I hope the term is progressing well for you and your school communities. My team and I have enjoyed getting out and meeting our education leaders, and we look forward to hearing from many more of you over the coming months.

From sharing our insights at the Mathematical Association of Victoria VCE Conference and attending other teaching association events to visiting schools directly, we always appreciate the opportunity to speak to and hear from school leaders and teachers.

We have plenty more opportunities to engage to come, including seeing our wonderful VCE students shine in the VCE Season of Excellence program and attending the 2026 Government Schools Principals Conference.

Every conversation strengthens our work to deliver high-quality curriculum and assessment products and tools to meet the needs of Victorian schools and students.

I'm pleased to share that we have published 156 external assessment reports ahead of schedule and earlier than we’ve ever done before. We have worked hard to achieve this to ensure all teachers and students commencing VCE Units 3-4 studies this year are set up for success. 

To support these publications, the VCAA will offer a series of free webinars where Chief Assessors will unpack external assessment reports across a range of 2025 VCE examinations. Starting this month, the webinars allow access to information and insights to empower teachers throughout this year’s examinations period. Teachers will have opportunities to submit questions beforehand to ensure we’re tailoring the sessions to meet their needs.  

Our recent appointments to the VCAA senior leadership team ensure a strong and stable foundation for continuing our focus on meeting the expectations of schools, students and the Victorian community. The members of the team are: 

• Ella McPherson, Deputy Chief Executive Officer
• Dr. Kelly Jarvis, Executive Director, Assessment
• Dr. Sean Butler, Executive Director, Curriculum
• Jake Hawley, Executive Director, Corporate Services  

Thank you to Sue Bell, Executive Director, Senior Secondary Certificate Reform who retired after 48 years of service in Victorian education. Sue’s thoughtful, creative and steadfast leadership of the reform of Victoria’s Senior Secondary certificates has increased equity and access to our senior secondary offerings and has highlighted the importance of vocational and applied learning options for students.

The effect of these reforms will benefit thousands of students as they pursue their chosen pathway through the VCE VM and VPC.

If you would like to reach out, please email our General Enquiries team on 03 9032 1629 or vcaa@education.vic.gov.au, follow our social media channels or subscribe to our newsletters.   

Have a productive rest of the term.  

Andrew Smith 
Chief Executive Officer 
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority