Contact

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

It is important for schools to inform students of the rules on authorised examination materials.

This is the fourth 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 authorised equipment and materials in written and practical examinations.

Authorised items and materials

Detailed information on authorised equipment and materials for practical and written examinations is available on the examination front cover document for each ATAR course examination available under the ‘Examination materials’ accordion on the relevant ATAR course page at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials.

Information on equipment and materials for both practical and written examinations is available in Appendix C: Materials required/recommended for written examinations 2026 of the Year 12 Information Handbook Part II: Examinations at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/year-12-information.

Unauthorised items and materials

Items other than those listed on the front cover of each examination paper are classified as unauthorised and should not be brought into the examination room. It is the responsibility of the candidate to ensure that they do not bring any unauthorised material into the examination room.

If unauthorised items or materials are brought into the examination room, it is the candidate’s responsibility to declare these item/s or materials to the Examination supervisor prior to the commencement of examination. Failure to do so may result in the matter being referred to the Breach of Examination Rules Committee.

For practical examinations, the supervisor will instruct candidates on where to place unauthorised items. For written examinations, the supervisor will provide a bag for the unauthorised item/s which must be placed under the candidate’s chair and remain there until the candidate leaves the room on completion of the examination.

Note: the supervisor cannot accept responsibility for any items, authorised or unauthorised, left behind in the examination room.

Identification and personalised examination timetable

It is important that examination candidates download their Personalised practical examination timetable, if applicable, and their Personalised written examination timetable from the student portal at https://studentportal.scsa.wa.edu.au. These personalised timetables contain the date, venue, time and location of each examination in which the candidate is enrolled.

Candidates must take their signed Personalised examination timetable, as proof of enrolment, and photographic identification (such as a driver’s licence or school library card) into each examination. An image of a Personalised examination timetable on a phone will not be accepted as proof of enrolment.

If a candidate does not provide their timetable or photo identification a Candidate identification check form will be used to make random checks of candidate identification throughout the examination period.

Late arrivals

The expectations and rules for arrival times for both practical and written examinations were outlined in Edition 5 of this Circular available at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/7to12-circulars/edition-5-may-2026.

The practical examinations requirements documents are available under the ‘Examination support materials’ on the relevant course page of the Authority website.

For written examinations, it is mandatory for candidates to arrive at the examination centre at least 30 minutes before the prescribed start time for an examination.

Further information on equipment and materials and arrival times for both practical and written examinations is available in the Year 12 Information Handbook Part II: Examinations at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/year-12-information.

---