UCAT-ANZ Situational Judgement
Question types, the 300 to 900 score, how to prepare
The UCAT-ANZ Situational Judgement Test (SJT) gives you 69 questions in 26 minutes on clinical or training scenarios, and needs no medical knowledge. You rate responses or choose the most and least appropriate action. Your result is a separate scaled score from 300 to 900, not a band, and it is not part of your total out of 2700. The 2026 mean was 580 and the median 589.
- Questions and time
- 69 questions in 26 minutes
- Your result
- Scaled score, 300 to 900
- 2026 median
- 589
- In the /2700 total?
- No, reported separately
- Medical knowledge needed
- None
Photo: Cyberjunkie · CC BY 2.5 · cropped
Photo: Yu Chu Chin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Photo: Kristina D.C. Hoeppner · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: J Bar · CC BY-SA 3.0
What the UCAT-ANZ Situational Judgement Test measures
The Situational Judgement Test, or SJT, is one of the four subtests of UCAT-ANZ, the admissions test used by a consortium of Australian and New Zealand universities. It shows you hypothetical scenarios set in a clinical setting or during training for a medical or dental career, then asks you to judge possible actions or considerations. You do not need any medical or procedural knowledge.
The UCAT ANZ Consortium says the SJT measures your capacity to understand real world situations and to identify critical factors and appropriate behaviour in dealing with them. It assesses integrity, perspective taking, team involvement, resilience and adaptability. Tests like this are also used widely in postgraduate medical and dental selection.
Your result is a separate scaled score from 300 to 900. It is not a band, and it is not added to your total of 900 to 2700 for the three cognitive subtests. Each school decides for itself how to use it, and some do not use it at all.
| Questions | 69, with up to six questions on each scenario |
|---|---|
| Time | 26 minutes, after a timed instruction section of 1 minute 30 seconds |
| Time per question | About 23 seconds on average, including reading |
| Scenarios | Hypothetical situations in a clinical setting or during training for a medical or dental career |
| Medical knowledge | None needed |
| What it assesses | Integrity, perspective taking, team involvement, resilience and adaptability |
| Question types | Rating (how appropriate or how important) and choosing the most and least appropriate of three actions |
| Marking | Full marks if your response matches the correct answer, partial marks if it is close, no negative marking |
| Result | A separate scaled score from 300 to 900, not included in the 900 to 2700 total |
| Extended versions | 30 minutes 20 seconds in SEN10 and SEN10SA, and 32 minutes 30 seconds in SEN and SENSA. |
UCAT-ANZ SJT question types: appropriateness, importance, most and least
The Consortium's tutorial describes three formats. Read the instructions on each screen, because the scale changes between them.
| Format | What you are asked | How you answer |
|---|---|---|
| Appropriateness rating | How appropriate is a possible action in the scenario? | Pick one of four ratings, from a very appropriate thing to do to a very inappropriate thing to do |
| Importance rating | How important is a consideration in the scenario? | Pick one of four ratings, from very important to not important at all |
| Most and least appropriate | Of three actions, which is the most appropriate and which is the least? | Choose one of each. You get no marks for the question unless you select both. All three may be good actions: the question asks you to prioritise them |
The Consortium's Test Tools page says some SJT questions use drag and drop, which needs the mouse.
The two rating scales
| Level | Appropriateness scale | Importance scale |
|---|---|---|
| Top | A very appropriate thing to do: it will address at least one aspect of the situation, not necessarily all of it | Very important: it is vital to take into account |
| Second | Appropriate, but not ideal: it could be done, but is not necessarily a very good thing to do | Important: it matters, but is not vital |
| Third | Inappropriate, but not awful: it should not really be done, but would not be terrible | Of minor importance: it could be taken into account, but it does not matter if it is or not |
| Bottom | A very inappropriate thing to do: it should definitely not be done and would make the situation worse | Not important at all: it should definitely not be taken into account |
How the UCAT-ANZ SJT is scored: a 300 to 900 score, not a band
Full marks go to a response that matches the correct answer, and partial marks to one that is close. There is no negative marking. Your marks become a scaled score from 300 to 900.
