows a predicted grade from A to E with typical cut-offs, not the QCAA's. QCE results explained shows how the marks combine.

Common mistakes about the Queensland ATAR

• Looking for the ATAR in myQCE. It comes from QTAC.
• Assuming the school registers you. It is the student's job.
• Counting Applied and General English together. Only one type can be included.
• Reading the ATAR as a mark. It is a rank.

Read next

Australia · QCEQCE results and ATAR release 2026: dates for QueenslandQueensland ATAR results 2026: QCE results are released on 16 December and the ATAR on 18 December at 9 am. How to get both, with sources.