VCAA BulletinNo. 75 – February 2022VCE Curriculum

Curriculum

Accreditation periods for VCE studies effective 1 January 2022

The following accreditation periods for VCE studies have been approved by the VCAA Board and accredited by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority.

Accreditation period expires December 2022

  • Algorithmics (HESS)
  • Art
  • Business Management
  • Chemistry (Units 1 and 2)
  • Chinese Language, Culture and Society
  • Economics
  • English and English as an Additional Language (Units 1 and 2)
  • Food Studies
  • Indigenous Languages of Victoria: Revival and Reclamation
  • Literature
  • Mathematics
  • Music
  • Physics (Units 1 and 2)
  • Psychology
  • Religion and Society
  • Studio Arts
  • Texts and Traditions

Accreditation period expires December 2023

  • Australian and Global Politics
  • Chemistry (Units 3 and 4)
  • English Language
  • English and English as an Additional Language (Units 3 and 4)
  • Languages Collaborative Curriculum and Assessment Framework for Languages (CCAFL) – Units 1 and 2: Armenian, Auslan, Bengali, Bosnian, Chin Hakha, Croatian, Dutch, Filipino, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Karen, Khmer, Macedonian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Swedish, Tamil, Turkish, Yiddish
  • Legal Studies
  • Media
  • Outdoor and Environmental Studies
  • Physics (Units 3 and 4)
  • Product Design and Technology
  • Sociology
  • Visual Communication Design

Accreditation period expires December 2024

  • Accounting
  • Applied Computing
  • Classical Studies
  • Dance
  • Drama
  • Extended Investigation
  • Health and Human Development
  • Industry and Enterprise
  • Languages: Arabic, Chinese Second Language, Chinese Second Language Advanced, French, German, Greek, Indonesian Second Language, Italian, Japanese Second Language, Korean Second Language, Spanish, Vietnamese Second Language
  • Languages CCAFL – Units 3 and 4: Armenian, Auslan, Bosnian, Chin Hakha, Croatian, Dutch, Filipino, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Karen, Khmer, Macedonian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Swedish, Tamil, Turkish, Yiddish
  • Philosophy
  • Physical Education
  • Systems Engineering
  • Theatre Studies

Accreditation period expires December 2025

  • Agricultural and Horticultural Studies
  • Foundation English.

Accreditation period expires December 2026

  • Biology
  • Bridging English as an Additional Language
  • Environmental Science
  • Geography
  • History
  • Languages: Chinese First Language, Classical Greek, Classical Hebrew, Indonesian First Language, Japanese First Language, Korean First Language, Latin, Vietnamese First Language

Please note from January 2022, VCE Maltese is no longer offered as a VCE study.

VCE study design wall chart

All schools will be sent a study design wall chart in Term 1. This chart provides VCE coordinators, teachers and librarians with a quick visual reference to the entire collection of accredited VCE study designs for 2022.

Each accredited study design is available from our relevant study page. It is essential that teachers use the current accredited study design as the basis for all course development and assessment of VCE studies.

Reaccredited study designs for implementation in 2023

The following VCE studies have revised study designs for implementation in 2023:

Chemistry, English, English as an Additional Language and Physics will have a staged implementation, with Units 1 and 2 to be implemented in 2023 and Units 3 and 4 to be implemented in 2024.

These updated study designs are published online during Term 1 in the year before implementation on the relevant VCE study webpage. This is to assist teachers to prepare for the implementation of the reaccredited studies in 2023 and must not be used for the 2022 academic year.

Updates and amendments to study designs are announced in the Bulletin and published on individual study pages.

Professional learning

2022 VCAA Consultation Register now open

Consultation is an important part of the review and accreditation process for VCE studies. The consultation process is conducted electronically and teachers and stakeholders are invited to participate by joining the VCAA Consultation Register for the following VCE studies:

  • Australian and Global Politics
  • English Language
  • Legal Studies
  • Media
  • Outdoor and Environmental Studies
  • Product Design and Technology
  • Sociology
  • Visual Communication Design

Teachers and stakeholders registered for consultation will receive email notification once the draft of the relevant VCE study design is available online and will be invited to respond via an online questionnaire. You will be given the option to receive email notification of the implementation briefings for the reaccredited studies in 2023.

Consultation drafts of the listed study designs will be available for consideration throughout 2022. Each study or group of studies will have a four-week consultation period. The draft study design and consultation questionnaire will be available from the relevant VCE study page.

Administrative information for school-based assessment now available

The administrative information for school-based assessment for the following VCE studies are now available on the relevant study pages:

Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist updated

The 2022 VCE Drama and Theatre Studies Playlist is available on the Drama and Theatre Studies study pages.

To allow for a variety of styles and forms to be accessed by students in case of further interruptions to theatres, the lists have again been formulated in a more flexible manner for 2022. Details are provided on the first page of the 2022 playlist.

VCE English and English as an Additional Language and VCE Literature Text Lists 2023

The VCE English and English as an Additional Language (EAL) and the VCE Literature Text Lists for 2023 are now available on the relevant VCE study pages.

Teachers should consider the lists in conjunction with the relevant text selection advice published in the study designs.

VCE English and English as an Additional Language and VCE Literature Text Lists 2023

Updated playlists

For the majority of listed works, the cited editions are only recommended, and equivalent editions may be used without seeking VCAA approval. Where a work is a specific arrangement or a transcription, it will have been generally published only in the cited edition. It is the responsibility of schools to ensure students perform only listed works or approved alternative works.

Alternative works and instruments

Separate guidelines and application forms are provided for VCE Music Investigation and VCE Music Performance. These forms must be submitted by 5pm on Wednesday 23 February.

Playlist reviews


VCE Music Investigation topic approval


It is the school’s responsibility to:

  • make sure each student is correctly enrolled in the study (VASS code MC05 3-4)
  • enter the correct focus (instrument) code (a list of codes is available as a VASS download)
  • submit a separate application for an alternative instrument, if applicable
  • submit a separate application for an alternative work, if applicable

Schools are not required to submit sheet music or audio files at this stage. We will reply ‘approved’ or ‘not approved’ during March to the person identified on VASS as the Music Investigation school contact person. During the approval process, we may contact schools and request copies of sheet music and audio recordings of prescribed works.

For further information, please email the Performing Arts Curriculum Manager or call (03) 9059 5140.

Higher education studies in the VCE program

Information about higher education studies (HES) in the VCE program for 2022, including a complete list of participating universities and studies offered, is now available.

Schools must finalise VCE enrolments for students interested in applying for a HES in the VCE before Monday 9 May. A finalised school enrolment is required for universities to confirm a student’s eligibility for their HES course.

Schools are also responsible for ensuring that students have met the pre- and co-requisite requirements for their selected HES.

Please refer to Higher education in the VCE recommendations for students, schools and participating universities.

VCE History 2022–2026 Advice for teachers

VCE History 2022–2026 Advice for teachers provides detailed information to support teacher’s implementation of the reaccredited study. The following resources have been developed to support teachers understanding and implementation of VCE History 2022– 2026 assessment:

Course prescriptions for VCE Classical Greek and VCE Classical Hebrew

Notice to Schools 4/2022Notice to Schools 5/2022.

Professional learning

VCE briefings on-demand videos and webinars

Refer to Notice to Schools 10/2022.

VCE school-based assessment information webinars

Notice to Schools 11/2022

2022 VCE school-assessed tasks professional learning program

Notice to Schools 12/2022

2022 VCE Biology and VCE Environmental Science support for revised study designs

Notice to Schools 14/2022

VCE Extended Investigation professional learning

Notice to Schools 15/2022