SACE results come out at 8.30am (Adelaide time, ACDT) on Monday 14 December 2026. The SACE Board releases end-of-year results through Students Online, and eligible students see their SATAC ATAR there at the same time, on their Tertiary Entrance Statement. If you are a South Australian parent asking when do SACE results come out this year, that is the answer. The rest of this guide covers the two things that quietly go wrong on results morning, the SATAC dates that follow, and what families in the Northern Territory should check, because the NTCET runs through the same Board but is not the same certificate.
At NextStepAcademy we hear from Year 12 families every December who are ready for the date but not for the login screen. The most useful thing you can do this week is not to count down. It is to make sure your child can actually get in.
When do SACE results come out in 2026?
The SACE Board states on its end-of-year results page that results will be available on Monday 14 December 2026 at 8.30am ACDT. The same date appears on the Board’s Students Online page.
Written exams for Stage 2 ran from Monday 2 November to Friday 13 November 2026 on the Board’s South Australian calendar, so results arrive a month after the last paper. South Australian government schools finish Term 4 on Friday 11 December, which means most Year 12 students will already have left school when the results land.
What time do SACE results come out where you live?
The release time is 8.30am in Adelaide, which is on daylight saving time in December. Families who live elsewhere, or students who have moved interstate for the summer, should convert it. Darwin does not use daylight saving, so it is half an hour behind Adelaide.
| City | Time zone in December | Local release time, Mon 14 Dec 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | ACDT | 8.30am |
| Darwin | ACST (no daylight saving) | 8.00am |
| Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart, Canberra | AEDT | 9.00am |
| Brisbane | AEST (no daylight saving) | 8.00am |
| Perth | AWST | 6.00am |
The Darwin row is a time-zone conversion of the Board’s Adelaide release time. It is not a separate announcement for the Northern Territory. See the NT section below before you rely on it.
Where do you find SACE results and the ATAR?
Everything arrives in one place: Students Online. Once logged in, a student sees a grade for each subject and, if eligible, the ATAR from SATAC. Stage 1 subjects are graded A to E and Stage 2 subjects A+ to E-.
Two documents matter, and both are now digital only:
- The SACE Record of Achievement (ROA), which lists the subjects and courses that contributed to the SACE.
- The SATAC Tertiary Entrance Statement (TES), which shows scaled scores for Stage 2 subjects, the university aggregate and the ATAR.
Students who complete the SACE still receive the SACE Certificate itself in hard copy. Nothing about the ATAR comes in the mail, so do not wait for an envelope.
What should your child check in Students Online before 14 December?
This is the part most results-day articles skip, and it is the one that actually causes a bad morning. The SACE Board’s Students Online page sets out two things worth doing now, not on the day.
- Make sure the account is activated. A student who has never logged in needs their SACE registration number (six digits and a capital letter, for example 123456A) and a 4-digit PIN, both from the school. Activation sends an email link to set a password and security questions. If your child has not done this, the school office is the place to ask, and it is far easier to sort out in November than on the morning of 14 December when everyone else is asking too.
- Check the sharing preference is set to Y. The Board recommends every student set sharing preferences to Y (yes), because that is what allows it to release results to SATAC, which SATAC needs in order to calculate the ATAR. It also allows release to the school, and to the media only for outstanding results.
While they are logged in, ask your child to check their personal details. The Board asks students to tell their school’s SACE Coordinator if anything is wrong.
Why might a SACE student not see an ATAR on results day?
There are two ordinary reasons, and neither is cause for panic.
The first is eligibility. An ATAR depends on Stage 2 Tertiary Admissions Subjects, which is explained in our guide to how the SACE ATAR is calculated. A student on a pathway without enough of those subjects will see SACE results but no ATAR.
The second is timing. The SACE Board explains that if results for Recognised Studies (such as some VET or university studies) have not reached it before the submission deadline, they may not be included in the ATAR on results day. For some students that means no ATAR yet. For others it means an ATAR calculated without those studies. Once the results are processed, SATAC recalculates and issues a new ATAR and Tertiary Entrance Statement.
Illustrative example (not a real student): a Year 12 student completing a Certificate III alongside Stage 2 subjects logs in on 14 December and sees an ATAR lower than expected. The likely explanation is that the certificate result had not been received in time. The right move is to check with the school or SATAC, not to change university preferences on the spot.
What are the SATAC dates after SACE results?
