Pre-primary to Year 10: Languages and The Arts curriculum familiarisation online briefings and workshops

Contact

Languages
Kimberley Paton (08) 9273 6372
Kimberley.Paton@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Arts  
Antoniett Halden (08) 9273 6791
Antoniett.Halden@scsa.wa.edu.au

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) is offering online briefings and workshops in Term 3 to support schools with their familiarisation with the Western Australian curriculum for Pre-primary to Year 10 Languages and The Arts.

The one‑hour online curriculum familiarisation briefings for Languages and The Arts are a repeat of those offered in Term 2.

The half‑day online workshops are designed for teachers in remote and regional areas, as well as those who are unable to attend the remaining in-person workshops in Term 3.

Register for the briefings and workshops on the Authority Events page at https://scsa.wa.edu.au/news-and-events/all-events.

Further information on familiarisation briefings and workshops is available at https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/resources/revised-western-australian-curriculum-familiarisation.

The Western Australian curriculum, as published in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline available at https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au, is the mandated curriculum for Western Australian schools and must continue to be implemented in all schools until advised otherwise. Schools will be required to teach the revised year level curriculum for Languages and The Arts in 2027.

Note: the Authority uses Webex as the delivery platform for all online briefings, seminars and workshops. Registrants will need to have downloaded the application prior to the briefings and workshops to participate.

Professional Learning Modules – Implementing the Western Australian curriculum

Contact

Adriana Douglas (08) 9273 6784
Adriana.Douglas@scsa.wa.edu.au

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) has developed new online professional learning modules to support teachers with the implementation of the revised Western Australian curriculum.

The first set of modules focus on Pre-primary to Year 6 and Year 7 to Year 10 English, Health and Physical Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics and Science. These modules provide an overview of the revised curriculum and support teachers to deepen their understanding of the Learning Area organisation, Scope and sequence, Year level descriptions, Achievement standards, Ways of teaching, and available curriculum support materials.

Teachers will explore the Learning Areas and gain practical guidance on accessing and using the curriculum documents published on the Authority website. The modules also explain the phased approach to adopting and adapting the Australian curriculum and highlights key features of the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline.

These self-paced modules are designed to assist teachers in planning, teaching and assessing the revised curriculum and for implementation in classrooms across Western Australia.

The modules can be accessed via the Professional Learning tab on each relevant Learning Area page of the Authority website at https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/wa-curriculum/learning-areas.

New Year 12 syllabus for Media Production and Analysis General – implementation briefing

Contact

Antoniett Halden (08) 9273 6791
Antoniett.Halden@scsa.wa.edu.au

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) is offering an online briefing to support teachers with the implementation of the new Year 12 syllabus for the Media Production and Analysis (MPA) General course endorsed for teaching from 2027.

The briefing will focus on:

• outlining the new support material
• developing a shared understanding of the assessment requirements
• understanding the course outline and assessment criteria to meet the compliance requirements of the new course in 2027.

The dates for the briefing are:

• Tuesday, 11 August 2026, from 3.45–5.00 pm
• Thursday, 20 August 2026, from 3.45–5.00 pm.

Teachers are encouraged to register for the briefing on the Authority Events page at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/news-and-events/all-events.

The new syllabus and summary of changes are available on the MPA course page under the What’s changing accordion at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/arts/media-production-and-analysis.

Development of the new syllabus documents was informed by a consultation process that commenced in 2023 and concluded with the syllabus acceptance and implementation timeline survey completed by all schools currently teaching the MPA General course. The Authority thanks teachers for their participation in and support of the syllabus review process.

Note: the Authority uses Webex as its platform for all online briefings, seminars and workshops. Registrants will need to have downloaded the application prior to the workshop to participate.

New Years 11 and 12 syllabuses for the Second Language Indonesian ATAR course

Contact

Lisa Djanegara (08) 9273 6382
Lisa.Djanegara@scsa.wa.edu.au

New Indonesian ATAR course syllabuses for Year 11 and Year 12 will be available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) website early in Term 3, 2026.

