Australia · Australian Mathematics Competition · Years 1 to 12

AMC practice by year

The Australian Mathematics Competition is the maths contest most Australian students meet first. The Australian Maths Trust says it was first run in 1978 and calls it the country's longest running and largest competition for school students. Every division sits a paper of thirty questions, but a Year 3 paper and a Year 12 paper ask for very different preparation. This page sets out the divisions, timing and scoring from the Trust's own page, explains what the scoring rules mean for how a student should spend the time, and gives practice priorities year by year. We are an independent online school; the AMC is the Trust's, and so are its papers.

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Format and scoring from the AMT's AMC page · Checked on 7 October 2026

In short

The Australian Mathematics Competition is run by the Australian Maths Trust for Years 3 to 12 in five divisions, with an Early Primary paper for Years 1 and 2 joining from 2027. In 2026 it ran from Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 August. Each paper has 30 questions, 25 multiple-choice, 5 integer, worth up to 135 marks, with 60 minutes for primary and 75 for secondary divisions.

For AMC preparation

Three courses for AMC students

Number sense for primary divisions, problem solving for the middle years, and full competition maths for seniors.

Mental Maths for Kids course thumbnail

AMCY / 01

Number sense for primary

Place value, estimation and quick reasoning, the base of every Middle and Upper Primary paper.

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Maths Olympiad & Competition Course course thumbnail

AMCY / 02

Competition maths

Counting, geometry, number theory and logic, taught as problem solving for Junior to Senior divisions.

Open the syllabus →
Algebra Foundations course thumbnail

AMCY / 03

Algebra for the middle years

The pre-algebra and algebra the AMC topic list names, so harder questions stop looking strange.

Open the syllabus →

Who sits what

AMC divisions and the 2026 paper, from the Trust

Every fact in this section is taken from the Australian Maths Trust's AMC page, read on 7 October 2026.

AMC divisions and timing, as published by the AMT
DivisionAustralian yearsTime allowed
Early Primary (pilot in 2026, standard from 2027)Years 1 and 250 minutes, 25 questions
Middle PrimaryYears 3 and 460 minutes
Upper PrimaryYears 5 and 660 minutes
JuniorYears 7 and 875 minutes
IntermediateYears 9 and 1075 minutes
SeniorYears 11 and 1275 minutes

Apart from the pilot, every division answers 30 questions, "25 multiple-choice, 5 integer", either online or on printed paper. The topics, the Trust says, "may include" basic arithmetic, fractions and ratios, algebra and pre-algebra, geometry, measurement, statistics and probability, and problem-solving including enumeration.

In 2026 the competition ran from Tuesday 4 to Thursday 6 August. Online entries closed on Friday 31 July and printed paper entries earlier. Entry is through schools and the fee is in Australian dollars, so we do not print it.

The Early Primary paper is new. The Trust offered a free online pilot for Years 1 and 2 between 12 and 23 October 2026, with 25 questions (20 multiple choice and 5 integer) in 50 minutes, and says that "from 2027, the AMC Early Primary division will be part of our standard AMC offerings".

The Trust publishes free sample sets for each division, "6 problems and worked solutions drawn from previous competition papers". They are the right first practice material, and we link to them rather than copying them.

Source: Australian Maths Trust, Australian Mathematics Competition, read on 7 October 2026. We have no connection with the AMT.

Marks and awards

How the AMC is scored

Later questions are worth more, the last five have number answers, and a wrong answer costs nothing.

AMC scoring, from the AMT page (marks per question and per block)
QuestionsMarks eachBlock total
1 to 10330
11 to 20440
21 to 25525
26 to 30 (integer answers)6, 7, 8, 9 and 1040
All 30Total135

The Trust states plainly: "There is no penalty for incorrect responses." It also states the awards. Credit, Distinction and High Distinction are given to students in the top 55, 20 and 3 per cent of their year and region (60, 25 and 5 per cent for Senior), and a Proficiency award marks a pre-set score.

Above those sit Prize awards, generally no more than one student in 300 per region and year, Best in School, the Cheryl Praeger Medal for the highest-scoring girl in each year level in secondary divisions, AMC Medals, and the Peter O'Halloran Award for a perfect score.

Because awards compare a student with others in the same year and region, cut-off scores move from year to year. The Trust says they "are approximate and will vary year by year depending on the difficulty of the competition". There is no fixed mark that guarantees an award, and we do not promise one.

