New South Wales Limits Take-Home HSC Assessments to Address AI Use

The New South Wales government released new rules on 1 September 2026 limiting schools to a maximum of one take-home assessment task worth no more than 15 per cent of the school-based assessment mark, or 7.5 per cent of the total HSC mark. The advice from the NSW Education Standards Authority applies to the Class of 2027 beginning HSC studies in Term 4 this year and to students starting Year 11 in Term 1, 2027. HSC major works and some courses including creative arts, technologies and English Extension 2 are exempt, but schools must still authenticate students' work.

This is New South Wales' first explicit assessment restriction responding to generative AI's impact on the integrity of a high-stakes credential, directly changing how schools design assessments and how teachers authenticate student work. For AI education products, tools positioned to complete HSC take-home tasks face institutional limits, while classroom exams, oral tasks and process diaries remain unaffected. The policy currently covers only take-home assessment tasks, and its practical effect depends on school implementation and further NESA subject guidance. Schools must redesign assessment programs, shifting more marks to classroom exams, oral tasks and process diaries. Generative AI homework-assistance products for HSC students face institutional limits in take-home assessment scenarios.