Following the syllabus review acceptance survey, the Indonesian ATAR course syllabuses have been endorsed for teaching in Year 11 from 2027 and Year 12 from 2028.

The new syllabuses, titled Year 11 Indonesian ATAR and Year 12 Indonesian ATAR, will be available on the Indonesian course page under the What’s changing accordion at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/languages/indonesian-second-language.

To support teachers with the implementation of the new syllabuses, the Authority will hold a workshop in Term 3, 2026 with details to be published in upcoming editions of this Circular.

Note: under the new naming protocol, Second Language has been removed from the syllabuses for teaching in Year 11 from 2027 and Year 12 from 2028.

New Years 11 and 12 syllabuses for the French, German and Italian: Background Language ATAR courses

Contact

French and German
Sonia Belot (08) 9273 6725
Sonia.Belot@scsa.wa.edu.au

Italian
Aureliana Di Rollo (08) 9273 6354
Aureliana.Dirollo@scsa.wa.edu.au

The new French, German and Italian: Background Language ATAR course syllabuses will be available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) website early in Term 3, 2026, for teaching in Year 11 from 2027 and Year 12 from 2028.

Following an extensive consultation process, and the syllabus review acceptance survey, the Board of the Authority endorsed the following syllabuses for teaching from 2027 in Year 11 and for teaching from 2028 in Year 12:

• French: Background Language
• German: Background Language
• Italian: Background Language.

Syllabus support materials will be available in Term 4, 2026 on the relevant language course pages, under the What’s changing accordion.

Workshop details to support teachers with implementation will be published in upcoming editions of this Circular.

The Authority thanks teachers for their participation in, and support of, the syllabus review process.

Notice of postponement of the implementation of new Years 11 and 12 syllabuses for second language Chinese, French, German, Italian and Japanese ATAR courses

Contact

Chinese
Coral Ryan (08) 9273 6743
Coral.Ryan@scsa.wa.edu.au

French and German
Sonia Belot (08) 9273 6725
Sonia.Belot@scsa.wa.edu.au

Italian
Aureliana Di Rollo (08) 9273 6354
Aureliana.Dirollo@scsa.wa.edu.au

Japanese
Jaeik Jeong (08) 9273 6724
Jaeik.Jeong@scsa.wa.edu.au

The implementation of the new Chinese, French, German, Italian and Japanese ATAR course syllabuses for Years 11 and 12 has been postponed.

Following the results of, and feedback given in, the syllabus review acceptance survey, the Board of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority has approved the implementation of the new course syllabuses for second language Chinese, French, German, Italian and Japanese ATAR for Year 11 from 2028 and Year 12 from 2029.

Details of the availability of the new syllabuses and supporting materials will be published in upcoming editions of this Circular.

Note: under the new naming protocol, Second Language will be removed from all new syllabuses for teaching in Year 11 from 2028 and Year 12 from 2029.

The Authority thanks teachers for their participation in the syllabus review process.

Front covers for the 2026 ATAR course examinations

Contact

Lisa Honczarenko (08) 9273 6763
Lisa.Honczarenko@scsa.wa.edu.au

Front covers for the 2026 ATAR course examinations will be available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website from Friday, 28 August 2026 at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/examinations.

The examination front covers should be distributed by teachers of the relevant courses to support student preparation for examinations. Teachers are strongly encouraged to familiarise students with the front covers of both the written and practical examinations.

The front covers contain details of:

• the structure of each examination
• the allocation of marks
• the rules governing the conduct of the examination.

Note: front covers are not provided for those Language examinations that are set by curriculum authorities in other states.

2026 Physical Education Studies ATAR Year 12 school-based practical external assessment

Contact

Melanie McKeaig (08) 9273 6320
spea@scsa.wa.edu.au

The 2026 Physical Education Studies (PES) ATAR Year 12 school-based practical external assessment (SPEA) period begins in Week 2, Term 3. The 2026 SPEA commences on Monday, 27 July and concludes on Friday, 11 September 2026.

School leaders and teachers must ensure they are familiar with the requirements for running a SPEA, as outlined in the sport-specific Assessment guides available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) website at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/health-and-physical-education/physical-education-studies.

