Melbourne and Sydney end ATAR entry guarantees for 2027

September 7, 2026 at 01:01 AM3 min

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The University of Melbourne and the University of Sydney have scrapped ATAR-based guaranteed entry schemes for 2027. Only equity students will retain Melbourne's guarantees, while Sydney's move follows new domestic student quotas under proposed managed growth rules. Other Sydney universities have raised ATAR thresholds in response.

Key Facts

The University of Melbourne removed ATAR guarantees for 2027 entry, retaining them only for equity students such as Indigenous Australians and low-SES applicants.
The University of Sydney ended its ATAR guarantee scheme after domestic student quotas were set under proposed managed growth rules.
Universities exceeding quotas by more than 5 per cent or 750 enrolments face financial penalties and cannot accept fees from excess students.
The University of Queensland told a Senate committee it would need to raise cut-off scores for lower-ATAR disciplines like arts, teaching and business management under strict managed growth settings.
The five wealthiest Australian universities received 38 per cent of sector revenue last year, up from 35 per cent before the pandemic.

Guarantee Removal

The University of Melbourne has removed ATAR guarantees for admission into its courses in 2027, ending a practice that assured places for students exceeding threshold scores. From next year, only equity students such as Indigenous Australians and people from low socio-economic status neighbourhoods will qualify for Melbourne's ATAR guarantees. The University of Sydney has jettisoned a similar scheme after domestic student quotas were set as part of a shift to a proposed system of managed growth. Under the proposals, universities that exceed their quotas by more than 5 per cent or 750 enrolments will face stiff financial penalties and will be unable to accept fees from the excess students.

Institutional Responses

Other Sydney universities have increased their ATAR thresholds in response to the proposals, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. The University of Queensland has not yet changed its admission rules but told a Senate committee it would have to consider doing so under strict managed growth settings. UQ said students routinely applied for multiple courses, and those who missed ATAR benchmarks for first-choice degrees often accepted places in programmes with less demanding thresholds. To restrict admissions, the university would need to raise cut-off scores for lower ATAR disciplines such as arts, teaching and business management, which would most affect low-SES students. Western Sydney University said it had not changed its cut-off scores for 2027 but was closely monitoring competitor behaviour and may need to adjust its admissions settings.

Policy Context

The bill aims to improve stability for regional and outer metropolitan institutions, whose share of sector funding has declined as prestigious universities in the three biggest cities became richer. Education minister Jason Clare blames this on a hunger games environment in which large institutions expand at their smaller counterparts' expense. Institutional accounts show that the five wealthiest institutions pocketed 38 per cent of the sector's revenue last year, up from 35 per cent before the pandemic. While the committee has recommended passage of the bill, opposition and cross-bench senators raised significant objections to the managed growth proposals.