Can I register my child for the Australian Mathematics Competition directly?
No. The Trust states that "all our competitions are delivered by schools. Only teachers at schools, home schools and tutoring centres can register students. Students cannot register individually." Ask your school first; if it does not run the competition, the Trust says students may sit its competitions at private tutoring centres or coaching clinics, and a registered home school can enter its own students. We prepare students for the papers; whether we can enter a student is a question for the Trust's registration rules in a given year, and we will tell you honestly on the call.
Is this the same AMC as the American one?
No. This page is about the Australian Mathematics Competition run by the Australian Maths Trust: 30 questions, 60 or 75 minutes, sat in August. The American Mathematics Competitions run by the MAA are different papers on different dates with different entry rules, covered on our AMC and AIME page. The three letters are the only thing they share.
When are the 2027 competitions?
The Trust had not published 2027 dates when this page was written. Its 2026 sittings were CAT on 19 to 21 May, the AMC on 4 to 6 August and the AIO on 27 August, with entries closing a few weeks before each and earlier for international organisations. We expect the same months in 2027 and will replace the pattern with the published dates as soon as they appear on amt.edu.au.
What is the difference between the AMC, the AIO and CAT?
The AMC is a mathematics paper: 30 questions, tiered marks, no penalty for a wrong answer. The AIO is a programming olympiad: six problems in three hours, answered in source code in C, C++, Java or Python 3, marked on speed and correctness. CAT is a computational-thinking paper: 60 minutes of multiple-choice and integer questions that need no programming at all. A student can sit all three, and many do.
Does my child need to code for CAT?
No. The Trust says CAT "requires no programming experience" and describes it as a way to develop interest and potential in programming. It tests whether a student can follow, trace and design procedures with a pencil. Students who enjoy it can try the free three-week CAT Coding extension, and from there the AIO.
Which language should my child use for the AIO?
Whichever they can already write, among C, C++, Java and Python 3. The AIO marks speed and correctness and ignores style, so the practical answer is the language the student can debug fastest under a clock. Beginners start in Python with us; students aiming at the olympiad programmes beyond the AIO usually add C++ later.
What do the fees cover?
The Trust charges the registering organisation AUD 9.30 per student for the AMC and CAT, with bundle discounts, and AUD 25.90 per student for the AIO; CAT Coding is free. Those are the Trust's published figures and are paid to it by the school, home school or centre that registers the student. Our own monthly fee for the preparation batch is on this page, in your currency.
Do you use past AMT papers?
Yes. The Trust publishes past papers and solutions, and we use them for placement, weekly practice and the two full rehearsals, then send families to the Trust's own resources rather than reproducing papers here. Every paper a student sits is reviewed question by question in the next class.
We are outside Australia. Can my child sit these?
Possibly, through a school or a coaching centre that registers with the Trust under its "International organisations" category, which the Trust lists on its entry page with its own earlier deadlines. A family cannot register alone from anywhere. We prepare students anywhere; ask your school or centre whether it registers with the Trust, and ask us on the call what we can confirm for the current year.
What happens after I send the form?
A mentor calls within a few hours, asks which year level your child is in and which of the three papers they are aiming at, and books a free demo class at a time that suits you. The demo is a real session: a few AMC questions with a clock, one CAT-style procedure traced together, or a small judge problem for an AIO student, with the teacher showing the reasoning rather than the answer key. There is no card, no enrolment fee and no pressure on the call.
