2026 external assessment timetables

  • Written exams: The written exam period is Monday 9 November to Thursday 19 November 2026. See the 2026 written exam timetable.
  • Folio submission: The folio due dates were released in March, see the 2026 external assessment dates.
  • Practical, presentation, oral and display assessment: See the practical, presentation timetables for individual courses and each school at 2026 practical exam timetables.
  • Nationally or Interstate Assessed Languages (NIAL) assessment: Students sitting NIAL assessments and their schools are notified of their individual assessment timeslot. For the assessment date and time period, see the 2026 NIAL timetable.
  • See TASC key dates for all key dates, including results and inspections.

All the information Year 11 and 12 students need for end-of-year external assessments is available at Preparing for Exams.

In September to November each year, approximately 6,000 Year 11 and 12 students in Level 3 and Level 4 courses complete written exams and other types of external assessments. The external assessment only assesses some course criteria, not everything learned during the year. Internal assessment, by the course teacher, contributes the largest proportion of the overall course award.

Students will receive their copy of the 2026 TASC Student Exam Guide through their school at the beginning of Term 4. Students also receive a Notice of External Assessment (NoE) which details where and when they sit their exams.

More information about exams is available at Preparing for Exams. Key resources include:

TASC develops the exam timetable based on the course enrolment combinations of each year’s students. The timetable is carefully designed to accommodate thousands of individual enrolment patterns to spread exams as evenly as possible across the nine-day exam period.

TASC will email the small number of students who are eligible to apply for an optional change to their written exam schedule. The school’s TLO supports students with this process.

TASC identifies all eligible students. Students who are not contacted by TASC cannot apply for an exam schedule change.

Examples of circumstances in which students may be eligible for a schedule change include having an exam clash (exams scheduled for exactly the same time) or having three back-to-back (consecutive) exams.

Exams cannot be rescheduled due to illness or other circumstances. Illness & emergency during exams explains when a student may be eligible to apply for derived exam ratings and the application process and timeframes.