Am I eligible to apply?
To be eligible for Access Melbourne you need to meet all of the general eligibility requirements, and at least one of the special circumstances below.
General eligibility requirements
- Be an Australian or New Zealand citizen, or Australian permanent resident or hold a permanent humanitarian visa
- Have not received results from prior undergraduate studies (high school extension studies, or single subjects completed outside of an official degree program are not considered prior studies). Please note, mature age entry pathway applicants and/or applicants eligible for the recognition as an Indigenous Australian, with incomplete or complete tertiary study, are eligible for Access Melbourne
- Demonstrated the capacity to successfully undertake the course, such as meeting ATAR or subject prerequisite requirements
- Applied for a University of Melbourne undergraduate course through the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC).
Access Melbourne circumstances
There are many circumstances under which you can receive consideration as part of your application for undergraduate study.
You are eligible for Access Melbourne consideration if you meet one of the below criteria:
- You or your parent/guardian are in receipt of a means tested Commonwealth income support payment (such as Austudy, ABSTUDY, Youth Allowance, etc), or
- Your parent/guardian is in receipt of Family Tax Benefit A or B, or
- You're able to demonstrate how your disadvantaged financial background has affected you, or
- You reside in a low socioeconomic area according to government definition.
To apply for this Access Melbourne circumstance, submit an equity scheme and scholarship application via the Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre (VTAC) under the category financial hardship, or under your personal information and location if you reside in a low socioeconomic area* and have no other financial circumstances to declare). You will be scored based on the evidence you provide, as well as the impact the circumstances have had on your education.
If you're eligible for this Access Melbourne category, you may be able to receive a guaranteed place.
* Your home address may be in a low socioeconomic area, as classified by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in the 2021 Census data. You can check if your home (residential) address is in a low socioeconomic area in our Access Melbourne calculator . Note that you will need to submit an equity scheme application for us to receive ABS details about your address. Your home address cannot be classified as low socioeconomic if you do not reside within Australia.
You are eligible for Access Melbourne consideration if you meet all of the below criteria:
- Your residential address is located within a Statistical Areas Level 1 (SA1)*, an area that is not defined as a major city by the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS), and
- You attend secondary school in a regional or remote area.
You can use the Access Melbourne calculator to check your address and see if your school qualifies. To apply for this Access Melbourne category, ensure your personal information and location is updated and correct in your equity scheme application via VTAC.
* Checking the rurality rating of your residential address:
- First confirm the Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) code of your residential address here use the 'Address search’, and ensure that the selected 'Census year' is 2021
- Once you have the SA1 code for your residential address (the SA1 code will be an 11-digit number), you will be able to use this code to search for the correlating Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS)rurality rating on the Remoteness areas spreadsheet.
- If the ASGS rurality rating of your residence is NOT classified to 'Major Cities of Australia', then your residential address is eligible for consideration under this Access Melbourne category. Note that the address of your secondary school must also be in a regional or remote area if you are a current Year 12 student.
If you are eligible for this category, you may be able to receive a guaranteed place.
You are eligible for Access Melbourne consideration if you meet the below criteria:
- You're of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, and
- You identify as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person and are accepted as such by the community in which you have been living or are associated with.
To apply for this Access Melbourne category, ensure your personal information and location is updated and correct in your equity scheme application via VTAC.
Murrup Barak will be in touch with applicants to help them submit a confirmation of identity document.
If you are eligible for this category, you may be able to receive a guaranteed place.
You are eligible for Access Melbourne consideration if:
- Your parents or guardian did not attend university and your generation is the first to do so. This category applies to you even if your siblings attended university, provided your parents or guardian did not complete university education.
To apply for this Access Melbourne category, ensure your personal information and location is updated and correct in your equity scheme application via VTAC.
Note: Please note that our classification varies slightly from VTAC’s published definition of the SEAS First in family to attend university category, as listed in the 2024 SEAS application form (under Category 1, sub-category 1.1): “Are you or will you be the first person in your immediate family to attend university? (immediate family includes parents, brothers and sisters)” We recommend that you complete your 2024 SEAS application form as carefully and accurately as possible, selecting all categories and sub-categories that are relevant to your circumstances.
If you feel that you are eligible for consideration under the University of Melbourne’s First in family category, but your family circumstances don't meet the VTAC definition of the First in family to attend university category (in that someone in your generation within your immediate family – ie, your brother or sister – has attended university), you are welcome to let us know about this via the ‘General Statement’ section of the VTAC Personal statement.
You are eligible for Access Melbourne consideration if you meet the below criteria:
- You are completing Year 12 in 2024 at a Victorian secondary school defined by the University of Melbourne as under-represented in the tertiary (higher education) sector and at the University of Melbourne.
Check if your school is on the list of under-represented schools for 2024 here.
To apply for this Access Melbourne category, ensure your personal information and location is updated and correct in your equity scheme application via VTAC.
You are eligible for Access Melbourne consideration if:
- You’ve been prevented from reaching your full educational potential because of family or other life circumstances.
Difficult circumstances can include, but are not limited to;
- Experiencing out of home care
- Arriving in Australia as a refugee
- Long-term serious illness of a family member
- Natural disasters
- An unsafe or unstable home environment.
