This claim^ is so outrageous I had to interrupt my study to jump in quicklyIt should also be noted, ATARs are not comparable between say NSW/VIC and other states. It’s essentially a percentile tank. So it’s objectively more difficult to receive a 99.00 ATAR in NSW than in say TAS/SA/WA due to obvious differences in the population.
No that's totally mistaken. One percent of each year-cohort of each state get 99.0+ - that's about 900 in NSW, 750 Vic, 300 WA etc. Bigger population gives a bigger number of 99s.
You can argue it's more difficult in NSW because the school culture is more dog eat dog there than in laid-back WA. That may be true, but definitely not due to population difference itself.