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The Standard | Term 1 2026
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Message from the Chief Executive
Dear colleagues,
I hope that the new school year has been positive so far for you, your teachers and students. As we approach the end of term 1, I'm excited to have the opportunity to be acting in the Chief Executive role and look forward to continued partnership and collaboration with you and your staff.
For this first SACE Board update of 2026, I want to recognise and celebrate the thousands of SACE students who made up the class of 2025. More than 17,000 students completed their SACE in 2025 (the most ever), there were more Aboriginal and country students, more students completing modified SACE, and more than 7,000 students studying Vocational Education and Training as part of their SACE. The dedication of students, families and educators was particularly evident as we celebrated the recent 2026 Governor’s Commendations and Merit Ceremony, where over 1,200 students were honoured for subject merits.
With the class of 2026 now navigating the school year, I want to thank those schools who have contributed to and showed interest in the SACE Board’s ambition to build a modern and responsive qualification for a changing world, namely through Subject Renewal and Capabilities within the SACE. Beyond these two landmark projects, we continue to learn and adapt in a landscape reshaped by Artificial Intelligence; our Engine Room continues to partner with SACE Coordinators to improve operational processes; and the global footprint of SACE International continues to expand.
It was a great pleasure recently to host our colleagues from the Northern Territory here in Adelaide. Together, we visited Morialta Secondary College, Open Access College, and Findon Technical College to spend time with innovative educators who are doing some amazing work to meet the needs of their student cohort.
Throughout 2026, I would love to come out to your schools and continue to speak to staff and students who are at the forefront of innovation.
To close on a personal note, I recently celebrated 15 years of service with the SACE Board and I feel more inspired than ever to work alongside you all in delivering innovative and transformational outcomes for our students. I look forward to your continued support and partnership as we navigate the complexities of strategic reform.
I wish you a restful school holiday break and all the best for term 2 and beyond.
Warm regards,
Hassan Mekawy
Acting Chief Executive
AI in SACE Assessment
Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the landscape of teaching, learning, assessment, and academic integrity in schools. As access to generative AI tools continues to grow, the SACE Board is closely monitoring the impacts and responding proactively to ensure assessments remain fair, robust, and reflective of genuine student learning.
AI is already influencing how students research, write, problem solve, and create. In 2026, our focus is on sharing practical and effective approaches to assessment design in SACE subjects, to support verification of student understanding while considering the opportunities that AI can present.
AI resilience through assessment conditions
We encourage a focus on the assessment conditions in Learning and Assessment Plans (LAPs) to ensure that tasks continue to produce meaningful, authentic evidence of student learning. We have updated our website with guidance on how teachers can design tasks with verifying assessment conditions that uphold integrity without stifling innovation.
Designing resilience into the system
Our program of Subject Renewal will continue embedding resilience and innovation into the heart of subjects — shifting the focus toward the key drivers of learning and emphasising natural, observable evidence of student learning. This systemic approach ensures that the SACE remains future ready as AI capabilities evolve.
What you can do now
To support high quality assessment design in your context, we encourage you to:
1. Use the Learning and Assessment Plan (LAP) review process
Our LAP review tool helps you test the resilience of your Learning and Assessment Plan (LAP) by identifying:
- The extent to which a task can be completed using AI without meaningful student input
- Practical adjustments to assessment conditions that can strengthen authenticity
2. Check out some sample 'AI resilient' Learning and Assessment Plans
Explore a sample set of annotated 'AI resilient' Learning and Assessment Plans that demonstrate verifying assessment conditions that improve AI resilience and support learning in a sample program.
3. Make continuous improvements
Minor adjustments — such as live writing, interviews, or process documentation — can significantly strengthen the authenticity of the evidence you collect. Visit our web site for examples of verifying assessment conditions that support learning.
4. Professional learning
Book in for our SACE learning and assessment in the age of AI professional learning event.
This community of practice event is designed to bring educators together in a collaborative, hands-on space to explore practical strategies for integrating artificial intelligence into learning and assessment, while addressing real-world challenges and opportunities in today’s classrooms.
Although this is an in-person event, the SACE Board will schedule online sessions later in term 2. Details to come.
If you have any questions, please contact askSACE on 1300 322 920 or email askSACE@sa.gov.au.
Subject Renewal
Subject Renewal is at the heart of the SACE Board’s Passport to Thrive strategy, designed to modernise curriculum, deepen disciplinary knowledge, and embed capabilities that prepare students to thrive.
