Driver
Higher education application, offers and acceptance rates
By gender, SES and ATAR levels
Data tables appear under figures
Measure 1
Number of applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for a domestic undergraduate university place
Nationally in 2021, there were 7,637 undergraduate applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The number of applications has increased by over 10%, from 6,904 in 2016 (the baseline year) (figure SE6b.1).
A higher number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander undergraduate applications were from females (5,461) than from males (2,176), and represented over two-thirds of applications, nationally in 2021. The number of applications from females has increased since 2016, while the number of applications from males decreased.
Nationally in 2021, most (87%) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applications for undergraduate courses were from people in the socio-economically most disadvantaged areas (2,601 applications) or people in the middle 50% socio-economic areas (4,034 applications). Over 90% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people reside in the socio-economically most disadvantaged and the middle 50% socio-economic areas of Australia (2.09 Socioeconomic indexes - AIHW Indigenous HPF).
Completing year 12 and gaining an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) is one way to gain entry to university. Nationally, most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander undergraduate applications in 2021 were via a ‘non-Year 12/No ATAR score’ entry pathway (5,989 applications) – representing about four in five applications. Most of the increase in the total number of applications since 2016 has been via this ‘non-Year 12/No ATAR score’ pathway. In comparison, nationally in 2021, there were 1,648 applications via an ATAR pathway: 381 applications with an ATAR of 50 or less, 725 with an ATAR of 50 to 75, and 542 with an ATAR of greater than 75.
Measure 2
Offer rate
Nationally in 2021, four of five undergraduate course applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people proceeded to offer (79.7%). This rate is similar to previous years and to the baseline in 2016 (81.5%) (figure SE6b.2). The number of offers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applications increased from 5,630 in 2016 to 6,088 in 2021 (table SE6b.5).
The rate of higher education offers to undergraduate course applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was similar across sexes and socio-economic status areas of the applicants (about 80%). The rate of higher education offers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applications remained consistent for most years to 2016.
Almost all (98%) applications with an ATAR above 75 were offered an undergraduate position, nationally in 2021, while about nine in ten (91.2%) applications with an ATAR of 50 to 75 proceeded to offer. About four in five (78.1%) applications via the ‘non-Year 12/No ATAR’ pathway were offered an undergraduate position. These proportions were similar to 2016.
Applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with an ATAR of 50 or less resulted in the lowest proportion of offers. Nationally, the proportion of offers to applications with an ATAR of 50 or less increased from 52.8% in 2016 to 58% in 2021.
Measure 3
Acceptance rate
Nationally in 2021, about three in five (60.2% or 4,594) applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people resulted in an accepted undergraduate position (figure SE6b.3 and table SE6b.9). This proportion is a decrease from 64.3% in 2016 (4,438).
The acceptance rate was similar across sexes and socio-economic status areas of the applicants (about 60%), nationally in 2021.
Almost three-quarters (72.1%) of applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with an ATAR greater than 75 resulted in an accepted undergraduate position, nationally in 2021 – a slight decrease from the baseline year (74.6% in 2016). About three in five applications with an ATAR of 50 to 75 and ‘non‑Year 12/No ATAR’ applications resulted in an undergraduate course acceptance (59.7% and 60.6% respectively). The acceptance rate via the ‘non‑Year 12/No ATAR' pathway has decreased since the baseline year (66.9% in 2016). Applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with an ATAR of 50 or less had the lowest acceptance rate, 37% nationally in 2021, although this rate increased from 28.3% in 2016.
Indicator data specifications
Related outcome: | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students reach their full potential through further education pathways. |
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Related target: | By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 25–34 years who have completed a tertiary qualification (Certificate level III and above) to 70%. |
Indicator: | Higher education application, offers and acceptance rates (by gender, SES and ATAR levels) |
Measure: | There are three measures for this indicator. Measure 1 is the number of applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for a domestic undergraduate university place (by sex, socio‑economic status and Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) range). Measure 2 is the offer rate (by sex, socio‑economic status and ATAR range), defined as: Numerator – number of offers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for an undergraduate university place Denominator – number of applications from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for a domestic undergraduate university place. and is presented as a percentage. Measure 3 is the acceptance rate (by sex, socio‑economic status and ATAR range), defined as: Numerator – number of acceptances from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for an undergraduate university place Denominator – number of applications to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for an undergraduate university place. and is presented as a percentage. |
Indicator established: | National Agreement on Closing the Gap July 2020 |
Latest dashboard update for the indicator: | 13 November 2024 |
Indicator type: | Driver |
Interpretation of change: | Measure 1 A high or increasing number is desirable. Measure 2 and 3 A high or increasing proportion is desirable. |
Data source: | Name: Higher Education Statistics Collection Frequency: Annual Documentation (links): https://www.education.gov.au/higher-education-statistics |
Data provider: | Provider name: Commonwealth Department of Education Provider area: Higher Education Analysis Section |
Baseline year: | 2016 |
Latest reporting period: | 2021 |
Disaggregations: | State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by sex State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by socio-economic status State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status, by ATAR range |
Computation: | Numerator divided by Denominator multiplied by 100 Counting rules Measure 1 Applications include valid applications made for an undergraduate university place with at least one valid preference. Applications relate to highest preference applications. Measure 2 Offers include valid offers made to applicants with at least one valid preference. Measure 3 Acceptances include valid acceptances from applicants. All measures Includes:
State and territory is based on the place of usual residence of the applicant. Excludes (both numerator and denominator)
Disaggregations
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Data quality considerations: | Indigenous status is completed by the applicant or a person completing the application form on their behalf. Some people may choose not to record their Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander status. For a small number of records, Indigenous status or ATAR status differs between application and offer, resulting in the proportion of offers exceeding 100 per cent for some jurisdictions. Additionally, a small proportion of people apply to more than one TAC, resulting in some double counting of the number of applications and offers. Completing year 12 and gaining a tertiary entrance ranking (an ATAR) is one way to gain entry to university. Other pathways include sitting the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT), articulating from certificate and/or diploma level studies in vocational education and training (VET), university bridging or foundation programs and previous higher education (completed or commenced). Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applications are from mature-age students (people aged 20 years and over) and may apply via one of these alternate methods (Higher Education Facts and-Figures, 2022, Universities Australia (universitiesaustralia.edu.au)). In 2021, the Department of Education introduced funding to guarantee a place at university for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students living in regional and rural areas and who qualify. Some courses allow people to enrol directly into the course after application or offer, so the count of commencing students (supporting indicator 6a) will differ from the count of students who accepted (table SE6b.3). The data for 2020 and 2021 is affected by the ‘half-year’ year 12 cohort in Queensland. In 2007, the Queensland government introduced an additional year of schooling before year 1 with only a half-cohort of students enrolling that year. As a result of the Queensland half-year cohort effect, the number of year 12 students in Queensland in 2019 was around 30 per cent less than the previous year leading to lower applications for higher education among Queensland school leavers in 2020. The Department of Education has suppressed numbers less than five (reported as ‘<5’) and selected surrounding cells to prevent back-calculation (consequential suppression). All suppressed numbers have been included in the totals. |
Future reporting: | Future reporting will seek to include the following additional disaggregations:
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