Getting started

Your eligibility for a course is determined by various factors including your residency status, minimum tertiary entrance requirements, institution/course-specific requirements and prerequisites.

You can use VTAC's CourseSearch tool to view course requirements and determine which courses you are eligible for.

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Ensure you meet the minimum tertiary entrance requirements and any institutional requirements for the institutions you are interested in applying for.

   • If you don't meet these requirements, you may wish to consider pathways or bridging courses.

2. Go to CourseSearch.

3. Filter by Applicant type, and select any other filters relevant to you (or search by keyword) if you wish to narrow down your search.

   • For VCE students, use the VCE prerequisite explorer to further narrow your search to courses you are eligible for based on your VCE study program.

4. Select a course you are interested in and navigate to the 'Course requirements' tab. Carefully review the admission criteria for your applicant group to see what may apply to you. 

   • If you are unsure of which applicant group applies to you, you can use this questionnaire.

Meeting the eligibility criteria does not guarantee you an offer, as you will be competing for limited places with other eligible applicants. If you are in doubt about your eligibility for a particular course, or require clarification on course requirements, you should discuss your individual case with the course advisers at the institution.

Citizenship & Visa Requirements for Submitting a Course Application

You can apply for courses through VTAC if you are one of the following:

1. An Australian Citizen

2. An Australian Permanent Resident

3. A New Zealand Citizen

4. A Temporary Resident or Student on a Pathway to a Student Visa
   If you are currently studying an Australian Year 12 program (either in Australia or overseas), such as VCE, VCE-VM, HSC, NTCE, QLD Senior Certificate, SACE, TCE, WACE, or the International Baccalaureate (IB) in Australia or New Zealand, you can apply through VTAC.

5. A Student in New Zealand Applying to Monash University
   Temporary residents who are currently studying or have completed the NCEA (National Certificate of Educational Achievement) in New Zealand and have not yet started tertiary studies.

Things to Consider When Deciding Whether to Apply Through VTAC or Directly to an Institution

When deciding on whether to apply through VTAC or directly to an institution, consider the following:

1. Do you meet the Citizenship and Residency requirements?
To apply through VTAC, you must meet certain citizenship and residency requirements. If you do not meet these requirements, you will need to apply directly to the institution.

2. Are You a Current Year 12 Student?
If you are currently completing an Australian Year 12 program, you must apply through VTAC.

3. Are you applying for One Course vs. Multiple Courses?

• One Course, One Institution: If you are applying to only one course at a single institution, you might be able to apply directly to the institution.
• Multiple Courses or Institutions: If you want to apply to more than one course or institution, you must apply through VTAC. VTAC allows you to list up to eight course preferences.

4. Have you already submitted a VTAC application?
If you have already submitted a VTAC application, you will be blocked from submitting a direct application. If the course offers both direct and VTAC application methods, you must proceed with your VTAC application.

Be sure to check whether the course you"re interested in allows for direct applications, as most require you to apply through VTAC for semester one intake.

Registration for a VTAC account will require you to provide a few personal details and should only take a few minutes of your time. After creating your account, you will be able to log in to your VTAC account using your email and the password you set during registration. 

How to Register:

1. Navigate to the VTAC home page and click the "Login" button on desktop devices or the "Lock" icon on mobile devices.

   • Once you have been navigated to the "Log In" page, click the "Sign up now" button

2. Enter your email address and then press "Send verification code". A code will be sent to your email address. You will need to copy and paste this code into the registration form to verify that your email is correct.

   • If the verification email does not come through immediately, you may need to wait a few minutes or refresh your inbox.  

3. Create a password and enter in the rest of your personal details. 

   • Please read the "My education" drop down options carefully. If you are unsure of which of these statements best describes your circumstances, please contact the VTAC Connect team for assistance. 

4. Agree to the VTAC Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy and click "Create account"

5. On the next screen, enter in your mobile number to enable multifactor authentication. You can either choose "Send code" to receive your verification code via text message or via email.

Once you have verified your phone number, you will be navigated to the home page of your VTAC portal and will be able to use your details to log in in the future. 

Multifactor authentication (MFA) is a security measure that requires applicants to provide two forms of verification before gaining access to an account.  MFA helps protect sensitive data in your account from unauthorised access.

Passwords alone can be easily compromised, MFA ensures that your VTAC account cannot be accessed without the second factor, for example the one-time code sent to your phone.

Step-by-step instructions:

1. Log in to your account

   • Enter email address and Password

   • Select Sign In

2. Multi-factor authentication

You will have the option to send a 6-digit code to either the mobile number on record, your email address, or the TOTP authenticator app.