Particular attention should be given to game requirements (including referees/umpires, numbered bibs, net heights, ball sizes etc.) and to field/court size and markings.

Timetables and information about Alternative format SPEAs have been disseminated to schools. If your school has not received these documents, contact spea@scsa.wa.edu.au.

Marks collection forms will be released to schools from the start of Week 2, Term 3.

Absence due to sickness or misadventure

Completed Application for Approved Absence (due to sickness or misadventure) forms for the SPEA are due to be received by the Authority within two weeks of the scheduled date of the SPEA.

The Authority thanks all ATAR PES teachers and schools for their continued support of the SPEA.

Queries regarding the SPEA should be directed to spea@scsa.wa.edu.au.

2026 Interstate Languages ATAR course examinations

Contact

Tanya Andrew (08) 9273 6394
Tanya.Andrew@scsa.wa.edu.au

Students enrolled in Interstate Language ATAR courses should refer to the course materials available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/languages/interstate-languages.

Interstate Languages examinations timetable

The 2026 Interstate Languages ATAR course practical (oral) examinations will be conducted over the months of September and October 2026.

The date and times for all 2026 Interstate Languages written examinations are available in the 2026 Year 12 ATAR course written examinations timetable available at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/examinations/examination-timetables.

Interstate Languages requiring submission of documents prior to the practical (oral) examinations

The Bengali, Bosnian, Chin Hakha, Dutch, Hebrew, Hungarian, Karen, Khmer, Macedonian, Nepali, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Sinhala and Turkish ATAR course examinations have a practical (oral) examination that requires candidates to complete and submit a Discussion outline and supportive visual material sheet by 4.00 pm AWST Monday, 14 September 2026. The discussion outline is available at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/languages/interstate-languages. Candidates must take a copy of their supporting visual material to their practical (oral) examination.

The Arabic and Vietnamese ATAR course examinations have a practical (oral) examination that requires candidates to complete and submit a Supporting visual material document by 4.00 pm AWST Monday, 14 September 2026. The visual material document is available at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/languages/interstate-languages. Candidates must take their supporting visual material to their practical (oral) examination.

Note: all other Interstate language ATAR course examinations do not require the completion or submission of documents prior to the practical (oral) examination.

Consequences of not sitting ATAR course examinations in 2026

Contact

Perpetua Joseph (08) 9273 6771
Perpetua.Joseph@scsa.wa.edu.au

It is important to ensure students are aware of the consequences of not sitting Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) course examinations.

Students who are enrolled in a Year 12 ATAR course and who do not sit the ATAR course examination will not have their school grades for that ATAR course count towards meeting any of the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) requirements.

If the ATAR course has a practical component, both the written and practical examinations must be completed.

For students who do not sit an ATAR course examination or school‑based practical external assessment (SPEA), and do not have an approved Sickness/Misadventure Application for that course, or an Application for an Approved Absence for the SPEA, the pair of units completed in that year will not:

• contribute towards any of the WACE requirements
• have a course mark or grade recorded on their Western Australian Student Statement of Achievement (WASSA)
• receive a report for that ATAR course.

When a student is considering not sitting an ATAR course examination or a SPEA because they do not ‘need’ it to contribute to an ATAR, they should be aware of the contribution of the course completion towards meeting WACE requirements.

The WACE requirements are Section 7.2.1 in the WACE Manual 2026, available at https://scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/wace-manual.

Student Declaration and Permission

Contact

Data Services (08) 9273 6352
dataservices@scsa.wa.edu.au

All Year 12 students, and Year 11 students sitting the 2026 ATAR course examinations must complete the online Student Declaration and Permission.

Students will be prompted to complete the Student Declaration and Permission when they log in to the student portal at https://student.scsa.wa.edu.au/student-portal. This form must be completed before students can access the portal, which contains important information, such as course enrolments, examination timetable/s and results.

Further information is available in Edition 3 of this Circular at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/7to12-circulars/edition-3-march-2026.

The Student Declaration and Permission must be completed by Thursday, 27 August 2026.

