UCAT ANZ and medicine entry: what to know

Medicine and dentistry are some of the hardest courses to get into in Australia, and the application process has steps that are easy to miss. One of them is a test most students have not met before they reach the final years of school: the UCAT ANZ. This guide sets out the basics, using the Consortium's own pages.

What is the UCAT ANZ?

The University Clinical Aptitude Test is the entrance test that a group of universities in both countries, the UCAT ANZ Consortium, uses for the medicine, dentistry and clinical science degrees they run. The Consortium says it helps universities select applicants with the abilities and professional behaviours needed in clinical careers, and that it sits alongside other parts of admission, including interviews and academic qualifications. It replaced the UMAT in 2019.

Candidates sit it on a computer at a Pearson VUE centre, in Australia, in New Zealand or at some overseas locations. The test format page describes four separately timed, multiple-choice subtests, in a test of just under two hours:

• Verbal Reasoning: 44 questions, 22 minutes
• Decision Making: 35 questions, 37 minutes
• Quantitative Reasoning: 36 questions, 26 minutes
• Situational Judgement: 69 questions, 26 minutes

It is marked on correct answers, with no negative marking. Our posts on decision making and situational judgement look at two of the subtests in detail.

Which universities use it?

According to the Consortium's universities page, relevant courses at these Australian universities list the UCAT ANZ as a requirement for entry: Adelaide, Central Queensland (medical science pathway), Charles Sturt, Curtin, Flinders, Griffith, Monash, Newcastle and New England (joint medical program), UNSW, Queensland, Southern Queensland (pathway), Sunshine Coast (pathway), Tasmania, Western Australia and Western Sydney. In New Zealand, Auckland and Otago use it. Courses range from medicine to dental surgery, oral health and dental science.

The list changes, and the page names particular courses at each university, so read it for your chosen courses. The Consortium also states that some pathways do not require the UCAT ANZ, that there are no general exemptions, and that you should check each university's website before booking.

Who can sit it, and when?

The eligibility page is firm. Only candidates currently in, or already finished with, their last year of secondary school (or who have studied beyond it) may sit the test. Australian Year 11 students are not eligible, including those studying a Year 12 subject. We cover what Year 11 students can do in a separate post.

You can only sit it once in a test cycle, and results are valid only for the cycle in which you sat: a 2026 result is for entry in 2027. Our post on resitting has the detail.

For the 2026 cycle (entry in 2027) the key dates were:

The dates for the 2027 cycle had not been published when this was checked on 19 October 2026. They tend to follow a similar pattern, but you should rely on the Consortium's page when it updates, not on this table.

How it fits with the rest of an application

The test is one input. Universities also use academic results and, for many courses, interviews. The Consortium sends test results directly to its universities in early September, so students do not pass their results on themselves. Each university explains on its own website how it weighs the UCAT ANZ and what its application deadlines are, and those rules differ. Treat any claim about a universal "cut-off" with caution unless it comes from the university itself.

What each subtest is checking

The Consortium describes the subtests in plain terms:

• Verbal Reasoning uses eleven passages with four questions each. It asks whether specific conclusions can be drawn from the information, and no prior knowledge is expected.
• Decision Making asks you to apply logic, evaluate arguments and analyse statistical information. Some questions are multiple choice and others ask you to answer yes or no to five statements. A simple on-screen calculator is available.
• Quantitative Reasoning uses numerical skills to solve problems, most often from charts and graphs. The Consortium says it is less about numerical facility and more about problem solving, and a basic on-screen calculator is available.
• Situational Judgement presents hypothetical scenarios in a clinical or training setting, each with up to six questions, and assesses qualities such as integrity, seeing others' perspectives, involving the team, resilience and adaptability. No medical knowledge is needed.

The first three cognitive subtests add up to a total scaled score between 900 and 2700, and the situational judgement result is reported separately on a 300 to 900 scale. We explain what those numbers mean in what is a good score.

Preparing

The Consortium offers free preparation materials: a preparation plan, a tour tutorial, question tutorials, question banks and practice tests. It adds that commercial coaching firms are not partners and their materials are not endorsed, and it advises caution about materials and courses from other providers. Our post on how to use the free materials gives an order to work through them.

Where to go next

• What Year 11 students can do now
• Using the free materials in a sensible order
• Our guides cover format, scoring and timelines in more depth, and UCAT ANZ practice papers are on the samples page.

---

Not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the UCAT ANZ Consortium.