| Measure | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean | 580 | 586 | 569 |
| 1st decile (10th percentile) | 486 | 489 | 471 |
| 2nd decile | 525 | 529 | 512 |
| 3rd decile | 550 | 554 | 539 |
| 4th decile | 570 | 575 | 560 |
| 5th decile (median) | 589 | 593 | 578 |
| 6th decile | 607 | 611 | 596 |
| 7th decile | 621 | 629 | 614 |
| 8th decile | 640 | 649 | 632 |
| 9th decile (90th percentile) | 664 | 672 | 656 |
2026 covers 17,341 candidates, 2025 covers 16,950 and 2024 covers 15,240. The statistics stop at the 9th decile. The Consortium's percentile look-up covers the total score, so use these deciles for the SJT.
In 2026, a score above 589 beat at least half of candidates, and a score above 664 beat at least nine in ten. Every 2026 decile sat a little below 2025, so compare your score with the year you sat.
Because close answers earn partial marks and wrong answers lose nothing, answer every question. A sensible near-miss can still earn marks, and a blank earns none.
How Australian and New Zealand schools use the SJT score
Each school sets its own rule, and rules can change between cycles. These come from each school's own pages and are for 2027 entry unless stated.
| School and course | What the school publishes | In short |
|---|---|---|
| UNSW medicine | The situational judgement mark will not be considered. | Not used |
| Curtin medicine | Uses a UCAT ANZ score based on the cognitive subtests, out of 2700. | Not used |
| Adelaide medicine | Sections 1 to 3 carry equal weight for interview. Section 4, the SJT, is used only for candidates in the lower rank with an equal total on the other three. | Tie-break at lower ranks |
| Monash direct entry | The SJT mark is used only as a secondary differentiator between applicants with the same total score. | Tie-break |
| UQ medicine provisional entry | Uses the first three sections. Equal scores go to section 4, then section 1. UQ says it is reviewing how the aggregate is calculated. | Tie-break, confirm with UQ |
| UQ dentistry | The aggregate of all four sections is the first selection measure. Equal scores go to section 4, then section 1. | Counted |
| Flinders clinical sciences and medicine | 10% of the rank is a UCAT-ANZ-derived score based on all four sections, SJT included. | Counted |
| UWA medicine | The overall score leaves the SJT out, but UWA reserves the right to use the SJT score in selection. | Right reserved |
| Auckland medicine, 2027 entry | All four sections combine into a final score, weighted at 15%. | Counted |
| Auckland medicine, 2028 entry | Applicants sit Auckland's situational judgement test, Casper, instead of UCAT-ANZ. | Casper instead |
| Otago medicine | General applicants need at least the 10th percentile, then UCAT scores carry no further weight. | Minimum |
UQ does not name section 4, which is the SJT in the test format. Our requirements guide lists more schools.
If your SJT score is high, look at the schools that count it. If it is low, look first at the schools that leave it out, then read each school's full requirements for your year, because a strong total may not be enough elsewhere.
How to answer UCAT-ANZ SJT questions: a six-step method
Built from the Consortium's Official Guide and the Medical Board of Australia's code of conduct for doctors.
Find whose shoes you are in
Identify the person the question names. It may be a medical student, a dental student or a qualified doctor. The Official Guide says responses should relate to what that person should do, not what they may be likely to do.
Spot the critical factors
Ask what matters most here. The Medical Board's code says patient safety should be a doctor's first priority. Then look for honesty, respect, confidentiality and the patient's own views.
Judge each option on its own
Compare each option with the situation, not with the other options. Several options can share the same rating, and the list is not meant to include every possible response.
Do not mark an option down for timing alone
The Official Guide says an option may still be appropriate even if it cannot be done immediately. The exception is real risk: waiting is a poor answer if a patient may come to harm now.
Choose the proportionate step
For behaviour concerns, the code says to act early, locally and fairly, and to refer ongoing or serious risks to the Medical Board. For patient safety, it says to take steps to protect patients from risks posed by a colleague.
