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VTAC stands for Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre and is a one-stop platform that processes tertiary course applications in Victoria.
What Is The Role Of VTAC?
VTAC's primary function is to collect, process and forward course applications to Australian universities, TAFEs and independent tertiary colleges across Victoria. Although VTAC has no authority over which applicant gets admission into a course, the centre has an important responsibility to calculate the ATAR for Year 12 students.
Once the institutions have made a decision, VTAC releases the offer letters to successful applicants.
What Is The Eligibility Criteria For VTAC Medicine?
Most students in their current Year 12 or those who have completed their tertiary qualification are eligible to apply through VTAC. To begin with, you must meet the citizenship and residency requirements to apply for the VTAC courses. Therefore, you must be:
- An Australian/New Zealand citizenship
- Australian permanent resident
- A temporary resident or someone with a student visa currently in their Year 12 (in Australia or overseas)
- An international student who is currently enrolled at The University of Melbourne and is applying to transfer to another UniMelb course.
- A temporary resident or someone with a student visa with no prior tertiary qualification, currently studying or has finished the NCEA in New Zealand.
Once you determine your citizenship requirements, it is mandatory to meet entrance requirements to access a VTAC course.
Entrance requirements are typically the prerequisite educational qualification required to succeed in a course.
Please note that the types of courses you are eligible to apply for solely depends on your qualification.
As of 2025 the fifth section of the UCAT, Abstract Reasoning, has been removed from the test hence any preparation of studying of the section can be disregarded leading up to your UCAT in 2025 and onwards.
To register for the UCAT exam, you must book your spot between the early week of March and mid-week of May. And be sure to check your preferred university course requirements before applying to sit the UCAT.
UCAT International and Domestic Applicants
It is important to note that UCAT is for domestic students, whereas the ISAT is for international students which is administered by ACER, an organisation that administers the GAMSAT exam in conjunction with the GEMSAS medical schools. Currently, only those international students studying Year 12 in Australia and applying for certain places in Medicine/Surgery at Monash University are allowed to sit the ISAT and apply according to the VTAC guidelines.
On the other hand, the UCAT is accepted in the UK as well so any students seeking backup pathways for medicine can utilise the score they achieve in the UCAT for applications in the UK as an international student.
How Can You Apply For A Course In VTAC?
VTAC Undergraduate Medicine applications open on 3rd of August 2026.
You can list up to 8 course preference, but you’ll receive one offer per round.
Before you apply through VTAC, have documents such as education history, proof of age, reference/registration numbers and confirmation you meet the courses minimum entrance requirements.
Step by Step Application Process
- Create a VTAC account
- Select the 'Course application' icon to access all the available VTAC courses
- Enter your education history
- Provide admission test details, such as UCAT for domestic students and ISAT for international students
- Add course preferences, select up to 8 courses in order of preference
- Choose whether VTAC can publish your offer in the newspaper
- Then review and pay. Double check course codes, preferences and pay the application fee
How Does VTAC Calculate ATAR?
The Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) calculates your ATAR, which is a rank, not a score. It reflects your academic performance compared to other students and allows universities to compare students who completed different VCE study combinations. Once your ATAR has been calculated it is sent to universities and institutions you applied for through the VTAC portal for consideration.
VTAC calculates the ATAR for Year 12 VCE students, while IB and other non-VCE students receive a Notional ATAR, which is used in the same way for university entry.
ATAR results are released in December through VTAC. To receive your ATAR statement by email, you must apply through VTAC and pay the required processing fees.
The ATAR Calculation for VCE
VTAC uses the VCE results (study scores) declared by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) to calculate the ATAR. The ATAR is a percentile rank and not a score; therefore, it highlights the relative performance of an applicant compared to the cohort. The ATAR is a rank based on the student's aggregate generated by adding:
- The VTAC scaled study score in one of English, English Language, Literature or English as an Additional Language
- The following three best VTAC scaled study scores; and
- 10% of the available fifth and sixth admissible scores
VTAC Dates And Fees Information
Where To Next?
We hope this VTAC admissions guide has helped you understand how to apply to undergraduate medicine across Victoria. If you found this article helpful! Check out what our other articles below:
- Year 12 Subjects To Help With Medicine
- What Year 12 Subjects Help with UCAT Study?
- What Is The Difference Between The UCAT and The UMAT?
- Which UCAT Course is the Best for my Child?
- What UCAT score is needed for Medicine?
Frequently Asked Questions
1: How does VTAC help in the undergraduate medicine application process?
VTAC manages and processes your course applications for universities across Victoria. It calculates your ATAR, and sends your application to institutions and releases offers. It does not decide who receives offers.
2: Do I need to sit the UCAT to apply for undergraduate medicine?
Yes, most undergraduate medical schools in Victoria require the UCAT for domestic applicants.
3: How many courses can I list in my application?
You can list up to eight preferences in order. Although, you will only receive one offer per offer round. So your preference order is important.
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