EARNINGS PER SHARE - Computation of Net Basic and Diluted Earnings Per Share (Detail) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Jan. 01, 2016	Jan. 02, 2015
Earnings Per Share [Abstract]
Net earnings attributable to Varian	$ 89,027	$ 93,314
Weighted average shares outstanding - basic (in shares)	97,156	100,468
Dilutive effect of potential common shares (in shares)	687	1,174
Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted (in shares)	97,843	101,642
Net earnings per share - basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.92	$ 0.93
Net earnings per share - diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.91	$ 0.92
Anti-dilutive employee shared based awards, excluded	1,244	504