VCE

Overview

The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is the senior secondary certificate completed by most students in Years 11 and 12 in the state of Victoria, Australia. It is run by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). The VCE covers English, humanities, science, mathematics, technologies, the arts, physical education, languages and vocational education and training (VET) programs, and it is meant to open pathways to university, TAFE and VET certificate courses, apprenticeships, traineeships and direct employment.

A VCE subject is called a study, and each study is made up of four units, Units 1 to 4, with each unit lasting one school semester. Units 1 and 2 are usually taken in Year 11 and Units 3 and 4 in Year 12, though schools can offer units in other orders. Units 3 and 4 of a study must be taken as a sequence and finished in the same year. Most students study five or six subjects across Years 11 and 12.

Who can apply

VCE is designed for students completing Years 11 and 12 at a Victorian secondary school, typically aged around 16 to 18. Adults returning to study can also enrol: to be treated as an adult student, a person must be at least 18 years old on 1 January of the enrolment year and must not have completed more than seven units in the full year before their first year as an adult student.

Exam pattern

At Units 3 and 4 level, each study is assessed through a combination of school-based and external assessment, together called Graded Assessment:

All students completing a Unit 3 and 4 sequence also sit the General Achievement Test (GAT), a single test of general knowledge and skills. The GAT itself does not count toward a study score; VCAA uses it to statistically moderate school-assessed scores against external exam results, so that marking is comparable across different schools, and it also lets students show they meet the expected senior secondary literacy and numeracy standards.

To be awarded the VCE, a student must satisfactorily complete at least 16 units in total, including three units from the English group with at least one Units 3 and 4 English sequence, and at least three other Units 3 and 4 sequences.

Marking and results

Each Unit 3 and 4 study is reported as a study score, on a scale of 0 to 50. VCAA sets the mean study score for every study at 30 each year, so a score of 23 to 37 places a student in the middle range of students taking that study, and a score of 38 or above places them in the top 15%. The study score for each study comes from combining the school-assessed coursework/task scores with the external examination result(s), statistically moderated against the GAT and against the exam results so that school-based marking is fair across the state.

Students who meet the VCE requirements and have study scores in at least four subjects, including one English subject, also receive an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). The ATAR is a rank between 0.00 and 99.95 that compares a student's results with those of all other Year 12 students, and it is calculated from an aggregate of scaled study scores from a student's best-performing subjects.

Important dates

For the 2026 VCE cycle:

• General Achievement Test (GAT): Tuesday 16 June 2026.

• Extended Investigation critical thinking test: Wednesday 29 July 2026.

• Oral, performance and Extended Investigation oral examinations: Monday 5 October to Sunday 1 November 2026.

• Languages (CCAFL) written examinations and the Auslan Sign Comprehension and Sign Production examination: Thursday 15 October 2026.

• Main written examinations: Tuesday 27 October to Wednesday 18 November 2026.

• VCE results and ATAR: available from 7:00 am Thursday 10 December 2026 through the VCE Results and ATAR Service, with printed results also mailed from 10 December 2026. Students can access their results online until 5:00 pm Tuesday 15 December 2026.

Because the Victorian school year runs February to December, this exam and results calendar sits in the Southern Hemisphere school year, finishing with results in mid-December rather than following an Indian academic-year cycle.

Fees

For students enrolled through a Victorian government or registered non-government school, VCE study itself carries no separate fee to the student; VCAA's own charges are for specific administrative services, not for sitting the course or its exams. For 2026, examples of VCAA's administration fees include a replacement Statement of Results ($43.95), a certified copy of a VCE student's results ($18.50), and a search-and-replacement-certificate fee ($34.65, plus an optional$30.70 for 24-hour priority). Fee-paying overseas students studying VCE in Victoria pay separate per-unit fees, ranging in 2026 from $79.55 for three or fewer Units 1 and 2 only, up to$492.10 for two or more Units 3 and 4 sequences.

After the exam

VCE results and the ATAR are released together through the VCE Results and ATAR Service, from 7:00 am on 10 December 2026, with hard-copy results mailed from the same date. The ATAR is the number Victorian and other Australian universities use when selecting students for undergraduate courses, so results released in mid-December feed directly into that year's university admissions round.

Preparation tips

• Treat Units 3 and 4 as cumulative: school-assessed coursework is collected across the whole year and combined with the exam result, so consistent performance in both matters, not just the final exam.

• Use VCAA's published study designs and past examination papers for each subject to understand what each external exam covers.

• Review the GAT information materials VCAA publishes each year, since all Unit 3 and 4 students sit it regardless of their subjects.

• Confirm your Units 3 and 4 subject sequence early, since those units must be completed together in the same year.

FAQs