How do selective entry results and offers work in Victoria?
Independent. Not affiliated with the Victorian Department of Education, ACER or any selective entry high school.
When do results and offers come?
Last round, the exam report and first-round offers both came on 3 August 20261ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published. 1ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published Dates for Year 9 entry in 2028 are not published2ACER · 12 October 2026 · Not published.
Each round gives families a few days to reply. These were the 2027 entry rounds, in Melbourne time (the same as Sydney).
| Round | Offers sent | Reply by |
|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 3 August 20261ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published | 10 August 2026, 11:59 pm (Sydney time)1ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published |
| Round 2 | 13 August 20261ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published | 17 August 2026, 11:59 pm (Sydney time)1ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published |
| Round 3 | 20 August 20261ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published | 24 August 2026, 11:59 pm (Sydney time)1ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published |
| Principal's discretion, outcomes | 15 October 20261ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published | Told by the school |
Offers can keep coming until the end of Term 41ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published, as places free up. The calendar feed adds the next round's dates once ACER publishes them.
What does the exam report show?
The report describes how your child did in the exam. There is no access to the tests or individual scores1ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published, and the results aren't comparable with NAPLAN or school tests.
Last round, it opened in the application portal on the same day as first-round offers. 1ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published Suzanne Cory High School's page says families get results after the final offer round3Suzanne Cory · 12 October 2026 · Published. ACER runs the exam, so check its portal rather than waiting.
The exam is hard on purpose: half the questions correct is not unusual4ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published, and many children don't finish.
How are places decided?
Mostly on exam rank. 85%5Vic Education · 12 October 2026 · Published of places go on rank from the exam. Up to 10%5Vic Education · 12 October 2026 · Published go under equity consideration, and up to 5%5Vic Education · 12 October 2026 · Published by principal's discretion.
Equity consideration covers families holding a Health Care Card or Pensioner Concession Card, and Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students. Eligibility for it is checked when you apply6ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published. 5Vic Education · 12 October 2026 · Published
You are offered only the highest preference your child qualifies for6ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published. So you never hold offers from several schools at once.
What else shapes the offers?
Two more rules sit beside rank. No more than 4%5Vic Education · 12 October 2026 · Published of students from one school get standard or principal's discretion offers, with an exception for Prep to Year 9 schools. Equity offers are not subject to the cap5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published.
Children in home-school, or at an interstate or overseas school, are treated as separate school groups, each with a cap5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published. Also, a special measure may keep a gender balance at the co-educational schools5Vic Education · 12 October 2026 · Published.
How do offer rounds work?
Offers come by email, and you reply in the portal. Most places go in the first round, and a small number follow. 1ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published
An email arrives
It says when you must reply and how to find the offer in the portal.
Accept or decline in the portal
Log in with your SEHS Candidate Number and open the offer tab. 6ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published
Check for the receipt
ACER confirms your reply within 241ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published hours. Contact ACER if it doesn't arrive.
Meet the deadline
Deadlines can't be extended1ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published. An unanswered offer goes to the next child in line.
The parent who applied must watch emails and texts at offer time. 6ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published
What if my child is offered a lower preference?
You can accept it and still be offered a higher preference in a later round. 1ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published Accepting doesn't remove your child from the higher school's list.
Offers are not transferable to another school6ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published. After the formal rounds, late offers are filled on school preferences, ranking and each school's gender balance1ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published.
To withdraw an offer you already accepted, email ACER at sehs@acer.org, not the school1ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published.
What happens after we accept an offer?
You enrol at the school, and your child's current school is told one way or another. Keep the receipt email.
Keep ACER's receipt, which comes within 241ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published hours of your reply.
Give the school original documents, such as a citizenship certificate, visa or birth certificate5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published. Offers are withdrawn if eligibility isn't met.
At a government school now? The school is told by the Department5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published.
At a non-government school now? It is your job to tell the school5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published.
What is principal's discretion?
Up to 5%5Vic Education · 12 October 2026 · Published of places at each school are filled by its principal. Principals may invite children with strong results to apply, and an invitation is not an offer of a place5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published.
The process is an application form, then an interview at the school if shortlisted5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published.
3 September 2026, 10 am (Sydney time)1ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published
Invitations to apply
Sent to selected children after the exam.