Collection of mobile phone numbers for students sitting the 2026 ATAR course examinations

Contact

Daniel Creusot (08) 9273 6343
Daniel.Creusot@scsa.wa.edu.au

Students sitting the 2026 Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) course examinations are asked to provide their mobile phone numbers to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) through the student portal.

Should the Authority need to contact students during the ATAR examination period to advise about any changes to the examination timetable/s or venue/s, this will be done via a bulk Short Message Service (SMS).

Students will need to log in to the student portal to download their personalised examination timetables for the written and practical ATAR course examinations. When they log in they will be prompted to provide a mobile number. Providing a mobile number is strongly advised but not compulsory.

Instructions for first‑time users are available on the student portal login page at https://studentportal.scsa.wa.edu.au and in the Student login and navigation guide at https://student.scsa.wa.edu.au/student-portal.

Note: student mobile numbers can only be updated by the individual student through the student portal and cannot be updated through the Student Information Records System (SIRS).

2026 ATAR course examinations general information – Practical examinations

Contact

Barclay Jones (08) 9273 6309
Barclay.Jones@scsa.wa.edu.au

It is important for schools to inform students of the processes for practical examinations.

This is the third Circular item in the series of general examination information provided by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) to support schools in building students’ understanding of processes and key dates for the 2026 ATAR course examinations.

The Authority has established rules for practical portfolio and production submissions and practical performance and oral examinations.

Practical examinations – information for all candidates enrolled in a practical examination

Candidates for all practical examinations must:

• adhere to the Authority’s rules on late arrivals and submissions
• adhere to the Authority’s anonymity and dress codes
• complete all forms required for each practical examination available on the relevant course page in accordance with the instructions provided on the website at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials.

Declaration of authenticity

For many of the practical examinations, candidates are required to complete and submit a Declaration of authenticity form. Details of the declaration are available in the Year 12 Information Handbook Part II: Examinations at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/year-12-information and the form can be downloaded from the relevant course page on the Authority website at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials.

Acknowledging references

Candidates submitting or performing which references to another person’s ideas, works or images must clearly acknowledge these sources using the course-specific format specified in the practical requirements documents on the relevant course page at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials.

Practical examinations – portfolio/production submissions

All portfolios/productions are submitted by the school to the Authority for marking. Students will be notified by their schools of the date when they must submit their portfolio/production to the school.

Marking of portfolios/productions will be completed by the end of October. The Authority will notify schools of the day on which they may collect their students’ portfolios/productions, and the school will notify students of arrangements to collect their work.

Practical examinations – performance/oral

All candidates enrolled in a practical performance/oral examination must:

• take a signed copy of their Personalised practical examination timetable with them to their practical examination together with a hard copy form of photo ID for proof of identity
• read and sign an ATAR course practical examination declaration, provided at the examination venue.

The Personalised practical examination timetable will be available for download from the student portal at https://studentportal.scsa.wa.edu.au from Tuesday, 8 September 2026. This timetable will contain the date, venue, time and location of the examination.

Externally set task SIRS reports – online briefing

Contact

Nick Ognenis (08) 9273 6354
Nick.Ognenis@scsa.wa.edu.au

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) is offering an online briefing on the externally set task (EST) School Information Records Systems (SIRS) reports for school providers.

The briefing will be held on Monday, 24 August 2026 from 4.00 to 5.00 pm and will focus on:

• the administration of the EST, assessment and moderation process
• the EST data SIRS reports available to schools
• how schools can use the EST data reports to inform internal comparability and assist teachers to reflect on their marking process.

Attendees will have an opportunity throughout the briefing to ask questions related to the SIRS data reports.

Register for the briefing on the Authority Events page at https://scsa.wa.edu.au/news-and-events/all-events.

Note: the Authority uses Webex as the delivery platform for all online briefings, seminars and workshops. Registrants will need to have downloaded the application prior to the briefing to participate.

Nominations for the 2026 Awards for outstanding achievement in VET

Contact

Programs and Vocational Studies team (08) 9442 6440
vetawards@scsa.wa.edu.au

Student nominations for the 2026 Awards for outstanding achievement in vocational education and training (VET) are open.

