Swimming qualifying times
Every published cut for every Australian state and the Australian Age championships SwimDNA models — laid out by age group and event, with the age-at-meet rule that decides which row a swimmer is measured against.
Pick a state or the national meet
Each championship page carries its own rules, eligibility and source, because they differ meet by meet.
New South Wales
- NSW Metro SC Championships · 5 age groups
- NSW Country SC Championships · 5 age groups
- NSW Senior State Age SC · 4 age groups
- NSW Youth State Age SC · 5 age groups
- NSW Youth Metro LC · 4 age groups
- NSW Senior State Age LC · 7 age groups
- NSW Country LC · 9 age groups
- NSW Senior Metro LC · 6 age groups
- NSW Youth State Age LC · 4 age groups
Queensland
- Queensland Championships · 7 age groups
- Queensland Short Course · 7 age groups
- Queensland Country · 8 age groups
- Queensland Sprint · 9 age groups
- QLD LC Prep #1 · 7 age groups
- QLD LC Prep #2 · 7 age groups
Victoria
- Victorian Metro LC · 7 age groups
- Victorian Metro SC · 6 age groups
- Victorian Country LC · 7 age groups
- Victorian Country SC · 6 age groups
- Victorian Age LC · 6 age groups
- Victorian Age SC · 6 age groups
- Melbourne Sprints · 8 age groups
Western Australia
- WA SC Age & Open · 7 age groups
- WA Junior SC · 4 age groups
- WA LC Pathway · 7 age groups
- WA LC Age & Open · 7 age groups
- WA Country · 11 age groups
- WA Junior LC · 4 age groups
South Australia
- SA State SC · 7 age groups
Tasmania
- Tas LC Champs · 5 age groups
- Tas Winter · 5 age groups
Northern Territory
- NT Championships · 10 age groups
Australia
- Australian Age · 6 age groups
All championships
The Metropolitan short-course championships — the first championship step for swimmers at Sydney-area clubs.
NSW · 2026 standards
The Country short-course championships — the regional championship for swimmers at Country-area NSW clubs.
NSW · 2026 standards
The senior half of the NSW State Age short-course championships, for swimmers aged 14 and over.
NSW · 2026 standards
The under-14 counterpart to the Senior State Age championships, for swimmers aged 9 to 13.
NSW · 2026 standards
The long-course Metropolitan championships for swimmers aged 9 to 12 — the first championship step of the long-course season for Sydney-area clubs.
NSW · 2026–27 standards
The long-course Senior State Age championships, for swimmers aged 12 and over — the only NSW championship where a short-course time cannot be used to enter.
NSW · 2026–27 standards
The long-course Country championships, for swimmers at Country-area NSW clubs — one meet covering the full age range, from 9 years to open.
NSW · 2027 standards
The long-course Metropolitan championships for swimmers aged 13 and over — the senior counterpart to the Youth Metropolitan meet in November.
NSW · 2026–27 standards
The long-course Youth State Age championships, for swimmers aged 9 to 12 — the under-13 counterpart to the Senior State Age meet in December.
NSW · 2026–27 standards
Queensland's marquee state age championships, held around December in long course.
QLD · 2026 standards
Queensland's short-course state championships, held around August — the meet that also runs a 100 IM.
QLD · 2026 standards
The Country championships, held around January, for swimmers at Country-eligible Queensland clubs.
QLD · 2026 standards
The Sprint championships, held around February — a 50m-only meet across the four strokes, open from the 10s up.
QLD · 2026 standards
The first of two long-course preparation meets before the Queensland Championships, and a chance to swim a Championships qualifying time. Its own cuts are easier than the Championships'.
QLD · 2026 standards
The second long-course preparation meet before the Queensland Championships, with its own cuts (tighter than Prep Meet #1 in several events).
QLD · 2026 standards
The Metropolitan long-course championships — the regional championship for swimmers at Melbourne-area Victorian clubs.
VIC · 2026–27 standards
The Metropolitan short-course championships — the winter regional championship for swimmers at Melbourne-area Victorian clubs.
VIC · 2026–27 standards
The Country long-course championships, for swimmers at Country-area Victorian clubs.
VIC · 2026–27 standards
The Country short-course championships, the winter regional championship for swimmers at Country-area Victorian clubs.
VIC · 2026–27 standards
Victoria's marquee state age championships, held in December in long course.