• Enter the code and select Verify code

By following these steps, you should be able to successfully sign in using multifactor authentication.

Once logged into your account, you can access different parts of your application from the home page or the drop-down menu.

• Account details - Name, email address & VTAC ID 
• Your profile - Citizenship and residency details, education history, USI
• Key dates - Link to all important VTAC dates
• Course preferences - View or update your preferences
• Equity schemes & scholarship - View or submit your application
• Checklist - Track any outstanding evidence or documentation
• Additional Information - Find details on additional requirements for your courses

From the drop-down menu, you can find: 

• My Profile - Edit your profile details, education history, and manage account permissions including adding/removing authorised nominees. 
• My Course Preferences - Update your course preferences and view offer outcomes for each round.
• Equity schemes & scholarships - Modify your application and check for scholarship offers.
• Providing Evidence - View a detailed breakdown of required documents and their status.
• Help - Visit the Help Centre to read FAQs to support you with your issue or contact VTAC directly.
• Inbox - Access copies of all VTAC emails and view the Activity Log which records changes made by you or VTAC staff.

To navigate back to the home page, you can click the home button or the VTAC logo. 

You may be restricted from accessing certain parts of your account until preceding steps have been completed. 

The VTAC application process is the same for both current Year 12 students and non-Year 12/post-school applicants, including those considered mature-age applicants by tertiary institutions.

When you register and apply for courses, VTAC will determine your applicant type based on your responses. However, "mature-age" is not a separate applicant category. Instead, it is a term used in Equity schemes and scholarships: Personal information and location category or more generally to describe adults returning to study. The VTAC application form remains the same regardless of age or study history.

Mature-Age Entry Requirements

Policies and age requirements for mature-age entry vary by institution. To check specific requirements and additional steps, visit the institution pages you are applying to.

Equity Scheme Consideration for Mature-Age Applicants

Some institutions consider mature-age applicants under VTAC's Equity schemes and scholarships: Personal information and location category. If the institutions you are applying to participate in this scheme, the information you provide in the VTAC profile section of your account will be made available to the institutions for consideration, in addition to your VTAC course application.

There are two ways in which your previous education, training or experience can directly contribute to a new qualification. You may seek to transfer credit or receive RPL directly with the institution once you are enrolled in the course.

Credit transfer and recognition of prior learning (RPL):

1. Credit transfer is when a university or training provider allows you to count previous education or training in a similar field or topic towards part of a degree or other qualification. This can reduce the number of subjects you have to do to gain your qualification. 

2. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) is a way of getting any previous relevant experience – working, training, volunteering, including activities in the community – formally recognised towards a qualification. This can be a shortcut to getting a qualification because you will be formally recognised to have completed parts of the training requirements.

Policies and procedures for credit transfer and RPL vary by institution. Some institutions list this information on our website, however where you are unsure you may wish to contact the institutions directly for further information.

Course fees vary depending on the type of place you are offered. The last digit of the course code (1, 2, 3 or 4) shows the type of course fees you will be required to pay if you get an offer:
 
Commonwealth supported places (CSP) - course code ends with 1
A Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) means the Australian Government subsidises part of your tuition fees, and you pay the remaining student contribution amount.

• Eligibility: CSPs are available to Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents, and New Zealand citizens.
• Student contributions: Fees depend on the units of study undertaken and are capped by the Australian Government.
• Enrolment requirement: You must provide your Tax File Number (TFN) to your institution. If you don"t have one, apply through the Australian Taxation Office.

Domestic full-fee places - course code ends with 2

• Domestic full-fee places (DFP): These places are not subsidised by the government, meaning students must pay the full tuition cost unless eligible for FEE-HELP. Fees vary by institution.

International fee places - course code ends with 3

• International fee places (IFP): International students must pay the full course cost directly to the institution. Eligibility for applying through VTAC depends on a variety of factors. Please visit our citizenship and residency requirements for more information.

VET and fee type determined by provider  - course code ends with 4
For vocational education and training (VET) courses, the institution determines whether a student is eligible for a government-subsidised place. Eligibility may depend on factors such as age and prior qualifications.

HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP loans

The Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) assists students in covering tuition costs.

• HECS-HELP: Available to CSP students to cover student contributions. Loans are repaid through the tax system once your income exceeds the repayment threshold.
• FEE-HELP: Available to full-fee-paying students to cover tuition costs (up to capped loan limit). Repayments work the same way as HECS-HELP.

VTAC does not determine course fees or administer HELP loans. To understand HELP loans in more detail, including eligibility and repayment, visit the Study Assist website