HSC exam provisions: information for students

If you think you’ll need support to read the HSC exam questions or write your responses, you might need exam provisions. Find out what they are and how to ask for them.

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What are HSC exam provisions?

HSC exam provisions are practical changes that can support you to access, read or respond to the HSC exams. They are usually for students with a medical condition or disability that affects how they function in the exam room.

Examples are:

rest breaks
small group supervision
a large-print exam paper.

HSC exam provisions are different to the support you might get in your everyday schooling, including in your HSC school assessments or HSC trial exams.

Don’t feel embarrassed about asking for provisions. Thousands of students apply for them every year. They are there to make sure everyone can take part in the exams.

Find out more on the HSC exam provisions page.

What provisions can I apply for?

You can ask for exam provisions that will support your needs. For example:

If you have a vision impairment, you might ask for a large-print exam paper, or you might prefer a standard-size exam paper with rest breaks to help with eye strain.
If you have ADHD, you might ask for specific seating within the exam hall or you might prefer small group supervision.

Think about how your medical condition or disability might affect you during the exam, and what will help. Then check out the Types of exam provisions to see which provisions will support you.

How does the application process work?

The exam provisions have to work for you. So the school will talk to you and your parents or caregivers about them. They will also explain the process, fill in forms, help collect supporting information, then send everything to us (NESA) to review.

Find out more about the process on the Applications page.

What happens in the exam?

There are specific rules for each exam provision. For example, if we have approved rest breaks for you, some of the rules are about:

how much time you can take as a rest break over the whole exam
how long or short rest breaks are
what you can and can’t do during a rest break.

You can look up the rules for some of the most common exam provisions in the Exam provisions library. Or ask your school about the rules for the exam provisions you are approved for.