New South Wales: HSC, Subjects, Assessment & ATAR

The Higher School Certificate is NSW’s senior secondary qualification. Students generally progress from Preliminary courses in Year 11 to HSC courses in Year 12. Many schools begin HSC coursework in Term 4 of Year 11; confirm the actual sequence in the school’s program.

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Updated Oct 27, 2026 · Official-source explainer

This guide is based on official information available at the review date. Rules can change by intake, subject and applicant category, so use the current official guide and any updates when you apply.

Certificate requirements

The minimum is 12 Preliminary units and 10 HSC units. Both patterns include two units of English, at least four subjects and at least three courses of two units or more, alongside other rules. There are two things to check here: completing the certificate and qualifying for an ATAR. Eligible Board Developed courses and minimum standards also matter.

Subjects, school assessment and external assessment

For most examinable courses, your result comes from a combination of school assessment and HSC examinations. The reported HSC mark generally gives equal weight to the moderated assessment mark and examination mark. Some courses include practical, oral or submitted-work components; there is no universal rule of four written tests per year.

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Image space: a subject-specific HSC assessment calendar

Which results contribute to the ATAR?

UAC sums the best two scaled English units and next best eight eligible units into an aggregate out of 500. So the calculation is not simply an average of the HSC marks on your results notice. Year 11 results generally do not directly enter this calculation, but matter for progression and some early-entry schemes.

Changing subjects between Years 11 and 12

Offerings span English, mathematics, sciences, HSIE, languages, arts, technologies and VET. Being allowed to reduce to ten units does not necessarily make it the best choice for you. Before making the change, check English, subject breadth, ATAR eligibility and university prerequisites with your school and get its approval. Extension courses also have their own progression conditions.

What to keep handy

The current school course handbook, assessment schedules and official enrolment list.
Separate certificate/ATAR eligibility audits, course-prerequisite records and any language-eligibility approvals.

Use the state comparison and subject selection guide to put this pathway in context.

Sources & verification

Reviewed 27 October 2026. Historical-cycle documents are explicitly labelled.