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Queensland ‘s senior school qualification is the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE). It is awarded by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority to eligible students (usually at the end of Year 12). The QCE was introduced in 2008, to replace the Senior Certificate.

In order to be awarded a QCE, a student must be awarded at least 20 credits from their studies, in which at least 12 credits must come from Core courses. Core courses not fully completed may also contribute some credits, however the level of achievement must be at least a Sound Achievement (or Pass). In addition, a student must pass the literacy and numeracy requirements. Even if failing to receive a QCE at the end of Year 12, a student may continue to work towards one, though credits expire after nine years

Core courses are the most common form of education undertaken in Years 11 and 12 and include both Authority and Authority-registered subjects. Authority subjects are those whose syllabuses are maintained by the QSA and whose results contribute to a student’s Overall Position, which is the ranking used for entrance to tertiary education institutions, whereas Authority-registered subjects are developed from a Study Area Specification. Authority-registered subjects do not contribute to the Overall Position of a student. Preparatory and Enrichment courses are commonly Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualifications, which often result in Certificate qualifications. Advanced courses are often university subjects completed alongside a student’s regular secondary schooling.

The Overall Position (OP) was a tertiary entrance rank used in Queensland, Australia to guide selection into universities. Like similar systems used throughout the rest of Australia, the OP shows how well a student has performed in their senior secondary studies compared with all other OP-eligible students in Queensland. The system was introduced in 1992 and ended with the 2019 cohort.

The OP is calculated and used similarly to the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) in other states. Instead of being a percentile rank (0.00 – 99.95), however, OPs are measured on a scale from 1 to 25, where 1 is the highest and 25 is the lowest. This range of possible results is bell curved so the percentage of students receiving the very highest and very lowest results is much less common than those receiving mid-range OPs. In 2018, 733 students received an OP1, according to Minister for Education Grace Grace. 49.7% of Queensland high school students were eligible to obtain an OP in 2018.

From 2020, the OP rank was replaced with the ATAR, bringing Queensland in-line with all other Australian states and territories.

Did you know? Brisbane was known to the early Aboriginal people as Meanjin, which means “place shaped like a spike”. This ‘spike’ in the river is now where the Brisbane CBD is located. Brisbane is named after a former governor of New South Wales who founded the original penal settlement of the city in the 1820s. During World War II, Brisbane was the world’s busiest submarine port. It was the ideal position because it was close to where the American troops wanted to be, while being beyond the Japanese bombers’ range as well. During the battle, Brisbane became the home to about 80,000 American soldiers.

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