We wish to express sincere thanks to the schools and Subject Renewal Group (SRG) members who have partnered with the SACE Board in the co-design process, especially group 1 subject teachers and students who have participated in testing, demonstrating their ongoing commitment to exploring the impact of this program.
Subject renewal has been complex and challenging, and we want to acknowledge the uncertainty and pressure that teachers and SRG members have worked through with us. Redesigning subject architecture and rethinking assessment has stretched our collective thinking, and at times created frustration or anxiety about the pace and scale of change. Yet this honest grappling has strengthened the work, and we are grateful to be undertaking it in genuine partnership with practitioners who continue to question, contribute, and co‑design alongside us.
Student agency spotlight
During 2025, our strongest area of impact was student agency, with clear evidence of increased ownership, engagement, and relevance. In the prototype learning and assessment tasks tested in classrooms, we also learnt that agency acts as an anchor, connecting self-direction, metacognition, and authentic learning.
“The task was definitely very self-guided, and I think that actually works really well with a lot of people, because it gives them more options to do something they would like to experience themselves instead of being told exactly what to do.” (Essential English student)
“One of the most noticeable impacts has been the sense of ownership students feel. By contributing ideas and taking on roles, they’ve transformed from passive participants to active creators.” (Music teacher)
Commitment to consultation
Across 2026, we will continue our deep consultation with Lead Practitioners, subject associations and other education leaders as subjects progress through the subject renewal roadmap.
In addition, as the first group of subjects draw closer to being presented for accreditation this year, we will be conducting our first broad community consultation. This will involve publishing our subject outline artefacts on the SACE website and inviting comment and feedback from all interested parties. Inviting perspectives from a diversity of experience will make the subjects richer and stronger.
Although community consultation is yet to be scheduled for 2026, we will keep the education community informed and updated.
Learn more about Subject Renewal on our website or contact askSACE with any inquiries on 1300 322 920 or askSACE@sa.gov.au
Capabilities within the SACE – Feasibility Program
Education research and leading global thinkers — including Professor Bill Lucas, who recently visited South Australia — continue to signal the urgent need to reimagine education and amplify the capabilities young people need to thrive in a rapidly changing and volatile world. With your support, the SACE Board has been a pioneer in exploring what this might look like, and in understanding the opportunities and challenges involved in strengthening the SACE qualification for all learners.
In 2026, this work enters an important new phase. The Capabilities within the SACE – Feasibility Program (2026–27) marks a transition from a pilot initiative to a formal feasibility stage, ensuring that capability development and recognition can support the broad diversity of SACE students across the system.
- Across four pilots (2022–2025), 50 participating schools demonstrated that:
- Students deeply value the opportunity to demonstrate their capabilities.
- Teachers can make valid and reliable judgements of student capabilities.
- School leaders, industry and tertiary partners recognise the value of capability development in preparing young people for the future.
Thank you to the schools who expressed interest in joining the continuing schools in 2026. We were thrilled to receive 40 expressions of interest, from which 10 schools have been selected based on criteria designed to maximise diversity across the program.
We also recognise the growing curiosity across the system and the desire to learn more. As this work progresses, we will continue to create opportunities for the broader education community — beyond the participating schools — to build a deeper understanding of the program and engage with aspects of this work.
If your site leadership is interested in learning more about this program, register your interest here
Learn more about the Capabilities within the SACE – Feasibility Program (2026-27) on our website or contact askSACE with any inquiries on 1300 322 920 or askSACE@sa.gov.au.
Engine Room
At the heart of the SACE Board’s Engine Room is our commitment to work in genuine partnership with schools to enhance systems and processes, ensuring they better support our stakeholders.
SACE Coordinator Information Sessions
The SACE Coordinator Information Sessions are a key example of this partnership in action. These sessions are designed to deliver essential operational information while also identifying opportunities for process and system improvements that enhance clarity, streamline workflows, and create efficiencies.
Delivered throughout term 1 in metropolitan, regional and online settings, the sessions engaged more than 180 SACE Coordinators. They created valuable opportunities for connection, knowledge sharing and the strengthening communities of practice across the system.
The session also strengthened our partnership with SACE Coordinators, highlighting how their insights and feedback directly inform the co-design of system and process improvements. Recent enhancements include the transition from manual forms to streamlined online self-service options, such as VET verification, Community Developed Learning and Exit Assessments in Schools Online. Together, these improvements reduce administrative burden and enable faster, more efficient processing.
