Applications open
Monday 5 February 2024
Applications close
Friday 3 May 2024
What you'll need to complete
your application
- Victorian Student Number (if applicable)
- Health care or concession card details (if applying for equity consideration)
- Debit or credit card (if paying application fee)
- Approximately 10-15 minutes
Applications closed
Applications for Year 9 entry in 2025 are now closed. Applications for Year 9 entry in 2026 will open in early 2025. To receive an update on the application opening date, please subscribe below.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for the Victorian Selective Entry High School entry exam, your child must:
- be in their second year of secondary schooling or its equivalent (Year 8) in 2024
- have not previously sat the exam for Year 9 entry
- and be:
- an Australian citizen, or
- a New Zealand citizen residing in Australia, or
- hold a visa or ImmiCard, which would exempt them from paying International Student Fees to attend a Victorian government school (more information)
- able to meet the citizenship or visa criteria by the time the offers process commences.
Students attending government and non-government schools, as well as home-schooled students, are eligible to apply. The above eligibility criteria apply to candidates living in Victoria, as well as those living and studying interstate or overseas. Fee-paying international students enrolled in Victorian schools are not eligible to apply.
Verifying eligibility
Candidates who are offered a place must provide original documents, such as a Certificate of Evidence of Australian Citizenship, visa and/or birth certificate, to the Selective Entry High School in order to complete enrolment. Home-schooled students in Victoria will also need to upload their home-school registration letter provided by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority to the application portal.
Offers will be withdrawn if eligibility requirements for enrolment are not met. An administration fee of $50 will be retained if an application is submitted and the candidate is unable to verify their eligibility.
How to apply
- Create an account in the application portal
- Complete your details and your child’s details
- Select at least one preference
- Complete equity consideration (if applicable)
- Confirm eligibility
- Submit payment
Late applications
Late applications, including interstate or overseas sitting applications, will be accepted up until Friday 17 May 2024 subject to the payment of a late fee of $50 in addition to the application fee. Applications that are submitted after this date cannot be accepted.
Preferences
As a parent or carer, you must indicate on the application which of the Selective Entry High Schools you would prefer your child to attend. Up to three school preferences can be listed; however, you may choose to only list one or two schools.
The order of preferences is important. Please put the most preferred school as number one. If your child qualifies for more than one school, they will only be offered the highest preference for which they qualify.
Please only list schools you are prepared to accept and would like your child to attend. Ensure you consider factors such as distance to each school from your home and how your child will travel to school. Do not add a preference for a school that you do not wish to attend (due to distance or other factors) as offers are not transferrable at any time.
Offers for one Selective Entry High School are not transferable to another Selective Entry High School.
Common questions
-
Yes, you can amend your preferences up until Friday 21 June 2024, when you will no longer be able to edit your application.
To amend your preferences, log in to the application portal and navigate to the preferences page of your application. Change your preferences as required and then save your application.
Preferences entered in the portal at Friday 21 June 2024 will be considered final and no further amendments can be made.
-
If your child qualifies for more than one school they will only be offered their highest preference. Therefore it is important that the school you would most like them to attend is ranked the highest.
Occasionally, a place may be offered in a later round for a higher preference school, if a lower preference school was offered in the first round.
-
To find out information about about the four Selective Entry High Schools, it is best to visit the websites of each individual school, or reach out to them with any particular questions about their programs.
- The Mac.Robertson Girls’ High School
- Melbourne High School
- Nossal High School
- Suzanne Cory High School
Equity consideration
Equity consideration is only available to low-income families and children who identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. If you would like to apply for equity consideration, the following documentation must be submitted to support applications:
- If applying for low-income consideration, please refer to your Health Care Card and note on the application both the primary cardholder and the Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN). More information on applying for low-income consideration.
- If your child identifies as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, please indicate this in the equity consideration section on the application form.
Payment
An application fee of $170 is payable at the time of application. Payment is made online.
Applications are free for low-income or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. If a candidate’s eligibility to have the fee waived cannot be confirmed, they will be required to pay the application fee.
Additional fees apply for remote sittings. Details on remote sittings.
Your SEHS Candidate Number
When you complete an application for the Selective Entry High School exam, you will receive a unique SEHS Candidate Number in your initial confirmation email.
You will use this number to log in to the application portal to make any changes or to access additional information.
The SEHS Candidate Number will also need to be quoted when requesting specific advice for your child from the support team.
Common questions
-
You can find your child’s SEHS Candidate Number on your confirmation email from ACER when you create your account in the application portal.
It will also be quoted in the subject line of all subsequent emails regarding your application.
The SEHS Candidate Number contains seven (7) digits.
If you cannot find this number, please contact the ACER support team.
Change an application
Registered parents/carers can change their contact details at any time in the application portal. It is important to ensure both the mobile phone number and email address is up to date. You can also make changes to your child’s current school in the application portal. This must be correct by Friday 21 June 2024.
Similarly, any change of school preference must be made in the application portal, and will not be accepted in other formats. Changes to preferences must be made by Friday 21 June 2024 and cannot be accepted after this date.
If you have any difficulties making changes to your application, please contact the ACER support team.
Parents/carers can withdraw their application at any time. An administration fee of $50 will be retained if an application is withdrawn prior to Friday 3 May 2024. There is no refund if an application is withdrawn after this date.
Common questions
-
To amend your preferences, log in to the application portal and navigate to the preferences page of your application. Change your preferences as required and then save your application.
Preferences entered in the portal at Friday 21 June 2024 will be considered final and no further amendments can be made.
-
If your child is currently living outside of Victoria (i.e. interstate or overseas) you can apply to sit the exam remotely. A remote sitting can be requested in the application portal by indicating your child's interstate or overseas location. If circumstances change after you have submitted your application, please contact the ACER support team before Friday 3 May 2024.
