Amount of investment in debt and equity securities categorized neither as held-to-maturity nor trading.

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 320

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-Section 25

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Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

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-Name Accounting Standards Codification

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Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

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Balance Type:	debit
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- Definition

The percentage points (also referred to as 'margin') added to the reference rate as stated in the loan agreement and used to compute the variable rate on the loans receivable. For instance, the loan agreement might state that the interest rate the borrower is obligated to pay is the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus three quarters (3/4) of a percentage point adjusted quarterly (each three months). LIBOR in this example is the index or reference rate, 3/4 percentage point is the margin, the reference rate plus the margin is the fully indexed rate. This element would be used to report separately the margin.

+ References

No definition available.

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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.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Accounts receivable from variable interest entity.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	var_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amortization period for monthly payment calculation (in years).

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	var_AmortizationPeriodForMonthlyPaymentCalculation
Namespace Prefix:	var_
Data Type:	xbrli:durationItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Maximum borrowing capacity under the loan facility.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	var_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
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- Definition

Loan facility minimum interest rate.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	var_LoanFacilityMinimumInterestRate
Namespace Prefix:	var_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Varian maximum loan commitment under loan facility.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	var_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
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- Definition

Pro rata share of the obligation to fund the initial distribution and subsequent advances.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	var_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

Remaining obligation fund tranche A loan.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	var_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Sale of portion of outstanding Tranche A Loan to bank at par value.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

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Namespace Prefix:	var_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
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- Definition

Sale of a portion of our Tranche A loan commitment.

+ References

No definition available.

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Namespace Prefix:	var_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	credit
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CPTC Loans - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Millions	1 Months Ended
	Jun. 27, 2014	Sep. 30, 2011	Jul. 03, 2015	Sep. 26, 2014
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Loan facility to CPTC		$ 165.3
CPTC loan facility, Varian's maximum loan commitment	$ 80.3
Pro rata share of the Company's obligation to fund the initial distribution and subsequent advances	45.80%
Available-for-sale securities			$ 90.9	$ 75.6
CPTC loan facility, minimum interest rate	9.00%
CPTC loan facility, amortization period over which monthly payments are calculated after January 1, 2015	15 years
Accounts receivable from CPTC, includes unbilled accounts receivable			22.5	20.1
Tranche A loan
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
CPTC loan facility, Varian's maximum loan commitment	$ 70.3	$ 115.3
Pro rata share of the Company's obligation to fund the initial distribution and subsequent advances		69.75%
Tranche B loan
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
CPTC loan facility, Varian's maximum loan commitment	10.0
CPTC
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Loan facility to CPTC	175.3
J.P. Morgan \| Tranche A loan
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Sale Of Portion Of Tranche A Loan Commitment	45.0
Sale of a portion of the outstanding Tranche A loan to JP Morgan chase Bank	38.1
Remaining obligation to fund Tranche A loan	$ 6.9
Short-term Investments \| Tranche A loan
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Available-for-sale securities			71.7	66.2
Other Assets \| Tranche B loan
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Available-for-sale securities			$ 10.2	$ 9.4
London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
CPTC loan facility, interest rate margin	7.00%