Overview
Schools that deliver the VCE must ensure the integrity of student assessments and ensure compliance with the standards and requirements of the VCAA for the relevant assessment program.
VCAA standards and requirements are stated in the relevant VCE study design and the VCE assessment principles. Administrative standards and requirements for the delivery and assessment of the VCE, including school-based assessment, are set out in the VCE Administrative Handbook.
The purpose of the School-based Assessment Audit is to help protect the integrity of the VCE and its results by checking that VCAA standards and requirements for school-based assessment are being met. All VCE studies are subject to the School-based Assessment Audit, and all eligible schools are audited annually for at least one VCE study.
Notification
Separate audits take place in Unit 3 and Unit 4. Schools that are being audited for one or more studies will receive a notification email from the VCAA on the morning of the audit commencement date.
The 2025 audit commencement dates are:
- For Unit 3: Tuesday 18 February
- For Unit 4: Tuesday 22 July
The list of studies being audited as well as the outcomes of each stage of the audit can be accessed by schools through VASS: School Program > VCE > School-based Assessment Audit.
The School-based Assessment Audit consists of two stages for both Unit 3 and Unit 4. The first stage of the audit requires schools to complete an online study-specific audit questionnaire. Links to the study-specific audit questionnaires can be found at the foot of this page.
Audit submissions are assessed by an Audit Panel, which is appointed by the VCAA.
The first stage of the school-based assessment audit takes place early in the typical delivery timeline for Unit 3 and Unit 4. This is to enable the VCAA to identify and address errors that may affect student outcomes. The VCAA understands that school-based assessment material may not be fully developed at the time of audit. Schools may submit incomplete or draft assessment materials for audit, and in cases where assessment materials have not yet been drafted, the audit questionnaire allows schools to provide written details of any planned assessment.
The second stage of the audit applies only to schools that do not meet requirements following the initial audit submission. Where this is the case, the VCAA may ask the school to provide further evidence, or to arrange to speak with the VCAA Curriculum Manager.
Teachers who are completing the audit questionnaire are encouraged to refer to the reference materials that are accessible in the Key dates and links section below.
Technical Difficulties: If you experience technical difficulties with the online audit questionnaire, please contact the School-based Assessment Audit team on (03) 9059 5166 or via email at: school.assessment.vcaa@education.vic.gov.au
Key dates: Unit 3
- Tuesday 18 February: Unit 3 studies for audit published on VASS. Unit 3 online audit questionnaires open.
- Friday 14 March: Unit 3 audit responses due.
- Tuesday 13 May: Unit 3 audit outcomes published on VASS / Unit 3 Further Evidence submissions open.
- Friday 30 May: Unit 3 Further Evidence submissions due from schools
- Tuesday 22 July: Unit 3 Further Evidence outcomes published on VASS
Key Links
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) is a statutory authority continued under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) (the Act).
The information collected through this questionnaire is used by the VCAA to facilitate the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) School-based Assessment Audit as part of the VCAA's responsibilities under the Act. When you provide your name and email address in the questionnaire, this is 'personal information' within the meaning of the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014 (Vic) (the PDP Act). Personal information is used, disclosed and handled by the VCAA in accordance with the PDP Act.
A third-party contractor, Survey Manager, collects and stores responses to the questionnaire (including any personal information) securely on its Australian-based servers on behalf of the VCAA. You can read the Survey Manager privacy policy here: https://www.surveymanager.com.au/privacy-policy After the year in which the questionnaire is conducted, the VCAA stores questionnaire responses securely on its own servers, and retains and destroys the Data in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic).
The questionnaire uses persistent cookies, enabling you to return and complete it over multiple sessions if you use the same internet browser and computer each time. Cookies are small data files that a website is able to place on a user's hard drive to record aspects of that user's experience of the website. If your internet browser is set to block all cookies, you will not be able to use this 'save and continue' function.
When an individual's personal information is provided to the VCAA by a third party, the VCAA requests that the individual is made aware their personal information will be or has been provided to the VCAA, the purpose for which it will be or was provided, and to whom it will be or is likely to be disclosed. If you provide personal information about another person as part of your response, please tell that person.
An individual may request access to personal information the VCAA holds about them, if any, and request its correction if inaccurate. To do so, please contact the Manager, School-based Assessment Audit via email: school.assessment.vcaa@education.vic.gov.au
View the VCAA Privacy Policy.