What the scoring does reward is a sensible plan for the time, which is the lesson below.

Scoring, awards and cut-off wording quoted from the AMT's AMC page, read on 7 October 2026.

A lesson on the scoring

Expected marks: why no penalty changes how to spend the time

Two facts from the Trust's page shape strategy: blocks of questions are worth different amounts, and wrong answers are not penalised. A little arithmetic turns those into a plan.

Where the marks are

Add the blocks and an imbalance appears. Questions 1 to 10 are worth 30 marks together; questions 26 to 30, only five questions, are worth 40 of the 135 marks. The last five are integer-answer questions, so a guess almost never helps there: the marks come only from working the problem out.

That suggests a first pass through questions 1 to 20, which together are worth 70 marks and are designed to be the most approachable, before spending long on anything else.

What a guess is worth

On a multiple-choice question, a blank earns nothing and so does a wrong answer. So any answer is at least as good as a blank. If a student can rule out all but two choices on a 5-mark question, a choice between those two is right half the time, which is 2.5 marks on average instead of zero.

Across questions 21 to 25, narrowing each to two choices adds 12.5 marks on average to a student who could not finish them, which is not a trick but a direct consequence of the Trust's rule. Getting rid of wrong choices is a real mathematical skill, often the quickest way into a hard question.

Expected marks from a choice between two remaining options (our arithmetic; one correct answer per question assumed)
Question blockMarks eachExpected marks per questionExpected over the block
11 to 204220
21 to 2552.512.5
26 to 30 (integer)6 to 10Close to zero: no choices to narrowOnly from working it out

The habit we teach is simple. Work the early questions carefully, leave none blank, eliminate before choosing, and save real working time for the integer questions that a strong student can actually solve. None of this replaces knowing the mathematics; it just stops a capable student losing marks to the clock.

Arithmetic is ours, based on the scoring and the no-penalty rule published on the AMT's AMC page. The number of choices per multiple-choice question is not stated on that page, so the table assumes only that two remain after elimination.

Year by year

What each division should practise

These priorities are our teaching advice, built on the Trust's topic list and our experience with each age group.

Practice priorities by division (our advice)
DivisionYearsPractise firstCommon trap
Early Primary1 and 2Counting, patterns, simple shapesReading the question too quickly
Middle Primary3 and 4Place value, simple fractions, systematic countingMissing a case when listing possibilities
Upper Primary5 and 6Fractions and ratios, area and perimeter, working backwardsMixing up units in measurement questions
Junior7 and 8Pre-algebra, angles, primes and factors, careful enumerationLong calculations where a pattern was quicker
Intermediate9 and 10Algebra, similar triangles, probability, divisibilityRushing the integer questions at the end
Senior11 and 12Algebraic manipulation, geometry, counting argumentsSpending too long on one hard multiple-choice question

For every division, the most useful single resource is the Trust's free sample set for that division, done under time, followed by a careful look at the worked solutions. The aim is to understand why each method works, not to memorise question types, because the Trust writes unique problems each year.

Students who find the AMC easy can look at the Trust's olympiad pathway in maths, and those who enjoy the problem-solving style often like the Maths Challenge for Young Australians modules too.

Our classes group students by division and teach the mathematics behind the AMC topic list, with competition-style problems we write ourselves. We do not reproduce the Trust's papers in class; we link to its public samples and past-paper shop.

If a child is anxious about the competition, it helps to remember that every student receives an award certificate at some level, and that the AMC is meant as a challenge, not a test of worth.

Building towards the AMC

Four stages of competition readiness

Stages describe how a student handles unfamiliar problems, whatever their year.

Competition readiness, stage by stage
StageFocusThe sign it is secure
1. Calm readingUnderstanding what is askedRestates a question in their own words before starting
2. Systematic workLists, tables and casesCounts possibilities without missing or repeating any
3. EliminationRuling out impossible choicesNarrows a hard question to two options quickly
4. Full solutionsInteger questions worked throughSolves at least one of the last five on a past sample

If competition maths feels unfamiliar

AMC questions often look unlike classwork. That is normal; it is a different kind of thinking that improves quickly with regular practice.

Twenty minutes twice a week does more than a long session the night before.

More from the Trust

Our AMT competitions page compares the AMC with the AIO and CAT.

The Maths Challenge page covers the Trust's team problem-solving module.

The catalogue

Nine courses for AMC students

Grouped by division. Each card opens the full outline.

