Record of changes

NESA has made changes to Rule 1.1.1. These changes outline:

• procedures for nominating eligible students for the RoSA (paragraph 8)
• procedures for schools with students who complete outstanding requirements for the RoSA in Stage 6 (paragraph 12)
• procedures for students going on overseas exchange (paragraph 20)

NESA has made a number of changes across Course entries, changes and exclusions. These changes include:

• phrasing changes to better reflect how schools can support students with disability to review and sign their Confirmation of Entry forms.
• resequencing of rules for better navigation and user experience.

Rule 3.3.2 Course entries for Stage 5

NESA has simplified the language in Rule 3.3.2 to improve the clarity of Stage 5 course entry requirements.

A new footnote reminding schools to submit courses entries for any 100-hour elective courses completed by students in Year 9 when submitting Year 10 course entries has been added to Rule: 3.3.2 (see paragraph 9).

NESA has also made changes to the requirements for entering students in the mandatory PDPHE course to align with course entry options in Schools Online. Schools must enter students into either the 100-hour or 200-hour PDHPE course in Stage 5 (see paragraph 12).

Rule 3.3.3 Course entries for Preliminary and HSC courses

The changes:

• clarify that Stage 6 course entries in any given year include entries for students accelerating into and/or accumulating Stage 6 courses in that year (see paragraph 19.b)
• outline procedures for confirming and amending Stage 6 course entries, which was an oversight in its omission from the ACE Rule.

Rule 3.3.5 Course changes

NESA has made changes across Rule: 3.3.5 including phrasing changes and the resequencing of content within this rule.

Changes emphasise student agency in decisions concerning course changes and clearly differentiate the requirements for withdrawing from an HSC course from the requirements for withdrawing from an optional HSC exam.

A new footnote outlining contact information for schools with students seeking to withdraw from an HSC course after having completed a practical or performance exam has been added to the rule (see paragraph 48).

Rule 3.3.6 Course exclusions

A new paragraph outlining course exclusions for students undertaking Stage 6 Life Skills courses has been added to Rule 3.3.6 (see paragraph 64).

NESA has added a new footnote to Rule 2.1.2 outlining the types of feedback that may be provided to students for individual HSC assessment tasks (see paragraph 34).

NESA has made a number of changes across Life Skills in Stage 5.

Rule 11.1.1 Eligibility to study Years 7-10 courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content

Changes clarify eligibility requirements for students studying Years 7-10 courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content, including for:

• students studying a combination of non-Life Skills courses and courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content. (see paragraphs 5 and 6)
• students studying a particular Stage 5 course based on Life Skills outcomes and content and wishing to continue the study of that course in Stage 6. (see paragraph 7)

Changes to Rule 11.1.1 also include:

• a new exceptional circumstances footnote which outlines NESA contact information for principals who are concerned that a previous decision to place a student into Life Skills was not appropriate. (see paragraph 7)
• a change to the rule title to better reflect the rule focus. (Previously ‘Eligibility to study Stage 5 courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content’)

Rule 11.1.2 Entering students in Stage 5 courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content

Changes clarify the process and timeframe for:

• submitting courses entries for students studying Life Skills in Stage 5. (see paragraph 10)
• entering Life Skills outcomes achieved for individual students. (see paragraph 14)

Rule 11.1.4 Requirements for students entered in Stage 5 courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content

Changes include:

• phrasing changes to paragraph 25 for alignment with corresponding requirements about time allocation of courses in the Stage 6 Life Skills rules.
• a change to the rule title to better reflect the rule focus. (Previously ‘Requirements for students enrolled in Years 7-10 courses based on Life Skills outcomes and content’)

NESA has made a number of changes across Life Skills in Stage 6.

Rule 11.2.1 Eligibility to study Stage 6 Life Skills courses

Changes clarify eligibility requirements for students studying Stage 6 Life Skills courses, including for:

• students seeking to continue their study of a particular Stage 6 course after having studied the related course based on Life Skills outcomes and content in Stage 5. (see paragraph 4)
• students seeking to study a combination of Board Developed, Content Endorsed and Board Endorsed courses. (see paragraph 6)
• students commencing the study of HSC Life Skills courses. (see paragraph 8)

Changes to Rule 11.2.1 also include:

• a new exceptional circumstances footnote which outlines NESA contact information for principals who are concerned that a previous decision to place a student into Life Skills was not appropriate. (see paragraph 7)
• new section on adjustments for students with disability studying Stage 6 Life Skills courses. (see paragraphs 9 and 10)

Rule 11.2.2 Entering students in Stage 6 Life Skills courses

Changes clarify the process and timeframe for:

• submitting courses entries for students studying Life Skills in Stage 6. (see paragraph 11)
• entering Life Skills outcomes achieved for individual students. (see paragraph 15)

Rule 11.2.4 HSC requirements for students entered in Stage 6 Life Skills

Changes include a new paragraph reminding schools to check HSC minimum standard exemptions for students entered in Stage 6 Life Skills courses to determine if students are exempt from demonstrating the HSC minimum standard in any domain. (see paragraph 23)

NESA has made changes to Rule 5.2.1. These changes outline:

• application processes for Stage 5 SDBECs for braille (paragraph 9)
• credentialling requirements for Stage 5 SDBECs for braille (paragraph 17)

NESA has made changes to Rule 2.4.1. These changes clarify the conditions under which schools can retain work samples from previous years (see paragraph 7). NESA has also provided a footnote with an additional example to support users (see footnote 2).

NESA has added a new footnote to Rule 14.5.1, clarifying that the requirement to advise a student’s school about units of competencies and competency outcomes is only applicable when a course is being delivered by an external provider (see paragraph 7.d) so that the student’s school can enter the data in Schools Online.

NESA has made changes to Rule 14.7.1 to improve the clarity of NESA’s credentialling rules and requirements for VET courses (see paragraphs 2-4 and 9-10)

NESA has made changes to Rule 14.2.1. These changes clarify that:

• Stage 6 course entries in any given year include entries for students accelerating into Stage 6 VET courses in that year. (see paragraph 5.b)
• Students who commence a 240-hour course but complete only the first 120 hours of the course must complete all course requirements for the 120-hour course for it to count towards the RoSA/HSC. (see paragraph 9)
• the cutoff date of 30 June for entering students into VET courses applies to both Preliminary and HSC entries. (see paragraph 12.a)
• students who change courses are required to complete all course requirements of their new course. (see paragraph 13)