Results are not the last date of the summer. These come from SATAC’s own key dates page for undergraduate entry in 2027:
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 1 December 2026 | Equal Consideration closing date for 2027 undergraduate applications |
| Thursday 10 December 2026 | Mid-December offer round. SATAC notes this round has no Year 12s |
| Monday 14 December 2026, 8.30am ACDT | SACE results and ATAR in Students Online (SACE Board) |
| Wednesday 6 January 2027, 11.59pm | Semester 1 change of preference deadline |
| Thursday 14 January 2027 | Mid-January round, offers emailed by 9am |
| Thursday 28 January 2027 | Allocations and second January round of offers |
Read the first row carefully. The Equal Consideration date falls before results come out. Students apply on their predicted results and then adjust preferences once the ATAR is known, up to the 6 January deadline. A student who has not applied by 1 December should talk to SATAC directly about where that leaves them.
What does SACE results day mean for Northern Territory students?
The Northern Territory awards the NTCET (Northern Territory Certificate of Education and Training), not the SACE, but it is delivered through the SACE Board. According to the Board’s NTCET page, students need 200 credits, Stage 2 work is partly marked by SACE Board appointed markers (30 per cent in each subject) with the rest school assessed and moderated, and the record of achievement is available through Students Online.
What we could not confirm this run: the Board’s NTCET calendar marks Monday 14 December 2026 as the end of the assessment cycle, the same day as South Australia, but neither its NTCET page nor that calendar states a separate results release time for NT students. Rather than assume, NT families should confirm with their school or the NTCET student enquiries line on 1800 009 282. If the release matches South Australia’s, it falls at 8.00am in Darwin.
The Students Online checks above apply to NT students too. Northern Territory students finish Term 4 a day earlier than South Australia, on Thursday 10 December.
What if your child’s SACE results are lower than expected?
First, read the detail before reacting. In Students Online a student can open each Stage 2 subject and see the grade for each assessment type, along with a chart comparing their achievement with every other student who completed the subject. That often explains a surprising grade faster than any phone call.
If something still looks wrong, the SACE Board offers a clerical check, which confirms results were entered correctly and the subject grade matches the school and external assessment. Students can also request an assessment summary showing school grade, moderated grade, external assessment grade and final grade. Both use a form emailed to askSACE@sa.gov.au. A clerical check is not a remark, so set expectations accordingly.
Second, remember the change of preference window runs until 6 January 2027. There is time to think.
What should Year 11 students do with this information?
For a student finishing Stage 1 now, this December is a preview of their own. Stage 2 is the stage that feeds the university aggregate, and 30 per cent of each Stage 2 subject is externally assessed. The summer before Year 12 is the cheapest time to close a gap in English or maths, before the first Stage 2 assessment arrives in Term 1.
That is the work we do with Adelaide families through SACE tutoring in Adelaide, alongside English tutoring in Adelaide for students whose writing is holding back their grades. For a wider view of support across Years 7 to 12, see our high school tutoring in Adelaide page or the full Adelaide tutoring hub. For South Australian and Northern Territory families, lessons are delivered through our online tutoring, at $65 an hour.
Frequently asked questions
When do SACE results come out in 2026?
Monday 14 December 2026 at 8.30am ACDT, in Students Online, according to the SACE Board.
Do SACE results and the ATAR come out on the same day?
Yes. Students Online shows SACE grades and, for eligible students, the SATAC ATAR on the Tertiary Entrance Statement. Some students whose Recognised Studies results arrive late receive a recalculated ATAR afterwards.
Will SACE results be posted to us?
No. The Record of Achievement and Tertiary Entrance Statement are digital only through Students Online. Students who complete the SACE still receive the SACE Certificate in hard copy.
What do we need to log in to Students Online?
A first-time login uses the SACE registration number (six digits and a capital letter) and a 4-digit PIN, both supplied by the school. Activate the account and set sharing preferences to Y well before results day.
Do Northern Territory students get results at the same time?
The NTCET is delivered through the SACE Board and results are accessed in Students Online, but the Board does not publish a separate NT release time on its NTCET page. Confirm with your school or the NTCET enquiries line on 1800 009 282.
Get Year 12 ready before it starts
If your child is heading into Stage 2 in 2027, or has just received results and wants a stronger second attempt at a subject, NextStepAcademy matches students with experienced tutors online, and your first lesson is covered by our First Lesson Guarantee: if you don’t love it, you don’t pay. Book your first lesson here.
Sources: SACE Board of South Australia, End-of-year results, What is Students Online?, NTCET and SACE and NTCET calendars (read 30 October 2026); SATAC Key Dates (read 30 October 2026). School term dates from the South Australian and Northern Territory education departments.