The Chief Supervisor of an examination centre (written examinations) and the Chief Marker (practical examinations) will report alleged breaches of examination rules to the Manager, Examination Logistics at the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority).
Breaches of examination rules and maximum penalties that might apply include but are not limited to:
Impersonation of a candidate
cancellation of all the candidate’s practical and/or written raw examination marks and exclusion from remaining examinations in that year. The matter will be reported to the police.
Collusion between candidates
cancellation of that practical and/or written raw examination marks of each of those candidates involved, together with an inspection of prior papers/recordings in any common examination for evidence of collusion.
Possession or knowledge of examination questions before an examination
cancellation of all the candidate’s practical and/or written raw examination marks. The matter will be reported to the police.
Possession of unauthorised materials during the examination
cancellation of part or all of the candidate’s practical and/or written raw examination marks where unauthorised materials are considered to be relevant to the course being examined (whether or not actual use is established).
Possession of mobile technologies
(e.g. smart watch, mobile phone, smart glasses) and/or calculator in an examination for which it is not approved – cancellation of all or part of the candidate’s practical and/or written examination mark.
Markings on authorised materials in the examination room
markings on authorised materials in the examination room – cancellation of part or all of the practical and/or written raw examination marks where markings in tables, data books or dictionaries etc. are considered to be relevant to the course being examined (whether or not actual use is established) and/or cancellation of part or all of practical raw mark where features, markings, annotations, names or logos identify the candidate, school club or achievements, including authorised materials that are stamped and/or labelled.
Unauthorised removal of examination materials
unauthorised removal of examination materials from the examination room will result in cancellation of the part(s) of the candidate’s practical and/or written raw examination mark relating to the materials being removed. The matter will be reported to the police.
Examination room behaviour
blatant disregard of examination room regulations will result in the removal of the candidate from the examination room.
Failure to follow examination instructions
cancellation of part or all of the candidate’s practical and/or written raw examination mark where the candidate’s failure to follow the instructions is considered to have given the candidate an advantage over other candidates.
False declarations
cancellation of part or all of the practical and/or written examination mark where the candidate falsely declares that the work presented for external assessment is their own and/or that it conforms to the specifications of the course.
Candidates have the right of appeal against a penalty being imposed, on the grounds that:
- a breach of examination rules did not occur, or
- Authority procedures used to determine if a breach occurred were inappropriate.
Such an appeal must be lodged at the Authority within eight calendar days of the date of the penalty notification being sent by the Authority.
The rules of conduct for examinations are outlined in the Year 12 Information Handbook: Part II Examinations, published on the Authority website in July. Any variation to standard examination conditions must be approved by the Authority through its special provisions processes.
It is the responsibility of all candidates to ensure that they understand all instructions relating to the examinations.
Click on the link below to access the generic instructions read aloud to examination candidates by the Chief Supervisor, prior to the commencement of each ATAR course written examination. It is recommended that schools use these instructions to conduct their school-based examinations in order to prepare students for the external examinations conducted by the Authority.
