Eligibility for HSC

To be eligible for the award of the Higher School Certificate, students must have:

• Satisfactorily completed all Stage 5 requirements or gained another qualification that NESA considers satisfactory; and
• Attended a government school, an accredited non-government school, a school outside NSW recognised by NESA, or a TAFE NSW institute; and
• Completed HSC: All My Own Work (or its equivalent) before submitting any work for Preliminary or HSC courses, unless the student is only entered for Year 11 and Year 12 Life Skills courses;
• Completed the Preliminary Course that comprises of at least 12 units of study;
• Satisfactorily completed courses that comprises a pattern of study required by NESA for the award of the Higher School Certificate and
• Sat for and made a serious attempt at the required HSC examinations.

Requirements for the Award of the HSC

To be eligible for the award of the Higher School Certificate, students must:

• have gained the Record of School Achievement or such other qualifications as NESA considers satisfactory;
• have attended a government school, an accredited non-government school, a school outside New South Wales recognised by NESA or a college of TAFE;
• have completed HSC: All My Own Work (or its equivalent)
• attained the HSC Minimum Standards for Literacy and Numeracy. Students are required to successfully complete Minimum Standards tests in Reading, Numeracy and Writing. More information about Minimum Standards test can be found here https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/hsc/hsc-minimum-standard
• have satisfactorily completed courses that comprise the pattern of study required by NESA for the award of the Higher School Certificate; and
• sit for and make a serious attempt at the requisite Higher School Certificate examinations.

Eligibility for an ATAR

To be eligible to receive an Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR), students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of 10 units from Board Developed Courses in their HSC pattern of study. An eligible pattern of study must contain 2 units of English, and 8 units of any other board developed courses studied. Students must sit optional HSC examinations to be eligible for an ATAR. The 2 units of English and the next 8 best examined units in Year 12 are counted for students taking more than 10 units.

Students who study any of the 240-hour VET Curriculum Framework courses may sit an optional HSC written examination. These written examinations can contribute towards the calculation of their ATAR.