Permission to deliver the VCE and/or the VPC

The VCAA is the awarding body for the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) and the Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC). Education providers must apply to the VCAA to seek permission to deliver these certificates and the studies within them.

For the VCAA to grant permission to a provider to deliver these certificates, the provider must demonstrate the capacity to deliver minimum eligibility requirements for each certificate and/or appellation as outlined in the Education and Training Reform Regulations 2017, Schedule 8 and the VCE Administrative Handbook / VPC Administrative Handbook.

Unless otherwise stated, all reference to the VCE is inclusive of the VCE Vocational Major (VM).

The VCAA can only grant permission to deliver to providers who are registered or working towards registration with the Victorian Regulations and Qualifications Authority (VRQA).

Specific guidance for schools

Registered schools have ongoing registration with the VRQA unless it is suspended or cancelled. Once a school has completed the VCAA permission to deliver process and has been approved to deliver the VCE, the VCE VM and/or the VPC certificates, it may add any new studies within that certificate to its scope for the duration of its registration.

New Schools

Schools are required to complete the administrative requirements each year of the application. This is to accommodate for the changing context of the school’s learning scope each year as well as reflecting the annual updates made to the VCE Administrative Handbook or the VPC Administrative Handbook.

While completing this process, new schools will be granted provisional permission to deliver the studies they have applied for. These are the only studies new schools will have access to on VASS during the provisional phase for VCE and VCE VM.

If a new school is only applying to deliver the VPC, they will be granted access to each study on VASS as they are approved. Schools may apply for individual units of each VPC study.

To be granted permission, the provider must demonstrate the capacity to deliver minimum eligibility requirements for each certificate and/or appellation as outlined in the VCE Administrative Handbook and the VPC Administrative Handbook. At the end of the permissions process, new schools will only be permitted to deliver the certificate and/or the appellation they have applied for.

This table describes the general overview of the process for new schools wishing to deliver VCE
Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
The school submits: Stage 1: Intent to apply form Stage 2: Application Curriculum and assessment plans for all Units 1 and 2 studies to be delivered in the next academic year Administrative requirements documents	The school submits: Stage 1: Intent to apply form Stage 2: Application Curriculum and assessment plans for selected sample of Units 1 and 2 studies to be delivered in the next academic year (this sample is determined by the VCAA as a risk assessment and accounts for school staffing capacity) Curriculum and assessment plans for all Units 3 and 4 studies to be delivered in the next academic year. Administrative requirements documents	The school submits: Stage 1: Intent to apply form Stage 2: Application Curriculum and assessment plans for all Units 3 and 4 studies planned for delivery Administrative requirements documents

New schools wishing to deliver VPC must complete the following:

Stage 1: Intent-to-apply

Intent to apply form

Stage 2: Application

Curriculum and assessment plans for all Units 1 and 2 studies to be delivered in the next academic year
Administrative requirements documents

Approval for Units 3 and 4 will be deemed if Unit 1 and 2 are considered low risk.

Schools expanding scope

When an established school who has been delivering the VCE wishes to expand its scope to deliver the VCE VM and/or the VPC they will need to complete the permission to deliver process as described below.

Schools expanding their scope complete a streamlined Administrative Requirements form. This process may be completed in a minimum of two years.

The VCAA will determine if a VCE VM and/or VPC provider is required to submit Administrative Requirements documentation for each year of the process. This decision will consider the provider’s context and other permission applications. For example, if the provider is only delivering VCE VM studies, the VCAA may determine that the Administration Requirements are compliant at Year 1 and not required for further submission in Years 2 or 3. This may also apply for VPC only providers.

Schools opening new campuses

Permission to deliver is granted at a provider level. This means if a school opens a new campus their permission to deliver will carry over to the new campus. If a school opens a new virtual campus, they will need to complete the Virtual campus administrative requirements form. This should occur in the year preceding delivery of the VCE and/or VPC for the first time as the new virtual campus. This can happen concurrently with the VRQA registration process.

School mergers

Where multiple schools are merging, the new merged school must submit the administrative requirements to ensure their new school set up is compliant to the requirements of the relevant certificate[s] they will be delivering. This should occur in the year preceding delivery of the VCE and/or VPC for the first time as the new school. This can happen concurrently with the VRQA registration process.

Advice for schools by sector

Government Schools

Before commencing their application, government schools must contact the Schools Registration Unit (SRU) of the Department of Education (DE). The SRU at DE advises schools on timelines and process and supports schools to complete their application. For queries, contact the DE School Registration Unit (SRU).

Government schools are mandated by DE to apply for permission to deliver the VCE VM and the VPC.

Catholic schools

Before commencing their application, Catholic schools must contact the Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA). They advise schools on timelines and processes and support schools to complete their application. The VCEA submits applications to the VCAA on their school’s behalf.

Independent schools

Independent schools submit their applications for permission to deliver the VCE and/or the VPC directly to the VCAA.

Specific guidance for non-school providers

Non-school providers (NSPs) are registered for a period of up to five years by the VRQA. NSPs apply for re-registration with the VRQA and re-permission with the VCAA at the end of the five-year period. This includes NSPs who deliver only VCE Dance, VCE Music or VCE Languages. NSPs must apply for all studies they wish to deliver and the relevant administrative requirements documentation.

If an NSP wishes to expand their scope during their period of registration, they apply to the VCAA for permission to deliver that additional study.

Community Languages Victoria

Community Languages Victoria (CLV) are a registered NSP with oversite of multiple campuses that deliver VCE Languages to students. As the registered body, CLV are required to demonstrate oversite of their campuses and policies relating to the administrative requirements of the VCE.

Stage 1: Intent to apply

All providers, no matter their provider type, applying for permission to deliver must submit an Intent to Apply form no later than 2 March 2026. All questions must be completed.

All providers must ensure they have contacted the VRQA prior to completing the intent to apply form.
Further to this:

Government schools must contact the DE School Registration unit within the Department of Education before commencing the permission to deliver process. All government school applications for permission to deliver are to be submitted directly to the VCAA.
Catholic schools must contact their respective Diocese before commencing the permission to deliver process. The Victorian Catholic Education Authority (VCEA) will submit applications on behalf of the school to the VCAA.

Intent to apply

Stage 2: Application

The application has two components, the administrative requirements and the curriculum and assessment requirements. Each component has a separate submission form and associated evidence, as outlined below.

1) Administrative Requirements

Providers must give evidence to demonstrate their capacity to manage the administrative requirements of the VCE and/or VPC, each year of the process.

2) Curriculum and Assessment Requirements

Providers are required to complete an application form for each VCE and/or VPC study they wish to deliver. The application forms include both an assessment task plan and a curriculum delivery plan and are listed below for every study. All questions must be completed.

This process involves two steps:

The VCAA Curriculum Division reviews all curriculum, assessment, and administrative documents for compliance and notifies providers upon completion.
Internal VCAA governance processes then determine formal approval, after which providers and relevant parties, including the VRQA, are informed.

Due Dates

This table describes the due dates
Provider type	Permission to deliver	Due date
School providers in the second or third year of the permission process. Non-school Providers Any existing VCE provider wishing to expand their scope to include VCE VM and/or VPC Any provider wishing to add a virtual campus. Any provider merging schools	VCE studies, including VM studies VPC studies	29 May 2026
All new school providers in first year of permission process	VCE studies, including VM studies VPC studies	26 June 2026

Administrative requirements

Curriculum and assessment plans