Feedback from the sessions was positive, with participants particularly valuing user experience improvements for operational processes and the ongoing commitment to transition more processes online. We also learned there is an appetite for further engagement with the SACE Board, with strong sentiment around maintaining in-person sessions, bolstering the feeling of being heard and acknowledged.
SACE Coordinator Information Sessions are scheduled to take place again in term 3. Further details to be provided later this year.
Multi-Factor Authentication
As part of our ongoing commitment to system improvements, we will be rolling out multi-factor authentication (MFA) to all Schools Online users in 2026. MFA is a modern, simple and fast process that will provide stronger protection for sensitive data. While the schedule is not finalised, we will communicate in advance, to minimise any disruptions.
Our askSACE team is available to provide support and respond to any enquiries you may have. You can contact us via askSACE@sa.gov.au or 1300 322 920.
SACE Art Show
The works of 142 SACE Visual Art and Design students from across South Australia who completed the SACE in 2025 have been selected for display at the 2026 SACE Art Show.
Celebrated for more than 40 years, the SACE Art Show highlights how art is a powerful education tool to engage students, help them learn meaningfully, and amplify their voices on issues that matter to them most.
Featuring a wide range of artistic mediums including paintings, drawings, sculptures, costumes and multimedia works, the SACE Art Show is one of the largest secondary school art and design exhibitions in the state.
Identity, disconnection, body image, mental health, music, gaming and more have featured as themes in the creative expressions of these young artists. They exemplify the importance of art in education in providing opportunities for engagement and meaningful learning, offering creative outlets to highlight topics and issues that are important to young people and to society at large.
On the opening night, the following awards were presented by our generous sponsors:
- Minister for Human Services Regional Encouragement Award: Tesha Kugena and Oliver Tarrant
- Minister for Human Services SACE Art Show Poster Award: Isobel Reid
- Flinders University Visual Arts Award: Sana Shafiei
- Visual Arts Educators South Australia Packing Room Prize: Marlo Planchon Allen
- Independent Education Union SACE Art Show Award: Alexis Guerra
- Eckersley’s Art and Craft Encouragement Award: Teresa Kennedy
- Adelaide Central School of Art Award: Tyler Atkinson
- Australian Education Union SACE Art Show Award: Keira Holberton
Exhibition Details
17 March – 10 April
9am – 4pm Monday to Friday
10am – 3pm Saturday
Closed on public holidays
Light Square Gallery, Adelaide College of the Arts
39 Light Square, Adelaide
School groups and members of the public are invited to visit the exhibition. Learn more, explore our online gallery and book your visit to the 2026 SACE Art Show on our website.
SACE International update
New SACE International website
The SACE Board is pleased to launch our enhanced SACE International website, a streamlined global hub for our overseas schools, educators and partners.
The new site provides clearer program information, improved decision-making resources, a comprehensive multilingual marketing toolkit, and inspiring student stories and case studies. It is designed to better support school leaders, teachers, marketing, counselling and recruitment teams across our growing network of schools within the Asia Pacific region. The new website is your go-to resource.
Discover more at sacei.edu.au
Share your feedback at sace.international@sa.gov.au
Regional Professional Learning Workshop
SACE International educators are invited to a two‑day professional learning workshop in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia designed to deepen understanding of the SACE and strengthen teachers’ capacity to support student success. Guided by the theme Connect to Thrive, the workshop emphasises the power of connection — between teachers, schools, and ideas — to help students flourish in diverse international learning environments.
Subject‑specific streams—covering English as an Additional Language (EAL), Mathematics, Sciences, and Business and Humanities—provide targeted opportunities to enhance expertise, exchange approaches, and build confidence in SACE curriculum delivery.
This professional learning experience offers an opportunity to:
- Deepen understanding of SACE curriculum
- Explore effective approaches to help SACE students thrive
- Share knowledge and experiences with colleagues
- Build professional networks that support ongoing collaboration across the region
We look forward to welcoming the SACE International teaching community for two days of purposeful learning, connection, and shared commitment to student success.
Results
We are currently processing results for our SACE International schools in the Northern Hemisphere, and final results will be available to those students on Monday 18 May.
We extend our best wishes to all Northern Hemisphere students as they undertake their examinations from 9–16 April 2026. Teachers can access examination preparation materials, which are available on the SACE International SharePoint site and PLATO Connect Communities of Practice for Mathematical Methods, Specialist Mathematics and English as an Additional Language (EAL).