Recognition of IB diploma for admission to universities and colleges

The International Baccalaureate Diploma is recognized by all major Tertiary Institutions in Australia. Contact and recognition policy information can be found on the university pages of the IB website. These entries do however not contain all details and it is advisable that students make direct contact with their Universities of interest to check specific course and entry requirements. Some universities offer advanced placement, credit & bonus schemes for IBDP students and this should also be investigated.

The University year in Australia commences in February/March although there are some opportunities for mid-year entry (Semester 2) in July.

In general Diploma Programme candidates will need to have been awarded the Diploma as a minimum entry requirement although those who have not been awarded the Diploma or are Certificate candidates should apply for discretionary entry or special consideration.

There is no national centralized bureaucracy that controls university admission or placement across Australia. However each State or Territory does have a Tertiary Admission Centre (TAC) that receives and processes domestic applications for admission to most undergraduate degrees at participating institutions in that State or associated Territory (please note that in Tasmania this process is organized by the University of Tasmania). These TACs then notify applicants of University placement offers. Key dates regarding this process should be checked with each TAC.

To enable the TAC to receive your transcript of results, IB Diploma students who are Australian citizens should inform their school Diploma Coordinator of which TAC(s) they would like their results released to. The Diploma Coordinator will then complete the request for results form on IBIS, requesting student results be sent to the appropriate TAC(s). It is recommended that students have their results sent to all six TACs even if at the time they are not sure where they would like t o study.

Australian citizens who have graduated with the IB Diploma and want to apply to university in Australia have their score converted to an index (ATAR equivalent) which enables them to be compared to students who complete the State Curricula in Australia. Please contact the IBAP Australasia office ibapaus@ibo.org for a copy of the conversion tables or check the each Admission Centre websites for specific information. Please note that the ATAR conversion is higher in SA and NT.

Domestic students who wish to study in Australia should contact the Tertiary Admissions Centre (TAC) in the state/territory where their university of choice is located.

Web sites:
QTAC (Queensland) QTAC website
SATAC (South Australia/Northern Territory) SATAC website
TISC (Western Australia) TISC website
UAC (New South Wales/Australian Capital Territory) UAC website
UTAS (Tasmania) UTAS website
VTAC (Victoria) VTAC website

International students must check the website of the Tertiary Admissions Centre (TAC) in the state where their university of choice is located to see if they should apply through the TAC or directly to the university. To visit each TAC's website, click on the links above. If advised to apply directly to the university, check the country information page for a list of Australian universities, their contact details, application process and recognition policies. You should certainly visit the website of each University in which you are interested and meet with the careers advisor and Diploma Coordinator at your school for assistance and advice on your tertiary study decisions.