Current Year 12 Students
- How to Apply
- Key Dates
- Additional Qualifications
- Special Consideration
- Ordering Preferences
- Selection Process & Assessment
- Offers & Responses
- Minimum Entry Requirements
- Fees & Charges
- Study Costs
- Year 12 Students without an OP
- Upgrading Pathways
- Interstate Admissions
- NCEA Applicants (New Zealand)
- International Baccalaureate
Print this web page
Make an online enquiry
Contact QTAC nowNZ Applicants with NCEA studies
This information is provided to assist students who have completed the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) Level 3 in New Zealand and intend to apply through QTAC for a tertiary place.
How is your QTAC selection rank calculated?
Across Australia, a common national measure of Year 12 student achievement is used in the tertiary selection process. The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) provides a similar measure of achievement to QTAC for New Zealand applicants with NCEA Level 3 results and University Entrance, from which QTAC derives a selection rank. Queries regarding this measure of achievement should be made with NZQA and not QTAC.
Do NCEA Level 3 subjects satisfy prerequisites?
Subject prerequisites are specified in terms of Queensland Study Authority subjects studied as part of the Queensland Senior Certificate which have been undertaken over a duration of study (i.e. 4 semesters of study) to a satisfactory level of achievement (i.e. 'Sound Achievement'). For example, most Bachelor of Education courses will have English (4, SA) specified as the subject prerequisite.
A table listing NZ NCEA Level 3 subjects comparable to Queensland Studies Authority subjects is available below.
NCEA Level 3 subjects comparable to QSA subjects
In terms of duration of study and level of achievement, the following are required from NCEA Level 3 studies:
- a minimum of 20 credit points in NCEA Level 3 achievement standards is required to satisfy the 4 semesters requirement.
- a grade average of 2.0 or better is required in NCEA achievement standards to satisfy the Sound Achievement requirement.
In calculating the grade average from achievement standards:
- Excellent = 4.0
- Merit = 3.0
- Achieved = 2.0
- Not Achieved = 1.0
Example of subject prerequisite calculation for NCEA Level 3 studies
The example below demonstrates how the English subject prerequisite is determined for Colin, an NCEA student.
Colin studied the subject English at NCEA Level 3, with the following results in 20 credits of Achievement Standards:
- 8 credits of Achievement Standards @ grades of 'Merit'
- 10 credits of Achievement Standards @ grades of 'Achieved'
- 2 credits of Achievement Standards @ grades of 'Not Achieved'
Colin has satisfied the English - 4 semesters - Sound Achievement requirement because:
- He has undertaken 20 credits in English achievement standards (i.e. he satisfies the 4 semester duration requirement because he has undertaken 20 or more credits)
- His grade average in these English achievement standards was better than 2.0 (i.e. Colin has the equivalent of Sound Achievement or better)
In this example, Colin's grade average in English achievement standards was 2.3. The calculation to determine Colin's grade average was as follows:
= SUM of (Credits x Grade Equivalents) divided by SUM of Credits
= 8 credits of Achievement Standards @ grades of 'Merit' => 8 x 3.0 = 24
10 credits of Achievement Standards @ grades of 'Achieved' => 10 x 2.0 = 20
2 credits of Achievement Standards @ grades of 'Not Achieved' => 2 x 1.0 = 2
= (24 + 20 + 2) divided by (8 + 10 + 2)
= 46 divided by 20
= 2.3
Top of Page