VCE Applied Computing focuses on the strategies and techniques for creating digital solutions to meet specific needs and to manage the threats to data, information and software security. The study examines the attributes of each component of an information system including people, processes, data and digital systems (hardware, software, networks), and how their interrelationships affect the types and quality of digital solutions.

VCE Applied Computing is underpinned by four key concepts: digital systems, data and information, approaches to problem solving, and interactions and impact.

VCE Applied Computing provides students with opportunities to acquire and apply knowledge and skills to use digital systems efficiently, effectively and innovatively when creating digital solutions. Students investigate legal requirements and ethical responsibilities that individuals and organisations have with respect to the security and integrity of data and information. Through a structured approach to problem solving, incorporating computational, design and systems thinking, students develop an awareness of the technical, social and economic impacts of information systems, both currently and into the future.