SACE

Overview

The South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) is the main senior secondary qualification completed by students in South Australia. It is set and awarded by the SACE Board of South Australia, a statutory authority. Students work towards the SACE over Stage 1 and Stage 2, usually across Years 10 to 12, choosing from more than 60 subjects across the arts, sciences, humanities, mathematics, languages and vocational areas. Completing the SACE is meant to open pathways into university, TAFE, apprenticeships, traineeships and direct employment.

Each subject or course a student completes earns a number of credits, and a student needs 200 credits in total to be awarded the SACE.

Who can apply

SACE is intended for students completing their senior secondary schooling at a South Australian school, most commonly starting Stage 1 subjects in Year 10 or Year 11 and Stage 2 subjects in Year 11 or Year 12, so most SACE students are around 15 to 18 years old. Students can also gain SACE credits through approved vocational education and training (VET) and other Board-recognised learning, alongside their classroom subjects.

Exam pattern

Of the 200 credits needed for the SACE, a fixed set is compulsory:

• Stage 1 Exploring Identities and Futures (10 credits, C grade or better) — usually taken in Year 10 or Year 11, it has students explore their own identity, strengths and future study, training and career directions. This subject replaced the former Personal Learning Plan (PLP) from 2025.

• Literacy requirement (at least 20 credits, C grade or better at Stage 1 / C- or better at Stage 2) — met through English subjects or courses at Stage 1 or Stage 2.

• Numeracy requirement (at least 10 credits, C grade or better at Stage 1 / C- or better at Stage 2) — met through mathematics subjects or courses at Stage 1 or Stage 2.

• Stage 2 Activating Identities and Futures (10 credits, C- or better) — usually taken in Year 11 or Year 12, it builds on Exploring Identities and Futures with project-based learning skills. From 2026, Activating Identities and Futures has fully replaced the former Stage 2 Research Project.

Beyond these compulsory credits, a student fills the remaining credits with subjects of their choice, and to complete the SACE must also pass at least 60 further Stage 2 credits at C- or better (on top of the compulsory Activating Identities and Futures credits).

Most Stage 2 subjects combine two kinds of assessment:

Stage 1 subjects are assessed entirely at school and graded A to E, with a C or better needed for the compulsory Stage 1 requirements. Stage 2 subjects are graded on the finer A+ to E- scale.

Marking and results

School-assessed work in Stage 2 subjects is moderated by the SACE Board so that teachers across different schools are applying the same performance standards consistently, before it is combined with the external assessment result to produce each subject's final grade.

Students who complete the SACE and want to apply to university can have the South Australian Tertiary Admissions Centre (SATAC) calculate an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR). SATAC works out a university aggregate from a student's best 90 credits of eligible Stage 2 study, built mainly around three 20-credit Tertiary Admissions Subjects with examinations, and uses statistical scaling so that results in different subjects can be compared fairly. The ATAR is reported to the student on their Tertiary Entrance Statement and is the rank South Australian and other Australian universities use for undergraduate admission.

Important dates

For the 2026 SACE cycle:

• Stage 2 language examinations begin Tuesday 13 October 2026.

• Mainstream Stage 2 subject examinations run from Monday 2 November to Friday 13 November 2026.

• Year 12 results, including the Tertiary Entrance Statement for students who requested an ATAR, are released on Monday 15 December 2026 at 8:30 am (ACDT) through the student's SACE Students Online account.

Because the South Australian school year runs roughly from late January to December, this exam and results calendar sits in the Southern Hemisphere school year, with results released in mid-December.

Fees

For students enrolled at a South Australian government or non-government school, SACE study itself carries no separate fee: the SACE Board's own published charges for Stage 1 and Stage 2 enrolment apply only to full-fee-paying overseas students studying in South Australia on a student visa, who pay a separate, non-refundable annual fee for each stage.

After the exam

Once external examinations are marked, the SACE Board combines them with each school's moderated assessment results to finalise subject grades and determine whether a student has met the SACE completion requirements. Results, the certificate itself, and (for students who requested one) the Tertiary Entrance Statement carrying the ATAR are released together through SACE Students Online in mid-December, and universities use the ATAR in that year's undergraduate admissions round.

Preparation tips

• Treat Stage 2 subjects as a whole-year effort: school-assessed tasks are collected across the year and combined with the exam result, so consistent work throughout matters as much as exam-day performance.

• Use the SACE Board's published subject outlines and past external examination papers for each Stage 2 subject to understand what the exam covers.

• Plan Stage 1 and Stage 2 subject choices early, since the compulsory literacy and numeracy requirements, and the 20-credit Tertiary Admissions Subjects needed for an ATAR, depend on which English, mathematics and other subjects a student picks.

• Check the current requirements for Exploring Identities and Futures and Activating Identities and Futures with your school, since both subjects are relatively new and have replaced the former Personal Learning Plan and Research Project.

FAQs