EARNINGS PER SHARE (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions, $ in Millions	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jul. 03, 2020	Jun. 28, 2019	Jul. 03, 2020	Jun. 28, 2019
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net earnings	$ 60.9	$ 29.5	$ 192.9	$ 221.8
Less: Net earnings (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interests	(0.3)	0.1	0.3	0.6
Net earnings attributable to Varian	$ 61.2	$ 29.4	$ 192.6	$ 221.2
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic (in shares)	90.8	91.0	90.8	91.0
Dilutive effect of potential common shares (in shares)	0.4	0.8	0.6	0.9
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted (in shares)	91.2	91.8	91.4	91.9
Net earnings per share attributable to Varian - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.67	$ 0.32	$ 2.12	$ 2.43
Net earnings per share attributable to Varian - diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.67	$ 0.32	$ 2.11	$ 2.41
Anti-dilutive employee shared based awards, excluded (in shares)	1.4	0.5	1.2	0.8