International Baccalaureate (IB) students guide
Applying for tertiary education as an IB Diploma student
The International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP) is a two year assessed senior secondary program that is offered throughout the world.
Students completing their IB in Victoria are eligible for a Notional ATAR for the purposes of tertiary selection when they apply through VTAC.
VTAC’s partner institutions accept the IB diploma as an equivalent to an Australian Year 12 qualification but do require the IB Diploma score to be converted to an ATAR like rank known as the Notional ATAR for the purposes of tertiary selection.
IB Diploma results range between 24 and 45 and are mapped to an IB Admissions Score (IBAS) to allow IB Diploma students to be considered for tertiary places alongside their VCE counterparts.
This ATAR-like rank is known as the Notional ATAR because it is a national conversion which combines student data gathered from across all states in Australia. This means that IB students can apply in any Australian state or territory with confidence about how their results compare to their peers who have completed state-based programs and received an ATAR.
The Notional ATAR
IB supplies VTAC with fine grained results data on your performance in each subject as well as the grades you achieve. This data will dictate where your results will sit within the grade and allows us to calculate the notional ATAR.
Your notional ATAR will be based on your IB Admissions Score. The IB Admissions Score (IBAS) adds decimal places to your diploma score based on the mean (average) of your performance within each band of your subject results. For example, you may receive a diploma score of 39, and an IBAS of 39.25.
To better understand how VTAC converts the IBAS to a Notional ATAR, please expand and view the table below.
| IBAS | ATAR |
|---|---|
| 45.75 | 99.95 |
| 45.50 | 99.95 |
| 45.25 | 99.90 |
| 45.00 | 99.85 |
| 44.75 | 99.75 |
| 44.50 | 99.70 |
| 44.25 | 99.60 |
| 44.00 | 99.50 |
| 43.75 | 99.35 |
| 43.50 | 99.25 |
| 43.25 | 99.10 |
| 43.00 | 98.90 |
| 42.75 | 98.75 |
| 42.50 | 98.55 |
| 42.25 | 98.35 |
| 42.00 | 98.20 |
| 41.75 | 98.00 |
| 41.50 | 97.80 |
| 41.25 | 97.55 |
| 41.00 | 97.30 |
| 40.75 | 97.05 |
| 40.50 | 96.80 |
| 40.25 | 96.55 |
| 40.00 | 96.30 |
| 39.75 | 96.00 |
| 39.50 | 95.75 |
| 39.25 | 95.50 |
| 39.00 | 95.25 |
| 38.75 | 95.00 |
| 38.50 | 94.75 |
| 38.25 | 94.50 |
| 38.00 | 94.25 |
| 37.75 | 93.95 |
| 37.50 | 93.70 |
| 37.25 | 93.35 |
| 37.00 | 93.00 |
| 36.75 | 92.65 |
| 36.50 | 92.30 |
| 36.25 | 91.90 |
| 36.00 | 91.45 |
| 35.75 | 91.05 |
| 35.50 | 90.60 |
| 35.25 | 90.15 |
| 35.00 | 89.75 |
| 34.75 | 89.30 |
| 34.50 | 88.85 |
| 34.25 | 88.50 |
| 34.00 | 88.15 |
| 33.75 | 87.80 |
| 33.50 | 87.45 |
| 33.25 | 86.80 |
| 33.00 | 86.20 |
| 32.75 | 85.55 |
| 32.50 | 84.90 |
| 32.25 | 84.45 |
| 32.00 | 84.00 |
| 31.75 | 83.55 |
| 31.50 | 83.10 |
| 31.25 | 82.55 |
| 31.00 | 82.00 |
| 30.75 | 81.45 |
| 30.50 | 80.90 |
| 30.25 | 80.40 |
| 30.00 | 79.90 |
| 29.75 | 79.35 |
| 29.50 | 78.85 |
| 29.25 | 78.25 |
| 29.00 | 77.65 |
| 28.75 | 77.05 |
| 28.50 | 76.45 |
| 28.25 | 75.80 |
| 28.00 | 75.20 |
| 27.75 | 74.55 |
| 27.50 | 73.90 |
| 27.25 | 73.25 |
| 27.00 | 72.65 |
| 26.75 | 72.00 |
| 26.50 | 71.35 |
| 26.25 | 70.55 |
| 26.00 | 69.75 |
| 25.75 | 68.90 |
| 25.50 | 68.10 |
| 25.25 | 67.50 |
| 25.00 | 66.90 |
| 24.75 | 66.30 |
| 24.50 | 65.70 |
| 24.25 | 65.00 |
| 24.00 | 64.25 |
All other IB students
Your Notional ATAR will be based on your whole number overall score out of 45 (as reported on your official academic transcript) if you sat the IB outside Australia after November 2022.