Finish the question properly
In most and least questions, select both answers, because you get no marks for the question otherwise. In rating questions, if you are unsure, pick the nearest rating: close answers earn partial marks and wrong ones lose nothing.
Responses that usually rate well
- Acting promptly when a patient may come to harm
- Being honest, including about your own mistakes
- Raising a concern privately and respectfully with the person involved
- Involving a patient in decisions about their care
- Asking for help when a task is beyond your competence
- Checking the facts before assuming someone else is wrong
Responses that usually rate badly
- Ignoring or delaying action on a real safety risk
- Lying, covering up or misleading anyone
- Criticising a colleague in front of a patient
- Sharing patient information without a good reason
- Letting personal views or bias shape someone's care
- Going straight to the top over a first, minor concern
UCAT-ANZ SJT practice questions with answers
Three rating scenarios and two single-answer questions, all invented for practice. Answer first, then check the reasoning.
Rate each action
1Ask a nurse nearby to raise the dose with the doctor.
2Quietly take the doctor aside and explain the discrepancy you noticed.
3Wait until after the round to mention it.
4Report the doctor straight to the Director of Medical Services.
1Tell your friend you cannot give medical advice and recommend they see a GP.
2Look at the photo and offer your best guess of what it might be.
3Suggest they call healthdirect (1800 022 222) if it looks serious to your friend.
4Forward the photo to a GP friend for their opinion.
1Speak to your peer privately about how their behaviour affects the group.
2Report the peer to the tutor without speaking to them first.
3Discuss the peer's behaviour with other group members behind their back.
4Say nothing to anyone and hope the peer improves on their own.
Most and least appropriate
A patient asks you, a medical student, what their procedure result was. You know the result is positive but the consultant has not yet finalised the report. What is the most appropriate action?
You overhear a colleague making racially insensitive comments about a patient in the staff room. Which response is LEAST appropriate?
Three more worked examples of our own
Sam, a dental student, notices that a friend in the same year has smelled of alcohol at two morning clinics. Sam is deciding how to respond. How important is the possibility that patients could be at risk?
Very important. It is vital to take into account, because the care of patients comes first. Sam does not need to be certain of the facts for this to be the main consideration.
Lena, a medical student, realises she told a patient the wrong time for a scan. How appropriate is it for Lena to tell the nurse in charge straight away and apologise to the patient?
A very appropriate thing to do. It addresses the problem directly and honestly. The Medical Board's code asks doctors to recognise when something has gone wrong, act quickly and be open with the patient, and the same habit applies to a student.
Tom, a junior doctor, disagrees with a colleague's plan for a stable patient. He could ask the colleague about it privately, raise it in front of the patient, or ask the registrar to review the plan. Which is most and which is least appropriate?
Most appropriate: ask the colleague privately, because it is direct and respectful, and Tom may be missing something. Least appropriate: raising it in front of the patient, which could damage trust. Asking the registrar is reasonable, but not the first step while the patient is stable.
Liked the scenarios? Our UCAT app is coming to iPhone.
Five-minute rounds across all four sections, launching in March 2027. Sign up for early access and a free trial.
Good medical practice and the shared code: what to read for the SJT
The Consortium's Official Guide points candidates to two documents. One is Good Medical Practice: a code of conduct for doctors in Australia, from the Medical Board of Australia. The other is Good Medical Practice from the Medical Council of New Zealand.
Good medical practice is the code that describes what the Medical Board of Australia expects of doctors. It has been in effect since 1 October 2020, it is free on the Board's website, and it is arranged in 13 numbered sections. A high scorer quoted by the Consortium recommends it for clarifying the policies and ethical guidelines behind this subtest.