I

Primary divisions

Years 1 to 6

AMCY / P / 02

Primary maths

All strands, with reasoning out loud.

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AMCY / P / 03

Problem solving for kids

Patterns and systematic counting.

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II

Junior and Intermediate

Years 7 to 10

AMCY / M / 01

Middle years maths

The content the middle divisions draw on.

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AMCY / M / 03

Statistics and probability

Chance and counting with care.

Open the syllabus
III

Senior and stretch

Years 11 and 12 and keen younger students

AMCY / S / 02

Senior maths

The algebra and geometry seniors need.

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AMCY / S / 03

Maths through coding

Exploring counting problems in Python.

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How lessons run

Live competition maths classes for Australian students

Our teachers work from India, which sits behind every Australian time zone. A 4 pm lesson in Darwin begins at 12 noon India time all year, as the Northern Territory has no daylight saving.

Terms 2 and 3

Weekly preparation leading up to August.

Weekend practice papers

Timed sample sets with review.

School holidays

Short blocks on one topic, such as counting.

Read, then plan

Students decide how to approach a question before calculating.

Eliminate first

Impossible answers are ruled out with reasons.

Groups by division

Fifteen to twenty students sitting the same paper.

One-to-one option

For students aiming at the hardest questions.

Short parent notes

One strategy learned and one problem to try at home.

No award promises

We teach maths; the result belongs to the student.

Student work

Projects our students made

Built by learners for their own reasons, not for a competition. The full list is in the student labs.

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A chatbot that answers mathematics and programming questions, built and deployed by a student.

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A weather forecasting site with live conditions for any location.

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Fees

Fees

Australian families are billed monthly in US dollars, our standard rate outside India, with no deposit and the option to stop at any month end. AMC entry is arranged and paid through schools.

Free first class

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Group batch

USD 100

a month, billed in US dollars

  • Fifteen to twenty students in one division
  • The same teacher every week
  • Problems reviewed and discussed
  • A certificate at the end
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One to one

USD 150

a month, billed in US dollars

  • A teacher for one student
  • Focused on chosen topics
  • A weekly time that suits you
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Questions about the AMC

What Australian families ask

What is the Australian Mathematics Competition?

A maths competition for school students run by the Australian Maths Trust. The Trust says it was first run in 1978 and describes it as Australia's longest running and largest maths competition for school students.

Which AMC division is my child in?

Middle Primary is Years 3 and 4, Upper Primary 5 and 6, Junior 7 and 8, Intermediate 9 and 10, and Senior 11 and 12. An Early Primary division for Years 1 and 2 becomes standard from 2027.

How long is the AMC?

60 minutes for primary divisions and 75 minutes for secondary divisions. The Early Primary pilot was 50 minutes.

How many questions are there?

Thirty: 25 multiple-choice and 5 with integer answers. The Early Primary pilot had 25 questions.

Is there a penalty for wrong answers in the AMC?

No. The Trust states there is no penalty for incorrect responses, so a reasoned answer is always better than a blank.

How are AMC awards decided?

Mostly by comparing a student with others in the same year and region. Credit, Distinction and High Distinction go to the top 55, 20 and 3 per cent (60, 25 and 5 per cent for Senior), with further prizes and medals above those.

What are expected marks?

The average number of marks an answer would earn over many attempts. With no penalty, narrowing a 5-mark question to two choices is worth 2.5 marks on average, compared with zero for a blank.

Where can students practise?

The Trust publishes free sample sets of six problems with worked solutions for each division, and sells past papers. Our classes teach the mathematics with our own problems.

Can families enter directly?

Entry is normally arranged through schools. Check with your school's maths coordinator before the entry deadline.

Are you part of the AMT?

No. We are an independent online school, quoting the Trust because it runs the competition.

Related pages

More competition maths in Australia

The Trust's other contests and our wider maths pages.

AMC, AIO and CAT preparation

Three Trust competitions compared.

Maths Challenge practice

The Trust's team problem-solving module.

APSMO Maths Olympiad

Another primary and middle-years contest.

Competitions calendar

Every contest through the year.

Maths olympiad tutoring

For students who want harder problems.

Maths tutoring in Australia

Our main maths page for Australia.

Start here

Book a free AMC preparation class

Tell us the year level and whether the AMC is coming up. The free class works through competition-style problems at the right division and ends with honest advice.

Prefer to browse first? The course atlas lists every course, and how we teach explains a lesson.

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