| IB Score | ATAR |
|---|---|
| 45 | 99.95 |
| 44 | 99.70 |
| 43 | 99.25 |
| 42 | 98.55 |
| 41 | 97.80 |
| 40 | 96.80 |
| 39 | 95.75 |
| 38 | 94.75 |
| 37 | 93.70 |
| 36 | 92.30 |
| 35 | 90.60 |
| 34 | 88.85 |
| 33 | 87.45 |
| 32 | 84.90 |
| 31 | 83.10 |
| 30 | 80.90 |
| 29 | 78.85 |
| 28 | 76.45 |
| 27 | 73.90 |
| 26 | 71.35 |
| 25 | 68.10 |
| 24 | 65.70 |
Meeting VCE prerequisites with IB subjects
You will need to know how your IB Diploma subjects compare with the VCE subjects used as prerequisites for course selection. This will also determine whether you are eligible for any selection rank adjustments that might apply for a particular course for certain subjects.
Click here for our tool to help you calculate your prerequisite conversion.
Releasing your results to VTAC
In order for VTAC to receive your results, you will need to authorise the IBO to release your results to VTAC, this is achieved via your IB Diploma Coordinator submitting a request to the IB on your behalf.
Students who fail to make this request will not have their Notional ATAR or Derived IB Rank calculated by VTAC and therefore will not be eligible to receive an offer via VTAC.
If you are no longer in contact with your IB Diploma Coordinator, you can request that your results be sent to VTAC directly from the IBO by following these instructions on the IBO.org website.
Dates
For key dates for IB Diploma students, see the table below. For a full list of dates, visit our dates page.
| 2025-2026 Key dates | Submit prior to: | Release date: |
|---|---|---|
| Timely applications $80 fee | 1 October | |
| Equity schemes (SEAS) and scholarships applications and supporting documentation | 13 October (5pm) | |
| Change of preference close for December offers (May sitting only) | 13 December (12noon) | |
| IBAS/Notional ATAR release – November sitting | 18 December (9am) | |
| Change of preference close for December offers (Nov sitting only) | 18 December (4pm) | |
| December offer round - May & November sitting | 23 December |
Derived IB Rank
VTAC will calculate a Derived IB Rank for some Victorian IB applicants who have attempted the Diploma Programme but not met requirements for award of the diploma, including those who score below the 24 point threshold. In these cases, there is a conversion down to 20 points calculated by ACTAC as part of the standard notional ATAR determination process.
Students who have undertaken IB studies but have not met the requirements to be awarded the IB Diploma may be eligible for a Derived IB Rank if they meet the below criteria:
- Student has undertaken the full IB Diploma Programme or was a retake candidate.
- Student has received a combined score of 20 or more total points.
- Student has undertaken Theory of Knowledge, Extended Essay and at least six HL/SL subjects.
- Student has not received the grade ‘N’ or ‘P’ for any subject or result, including award status and TOK/EE matrix points.
Students in Victoria with a Derived IB Rank are not supplied with an official statement of this result from VTAC, however all VTAC applicants that meet the above requirements will be notified of their eligibility via their VTAC account.
Please note: A notional ATAR (awarded to passing IB students) is considered the same as an ATAR for selection purposes and accepted by all tertiary institutions. A Derived IB Rank (awarded to eligible non-passing IB students) will be accepted by some institutions at their own discretion. Please contact institutions directly for further support and information.
Students must fulfill the criteria above to be considered a non-passing IB student eligible to receive a Derived IB Rank from VTAC.
| IB Scores | Derived IB Rank (From August 2025) |
|---|---|
| ≥30 | 79.90 |
| 29 | 77.65 |
| 28 | 75.20 |
| 27 | 72.65 |
| 26 | 69.75 |
| 25 | 66.90 |
| 24 | 64.25 |
| 23 | 61.25 |
| 22 | 58.20 |
| 21 | 55.20 |
| 20 | 52.30 |
| < 20 | Not applicable |