8 September 2026, 4 pm (Sydney time)1ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published
Applications close
The form and any documents the school asks for.
18 September 20261ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published
Interview invitations
For children the panel shortlists.
5–14 October 20261ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published
Interviews at the school
For shortlisted children only.
15 October 20261ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published
Outcomes
Successful children are told by the school.
What do panels look at?
Panels may consider the ACER exam results and recent school reports5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published. They may also weigh activities outside class and your child's own reasons for wanting to attend5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published. Last, they may consider the preferred school and any siblings there5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published.
What if we have concerns about the process?
For the exam and standard or equity offers, contact the ACER team5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published. Principal's discretion concerns follow a set timeline, and the process is only for children invited to apply who completed it and got no offer5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published.
| Step, 2027 entry | By |
|---|---|
| Email the principal of the school that invited your child | 22 October 20265Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published |
| The principal replies | 29 October 20265Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published |
| Still concerned: write to the Department's South Eastern or South Western regional office | 5 November 20265Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published |
| The regional office replies in writing | 3 December 20265Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published |
The regional office needs your child's application form, the school's outcome letter, your email to the principal and the principal's reply5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published.
Which family cases come up most?
Offered our second preference in Round 1
Your first preference didn't come through, and the reply deadline is close.
Accept it by the deadline. Your child can still be offered the higher preference in a later round. 1ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published
No email in Round 2
Round 2 offers went out and nothing arrived.
ACER's rule: no email in a later round means no offer in that round1ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published. Check the offer tab in the portal to be sure.
Invited for principal's discretion
The school emails an invitation to apply after the formal rounds.
Fill in the form by the closing date. If shortlisted, your child has an interview at the school.
We missed the reply deadline
The offer email went to a spam folder and the deadline passed.
Contact ACER at once at sehs@acer.org or +61 3 9007 20875Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published.
What if there is no offer?
No offer says nothing final about your child. There are still other paths into strong programs.
Later entry at the selective entry schools
Entry at Years 10 and 11 is managed by each school5Vic Education · 12 October 2026 · Published, with few places. Ask each school.
John Monash Science School
A school for Years 10 to 12 with its own tests, unique to JMSS and changed each year7JMSS · 12 October 2026 · Published. Read about entry.
SEAL at Year 9
Keilor Downs College tests for Year 9 SEAL places: applications are due at its office by 4 November 20268Keilor Downs College · 13 October 2026 · Published, for its test on 11 November 20268Keilor Downs College · 13 October 2026 · Published. Ask whether a college place is needed first. Read about SEAL.
Talk with your child about what they did well. The reading and thinking they practised carry into Year 9, wherever they go.
Can we join a waiting list?
Not at the schools that publish a rule on it. Nossal High School keeps a waiting list only for Years 10 and 11 applicants9Nossal HS · 13 October 2026 · Published, and The Mac.Robertson Girls' High School (Mac.Rob) keeps no waitlist10Mac.Rob · 13 October 2026 · Published.
Instead, a declined or unanswered offer passes to the next eligible child. 1ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published At Mac.Rob, the number accepted in one round affects how many go out in the next11Mac.Rob · 13 October 2026 · Published.
What can't be known?
No one can tell you a cut-off or your child's rank. Offers depend on who sits the exam that year and how every child ranks. 5Vic Education · 12 October 2026 · Published
The 2028 round's offer dates are not published2ACER · 12 October 2026 · Not published. Waiting for later rounds is hard; keep weekdays ordinary, and check email at the published times rather than all day.
Questions parents ask about results and offers
Can we see the exam paper or scores?
No. There is no access to the tests or individual scores1ACER · 12 October 2026 · Published.
Can we ask for a review of the result?
Concerns about the exam or standard and equity offers go to ACER. 5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published The principal's discretion process has its own steps and dates.
Can my child sit the exam again next year?
No. The conditions to apply include being in Year 8, and not having sat the exam before5Vic Education · 12 October 2026 · Published. Entry at Years 10 and 11 runs through each school instead.
Can an offer move to another school?
No. Offers are not transferable to another school6ACER · 13 October 2026 · Published.
What documents do we need to enrol?
The school needs original documents, such as a citizenship certificate, visa or birth certificate5Vic Education · 13 October 2026 · Published. Offers are withdrawn if eligibility isn't met.