Fair Value (Reconciliation For Assets And Liabilities Measured And Recorded At Fair Value On A Recurring Basis) (Details) (USD $) In Millions	12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2011
Contingent Consideration [Member]
Schedule of Trading Securities and Other Trading Assets [Line Items]
Balance at October 1, 2010	$ 0
Total gains and losses (realized and unrealized) Included in selling, general and administrative expenses	0.4
Purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements, net	(0.5)
Balance at September 30, 2011	(0.1)
Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Schedule of Trading Securities and Other Trading Assets [Line Items]
Balance at October 1, 2010	0
Total gains and losses (realized and unrealized) Included in selling, general and administrative expenses	0
Purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements, net	19.2
Balance at September 30, 2011	19.2
Option To Purchase A Company [Member]
Schedule of Trading Securities and Other Trading Assets [Line Items]
Balance at October 1, 2010	0
Total gains and losses (realized and unrealized) Included in selling, general and administrative expenses	0
Purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements, net	1.4
Balance at September 30, 2011	$ 1.4

This element represents purchases, sales, issuances, and settlements (net) which have taken place during the period in relation to assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs (Level 3).

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 157

-Paragraph 32

-Subparagraph c(2)

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

+ Details

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- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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- Definition

Fair Value Measurement With Unobservable Inputs Reconciliation Recurring Basis Asset Gain Loss Included In SG&A expenses.

+ Details

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- Definition

This element represents an asset or a liability measured at fair value using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) at balance sheet date.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	var
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