VIC · 2026–27 standards
Victoria's short-course state age championships, held in August — the meet that also runs a 100 IM.
VIC · 2026 standards
Swimming Victoria's sprint meet — a 50m-only program across all four strokes, from 11 & Under to 19 & Over.
VIC · 2026–27 standards
Swimming WA's short-course state championships for swimmers aged 13 and over — juniors (9–12) have their own Junior SC meet.
WA · 2026 standards
The short-course junior state championships for 9–12 year olds — WA's accessible first state meet in the winter season.
WA · 2026 standards
A series of four long-course pathway meets through spring — one shared set of State Development qualifying times covers all four dates.
WA · 2026–27 standards
Swimming WA's marquee long-course state championships in December, for swimmers aged 13 and over.
WA · 2026–27 standards
The championships for WA's country clubs — an extra meet on top of the state championships, covering the full age range from 9 years to open.
WA · 2027 standards
The long-course junior state championships for 9–12 year olds, closing out WA's summer season in April.
WA · 2027 standards
South Australia's combined age-and-open state championships — one short-course meet in late August covering ages 11 to open.
SA · 2026 standards
Tasmania's summer state championships, raced long course in Hobart each March, covering ages 8 to open. One of the state's two championships, alongside the Winter meet.
TAS · 2027 standards
Tasmania's winter state championships in late August, covering ages 8 to open. The 2026 edition was raced long course.
TAS · 2026 standards
The Northern Territory's championships at Parap Pool each March — one meet covering ages 9 to open, with a deliberately lenient 25-and-over band.
NT · 2026 standards
Swimming Australia's national age championships — the top of the age-group pathway, and long course only.
Australia · 2027 standards
Multi Class (para) qualifying times
Published per classification rather than per age alone — the Australian Age and Australian Open programmes, plus every state that publishes per-class cuts.
Australia · 2026 standards
Australia · 2026 standards
NSW · 2026/27 standards
NSW · 2026/27 standards
NSW · 2026/27 standards
NSW · 2026/27 standards
NSW · 2027 standards
NSW · 2026 standards
NSW · 2026 standards
NSW · 2026 standards
NSW · 2026 standards
QLD · 2026 standards
QLD · 2026 standards
QLD · 2026 standards
QLD · 2026 standards
SA · 2026 standards
Age groups are decided by the age a swimmer will be on the meet's age-as-at date — not their age when they swim the qualifying time. That's why a September birthday can leave a swimmer in the younger group for one more season.
What parents ask about cut times
How is a swimmer's age group decided?
By the age the swimmer will be on the meet's age-as-at date, not their age today. Every meet publishes its own date, and they differ widely — the 2026 NSW Metro short-course championships used 31 July 2026, while the 2026/27 NSW Senior State Age championships use 15 December 2026. A swimmer with a birthday just after a meet's date still swims in the younger group for that meet. Each page below states the date it applies.
Can a short course time qualify for a long course meet?
It depends on the meet, so check the page for the one you are entering. Most NSW championships — Metro, Country and the short-course State Age meets — accept a qualifying swim on either course. The exception is the long-course Senior State Age Championships, which states plainly that short-course times will not be accepted. Swimming Queensland publishes a separate long-course and short-course standard, and a swim on either qualifies. Victoria's long-course meets — Metro, Country and the Mattioli Age Championships — are long course only, while its short-course Age Championships accept a long-course time unconverted. WA, SA, TAS and NT publish one standard per event with no stated course restriction, apart from WA's LC Pathway series, whose short-course converted table applies only to swimmers with no long-course time. The Australian Age Championships are long course only.
How often do qualifying times change?
Each governing body republishes its standards ahead of a season or edition. The tables here are the most recent published set, and each page states which season it came from. Always confirm against the official meet information before entering.
Which states does SwimDNA cover?
All of them. Every state championship pathway is modelled — NSW, Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory — plus the national Australian Age Championships. ACT swimmers compete on the NSW pathway: ACT clubs are part of Swimming NSW, so the NSW pages are the right ones for them.
Is that time fast enough?
A cut table tells you the target. Rate My Swim tells you how close a swimmer actually is — enter an age, event and time and see the gap to every standard above, plus where the time ranks for that age group.
Rate My Swim is free and needs no sign-up. A free SwimDNA profile takes a minute to set up.