The average ATAR in Australia is usually around 70.00 for students who actually finish Year 12 and receive an ATAR.

What “average ATAR” really means

  • ATAR is a rank from 0.00 to 99.95 that shows how you performed compared with your age cohort, not a “score out of 100”.
  • If every student in the year group received an ATAR, the statistical average would sit at 50.00, because ATAR is based on percentiles.
  • In reality, many students leave school early or follow non‑ATAR pathways, so the group who do get an ATAR is more academically strong, pushing the average up to about 70.00.

Typical numbers to remember

  • Average ATAR (among ATAR students): about 70.00.
  • Median examples: in NSW/ACT, the median ATAR in one reported year (2014) was 68.95, which lines up with the “around 70” figure.
  • If everyone got an ATAR: the theoretical average would be 50.00, and some analyses say including drop‑outs and non‑ATAR students drags the “whole‑cohort” average close to that.

Is 70 a “good” ATAR?

  • Many guides describe 70.00 as a solid, middle‑of-the-pack rank among students who sat Year 12 with ATAR, opening a wide range of courses at many universities and TAFEs.
  • Competitive degrees (like medicine, law at some universities, or top commerce programs) often want ATARs well above 90, while many other courses have entry requirements in the 60–75 range.

TL;DR: When people ask “what is the average ATAR?”, they almost always mean the average among students who get an ATAR , and that sits at roughly 70.00 , not 50.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.