How HSC Year 12 assessment works (for the 2027 cohort)

When does Year 12 start?

NESA's ACE rules say HSC (Year 12) courses can't start before Day 1 of Term 4 of Year 11, except under a compressed curriculum. So for most of you, Year 12 content begins in Term 4 of 2026, while the 2026 cohort sits its exams. Schools also can't begin HSC assessment until you've completed the Preliminary (Year 11) course.

How is your HSC mark built?

A few courses work differently. English Studies and Mathematics Standard 1 have an optional exam and a school grade from A to E.

Your assessment schedule

When you start your HSC courses, your school must give you each course's assessment schedule: the tasks, what outcomes they assess, their weightings and when they're due. Under the ACE rules:

• Schools choose the number, type and weighting of in-school tasks, within NESA's mandatory components for the course.
• You should get written notice, typically 14 calendar days, before each task, stating its weighting, outcomes, type, date and (where appropriate) marking criteria.
• Teachers must give you feedback on each task. Schools must resolve appeals about a task's marks within 2 weeks of returning it.
• You must make a genuine attempt at tasks worth more than 50% of the available marks, or you risk an "N" (non-completion) determination. Schools must warn you in writing first.

The new take-home limit

NESA official notice 29/26 (August 2026) says that from Term 4 2026, each HSC course can have no more than one take-home task, worth at most 15%. It applies to your Year 12 courses. Exempt courses (those with a major project or practical exam) include Visual Arts, Drama, Music 1 and 2, Design and Technology, Industrial Technology, Textiles and Design, Society and Culture, Aboriginal Studies, Dance, and English Extension 2, Science Extension, History Extension and Music Extension. The same notice says marks must reflect your own work, not generative AI (see AI and academic integrity).

What does moderation do to my school marks?

At the end of the course your school sends NESA your assessment marks. NESA adjusts each school group's marks so they sit on the same scale as that group's HSC exam marks. It doesn't change your rank order. That's why your rank is what matters most: being first in a strong exam group is worth more than a high raw school mark in a weak one. Schools tell you your final rank, not your submitted mark. Ranks appear in Students Online after your last exam, and in 2027 the last day to lodge a rank appeal with your principal is 9 November 2027.

When are the exams?

For comparison, the 2026 written exams ran from 13 October to 5 November. NESA's 2027 schedule also lists online sample exams, available from 27 April 2027, for English Extension 1, English Extension 2, Enterprise Computing, Science Extension and Software Engineering.

What changes for the 2027 cohort?

• New English syllabuses (Standard, Advanced, Extension, EAL/D and Studies) and new Mathematics syllabuses (Standard, Advanced, Extension 1 and Extension 2) are taught in Year 12 from Term 4 2026 and examined for the first time in the 2027 HSC. See our guides for English Advanced, English Standard, Mathematics Advanced, Extension 1, Extension 2 and Standard 2.
• History Extension also moves to its new syllabus: NESA's timeline shows it implemented in Term 4 2026 and examined in the 2027 HSC.
• The take-home task cap above.
• A few courses already moved to new syllabuses in earlier years (for example Geography, Enterprise Computing, Software Engineering and Health and Movement Science). NESA's timeline shows the remaining new syllabuses reaching the HSC from 2028 onwards, so those courses stay on their current syllabuses for 2027. NESA's Curriculum Reform timeline shows when each one changes.

What counts toward the ATAR?

UAC uses your best 2 units of English plus your best 8 other units of Board Developed courses, after scaling. Scaling works on your moderated assessment and exam marks, so both halves matter. See how the HSC ATAR is calculated and how HSC subjects are scaled.

If you have a disability or condition that affects exams, schools apply for provisions for the 2027 HSC between 10 November 2026 and 9 April 2027: see HSC special provisions.

Next: build a study system over summer, plan when to start past papers, or go back to the Starting Year 12 hub. All subject hubs are on the HSC exams page.