yeah, it is much easier than the mhs exam. And more fair as they interview you before they accept so they can determine if you're a well rounded student.
yep,
if your marks are not spectacular on the exam, you can make it up in the interview. They really like all sorts of extra-curricular activities such as sports, music, Scouts, Cadets etc. Your NAPLAN and UNSW results help a lot (if they are good, like band 9 (year 7) or distinction/high distinction). Though this all helps, they are really looking for your passion in science (which they will look for in the interview) so get really good at answering questions such as
What sort of science are you interested in? or
Where do you see yourself 10 years in the future?. If you get in and want to do Methods, you will have to sit an exam (it was pretty easy) on basic year 10 maths, but you will probably have to choose between VCE physics and VCE methods cause they really don't like people doing 2 VCE in year 10.
Hope this helps!