Schools are encouraged to nominate Year 12 students who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in an Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) VET Certificate II or higher for a 2026 VET Award. VET Exhibitions and Certificates of Excellence may be awarded for each of the nine industry areas, with the top student in each industry area eligible to be selected as the winner of the Beazley Medal: VET.

Further information about the 2026 Awards for outstanding achievement in VET, including the VET Awards Brochure and Nomination Kit, is available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website on the Exhibitions and Awards page at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/certification/exhibitions-and-awards.

Nominations for the 2026 Awards for outstanding achievement in VET close at 4.30 pm on Monday, 31 August 2026.

Note: no late applications will be accepted.

The RSQUAL file and WACE certification

Contact

Data Services (08) 9273 6352
dataservices@scsa.wa.edu.au

It is important that the VET Qualification Results (RSQUAL) file is uploaded to the Student Information Records System (SIRS) at the end of each calendar.

The information in the RSQUAL file is used to allocate unit equivalents towards the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) and to determine that a student has met the Certificate II or higher requirement.

Failure to upload this file may result in students not achieving their WACE and they may be considered ineligible for first round offers for entry into university and Technical and Further Education (TAFE) courses.

Further information on the RSQUAL file is available in Section 12 of the Data Procedures Manual 2026 at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/data-procedures-manual.

2026 Student enrolments in endorsed programs and in VET units of competency

Contact

Perpetua Joseph (08) 9273 6771
Perpetua.Joseph@scsa.wa.edu.au

Enrolments in endorsed programs for Years 10–12 students and enrolments in vocational education and training (VET) units of competency for Years 10 and 11 students must be uploaded to the Student Information Records System (SIRS).

These enrolment details must be uploaded to SIRS by Thursday, 13 August 2026 using the ENEND file for Years 10–12 student enrolments in endorsed programs and the ENVET and ENSKILL files for Years 10–11 student enrolments in VET units of competency.

It is important for schools to obtain the appropriate documentation from the relevant registered training organisation (RTO) to confirm student enrolments before submitting this enrolment data to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority. This will ensure that accurate information is uploaded in SIRS and avoid issues at the time of providing student achievement reports.

It should be noted that:

• only DTWD funded VET skill sets (for Years 11 and 12 students) can be uploaded to SIRS
• inclusion of the VET Unique Student Identifier (USI) is optional for enrolments, but is a requirement for achievement of VET qualifications and VET units of competency intended for contribution towards the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) requirements
• inclusion of the VET USI is optional for VET skill set enrolments, but is a requirement for recording of VET skill sets and related units of competency on the Western Australian Statement of Student Achievement (WASSA)
• skill sets do not contribute to the achievement of the WACE.

Information and instruction on uploading, verifying and extracting enrolment data in SIRS is available in the Data Procedures Manual 2026 at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/data-procedures-manual.

Social Cohesion Education Hub now available

Contact
Adriana Douglas (08) 9273 6784
Adriana.Douglas@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Australian Government has launched the Social Cohesion Education Hub (SCE Hub), a new online platform offering free, quality-assured, online resources to help schools and early childhood education services prevent and address antisemitism while supporting broader social cohesion, anti-racism and multicultural education.

The co-signed letter from the Federal Minister for Education, the Western Australian Minister for Education; Early Childhood, the Chair of the Antisemitism Education Taskforce, and Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, in relation to the SCE Hub, and the link to access the SCE Hub, are available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website at

• https://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/home/resources/social-cohesion-education-hub
• https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/further-resources/social-cohesion-education-hub.

The SCE Hub provides practical resources to support inclusive, respectful and welcoming learning environments from early learning to Year 12. Resources on the SCE Hub have been quality assured by a project advisory group of education and social cohesion experts, including representatives from the Office of the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism.

Educators and school communities are encouraged to explore the SCE Hub and consider how its resources may be used in their classrooms.

To find out more about the SCE Hub, visit www.socialcohesionhub.edu.au.