You do not need to memorise it. Read it once, then go back to it whenever a practice answer surprises you. The table picks out the clauses that match common SJT themes.
| Section | Duties worth knowing (clause number) |
|---|---|
| 2. Professionalism | Make the care of patients your first concern, and be honest, ethical and trustworthy (2.1). |
| 3. Providing good care | Recognise and work within the limits of your competence and scope of practice (3.2.1). |
| 4. Working with patients | Keep patient information confidential (4.4). Obtain informed consent (4.5). When something goes wrong, act quickly and tell the patient promptly and fully, following open disclosure policies (4.11). Avoid treating people close to you (4.15). |
| 5. Respectful culture | Respect colleagues (5.2). Do not discriminate against, bully or sexually harass anyone (5.4.2). Give and accept constructive feedback (5.4.3, 5.4.4). Speak up when you see this behaviour, and report it when appropriate (5.4.5). |
| 8. Patient safety and minimising risk | Treat patient safety as your first priority (8.1). Protect patients from risks posed by a colleague (8.3.3), and help that colleague get support (8.3.4). |
| 12. Teaching, supervising and assessing | Tell patients about student involvement, obtain their consent and respect their right to refuse (12.4). |
Open disclosure is the code's term for being open with a patient after something goes wrong. The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care publishes a national framework for it.
Applying for dentistry? The Official Guide names only the two doctors' codes, but its scenarios can be set in dental training too. Dentists follow the Code of conduct shared by 12 National Boards, which has applied to dental practitioners since 29 June 2022. It has 11 principles:
- Put patients first
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and cultural safety
- Respectful and culturally safe practice for all
- Working with patients
- Working with other practitioners
- Working within the healthcare system
- Minimising risk to patients
- Professional behaviour
- Maintaining practitioner health and wellbeing
- Teaching, supervising and assessing
- Ethical research
The four pillars of medical ethics: a way of thinking
Autonomy
A patient's right to make their own decisions about their care, even against medical advice. Example: a competent adult who is a Jehovah's Witness refuses a life-saving blood transfusion. Autonomy says respect that decision.
Beneficence
The duty to act in the patient's best interest. Example: a treatment offers substantial benefit but real risk. Explain it clearly, recommend it, and respect the decision that follows.
Non-maleficence
The duty to avoid harm, including unnecessary treatment. Example: you see a colleague make a clinical error. You need to act, because patient safety outweighs professional courtesy.
Justice
Fair distribution of healthcare resources, treating like cases alike and avoiding discrimination. Example: an organ transplant decision should rest on clinical need, not wealth or social status.
How to prepare for the UCAT-ANZ SJT: free official resources and a plan
The Consortium's materials are free and, it says, representative of the live test. This order follows its advice.
Work through the SJT tutorial
The Consortium's free tutorials give tips and strategies for each question type. It recommends doing them before you move on to the question banks.
Read Good medical practice once
Then return to it whenever an answer surprises you. Dental applicants can add the shared Code of conduct, and New Zealand applicants the Medical Council's Good Medical Practice.
Use the three official SJT question banks
Note the theme of every question you miss, such as safety, honesty, confidentiality or teamwork. Your progress is not retained, so keep a record of which questions you have done.
Practise at test speed
69 questions in 26 minutes is about 23 seconds a question, including reading. Time short sets, and flag hard questions to come back to.
Sit the official practice tests
Tests A to D come with standard timing, SEN timing or no timing. They do not give you a score, so use the final review screen and the Explain Answer button on every answer instead.
How long should it take? The Consortium gives no separate figure for the SJT. Its 2026 presentation says to allow around 25 to 30 hours for the whole test and to start at least 6 weeks before your test. Give the SJT a share of every week rather than a last-minute cram.
It comes last in the test, when you may be tired. One high scorer advises against leaving that section early even if you think you are done. Build full practice tests into your plan so you know how it feels to reach the SJT after the other three subtests.
Common UCAT-ANZ SJT mistakes and how to avoid them
Are you ready for the UCAT-ANZ SJT? A self-assessment checklist
Tick what is true for you. Your progress is saved in this browser.
UCAT-ANZ SJT: your questions answered
Where this guide's facts come from
Checked against these sources on 7 November 2026. Rules change between cycles, so confirm anything that decides your application on the official page for your entry year.
Work through your SJT mistakes with a tutor
Bring the official SJT questions you got wrong. A tutor works through why each answer earns its marks, alongside the other three subtests.