Australia
Students in Australia are issued a Senior Secondary Certificate of Education and other records of achievement when they complete their senior secondary education.
The age a student is able to leave school varies around Australia. Information about school structures in each state and territory, including school starting and leaving ages, can be found in the latest National Report on Schooling in Australia which is published on the ACARA website.
The Curriculum, Assessment and Certification Authority in each Australian state or territory (ACACA agency) is responsible for issuing the Senior Secondary Certificate for that state or territory.
Each ACACA agency manages the accreditation and assessment of the subjects that contribute to the state or territory’s Senior Secondary Certificate of Education.
Each ACACA agency provides a range of subjects in its Senior Secondary Certificate of Education. Within the range of subjects, the agencies adopt or adapt the 16 senior secondary Australian Curriculum subjects from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). For more information, see the ACARA website.
VET in the Senior Secondary Certificates of Education (SSCE)
The Curriculum, Assessment and Certification Authority in each state or territory recognises Vocational Education and Training (VET) in the context of its own Senior Secondary Certificate of Education. Students can undertake VET as part of a Senior Secondary Certificate and its completion by the student provides credit towards both a recognised VET qualification and a senior secondary school certificate within the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF).
The national Framework for vocational learning and VET delivered to secondary students is outlined in the Australian Government’s Preparing Secondary Students for Work Framework. See the Preparing Secondary Students for Work website for further details and associated resources.
The recognition arrangements for VET in each Australian SSCE are detailed in the ACACA VET Reports.
For key ACACA papers on VET in Senior Secondary Certificates see VET in SSCEs – VET Discussion and Position Papers.
New Zealand
Awards for completion of Years 10, 11 and 12 in New Zealand
Students in New Zealand are awarded National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA), which are national qualifications for senior secondary school students. Students are able to gain credits from both traditional school curriculum areas and alternative programmes. For more information, including the requirements for the award of an NCEA certificate, see the New Zealand Qualifications Authority website.
The Vocational Pathways provide new ways to achieve NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 and develop pathways that progress to further study, training and employment. More information can be found at Youth Guarantee.
