Media releases

ACTAC statement: National Collaboration to support Year 12 students through COVID鈥�19 disruptions

03 Apr 2020

THE Australasian Conference of Tertiary Admissions Centres (ACTAC), comprising admissions centres from across Australia, is committed to ensuring that prospective students will still have a pathway to tertiary study in 2021.

ACTAC鈥檚 members are working with their own state鈥檚 education authorities and tertiary institutions to ensure that admissions processes can adapt to any changes in Year 12 assessment in 2020. Students should be reassured that all tertiary institutions are looking forward to welcoming this year鈥檚 graduating secondary students into courses commencing in 2021.

ACTAC has worked for many years to ensure that the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) provides a consistent starting point for tertiary entry across all states and territories, no matter where a student completes their senior secondary study. ACTAC will continue this important role coordinating admissions processes and ATAR equivalence nationally.

The ATAR is a rank, not a score 鈥� so any changes to assessment processes in individual states will not affect the validity of the ATAR as a tool for tertiary admissions. ACTAC鈥檚 coordination already ensures that the ATAR provides a reliable comparison of a student鈥檚 performance compared to their age group, regardless of the different examination and assessment processes within each state鈥檚 curriculum. Any changes to such processes will be accommodated within this existing framework to provide certainty and consistency for both students and tertiary institutions.

These are extraordinary times. Year 12 students and others aspiring to further study should remain committed to their goals and confident that all state and national education bodies are working on an equitable way forward that maintains the integrity of tertiary admissions.

Media queries: please contact the tertiary admissions centre in your jurisdiction.