To apply for this Access Melbourne category, submit an equity scheme application via VTAC under the category of difficult family and life circumstances. You will be scored based on the evidence you provide, as well as the impact the circumstances have had on your education.
You are eligible for Access Melbourne consideration if:
- You experience a disability, impairment or medical condition that has affected your studies.
To apply for this Access Melbourne category, submit an equity scheme application via VTAC under the living with a disability or medical condition category. You will be scored based on the evidence you provide, as well as the impact the circumstances have had on your education.
You are eligible for Access Melbourne consideration if you meet all of the below criteria:
- You were born outside Australia in a non-English speaking country, and
- You arrived in Australia after 1 January 2019.
To apply for this Access Melbourne category, ensure your personal information and location is updated and correct in your equity scheme application via VTAC.
You are eligible for Access Melbourne consideration if you meet all of the below criteria:
- You are 23 years of age or older on 30 September 2024 (for Semester 1 2025 entry) or 6 June 2025 (for Semester 2 2025 entry); and
- You have no qualifications from the past seven years that could be used as the basis of your application.
To apply for this Access Melbourne category, ensure your personal information and location is updated and correct in your equity scheme application via VTAC.
Academic eligibility criteria
All Access Melbourne applicants who meet our non-school leaver criteria entry pathway must also satisfy the academic requirements outlined below:
- Meet the course prerequisites for your preferred course and satisfy any additional application requirements; and
- Demonstrate your likelihood to succeed in tertiary study by achieving competitive results in one of the following:
- Skills for Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT), strong results must be achieved for the written English and multiple choice sections, or
- Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), strong results must be achieved across all sections, or
- Complete 50 points* of single subject Community Access Program (CAP) study in assessed mode, and achieve an overall minimum average of 75%; and
- Meet the University's English language requirements.
*50 points of CAP study will typically require applicants to complete four CAP subjects.
Please note that the Access Melbourne non-school leaver category does not provide applicants with an entry point to the Diploma in General Studies, the University's Chancellor's Scholars program, or our Graduate Degree Packages.
Gain a guaranteed place
As an Access Melbourne applicant, you may be eligible for guaranteed entry into an undergraduate course or select Graduate Degree Package.
Single degree guarantees
If you’re eligible for one of these Access Melbourne circumstances, meet the course prerequisites and achieve the ATAR (or notional ATAR) listed in the table, you’ll gain a guaranteed place if you preference appropriately in VTAC:
- You’re a resident of a regional or remote area and/or you have a disadvantaged financial background
- You're of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent.
Undergraduate course | 2025 Access Melbourne guaranteed ATAR | |
---|---|---|
Regional or remote and/or disadvantaged financial background | Indigenous Australian | |
Bachelor of Agriculture | 68.00 | 66.00 |
Bachelor of Arts | 74.00 | 70.00 |
Bachelor of Biomedicine | 87.00 | 84.00 |
Bachelor of Commerce | 80.00 | 75.00 |
Bachelor of Design | 74.00 | 70.00 |
Bachelor of Oral Health | N/A | 77.00 |
Bachelor of Science | 74.00 | 74.00 |
Bachelor of Science (Extended) | N/A | 65.00 |
Details on the support available for Indigenous Australians, including extended pathways and financial assistance, can be viewed here.
Graduate Degree Package guarantees
A Graduate Degree Package is a combined offer for an undergraduate degree and a place in a specialised professional graduate program. If you already know the career path you want to pursue, a Graduate Degree Package can help secure your graduate place before you begin your undergraduate studies. With a package offer you’ll save on course fees through a guaranteed a Commonwealth Supported Place – where a portion of your tuition fee is paid by the Australian Government
Access Melbourne guaranteed ATARs are now available for select Graduate Degree Packages. You must apply for Access Melbourne and meet the requirements for at least one of the following:
- You live and go to school in a regional or remote area
- You reside in a low socioeconomic area according to government definition
- You're of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent.
Applicants who have experienced educational disadvantage due to a disability or medical condition will also be given consideration. This will be based on the level of impact it has had on the student’s ability to study.
Career | Graduate Degree Package | 2025 Access Melbourne ATAR guarantee |
---|---|---|
Architect | Bachelor of Design + Master of Architecture | 90.00 |
Construction manager | Bachelor of Design + Master of Construction Management | 88.00 |
Data scientist | Bachelor of Science + Master of Data Science | 91.00 |
Engineer | Bachelor of Commerce + Master of Engineering Bachelor of Science + Master of Engineering | 88.00 |
IT professional | Bachelor of Commerce + Master of Information Technology Bachelor of Science + Master of Information Technology | 88.00 |
Landscape architect | Bachelor of Design + Master of Landscape Architecture | 88.00 |
Property professional | Bachelor of Design + Master of Property | 88.00 |
Teacher | Bachelor of Arts + Master of Teaching Bachelor of Design + Master of Teaching Bachelor of Science + Master of Teaching | 88.00 |
Urban planner | Bachelor of Arts + Master of Urban Planning Bachelor of Design + Master of Urban Planning | 88.00 |