Agency information guide

This guide explains what types of information NESA holds and how to access it. You have rights to access NESA's information under the GIPA Act, which promotes open, accountable and fair government. 

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Introduction

NESA publishes an Agency Information Guide in accordance with section 20 of the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act). Its purpose is to provide general information on the:

  • structure and functions of NESA
  • ways in which the functions of NESA affect members of the public
  • specific arrangements in place to enable members of the public to participate in the creation of NESA policy and the exercise of NESA functions
  • kinds of government information held by NESA and what is made publicly available
  • how NESA makes government information publicly available
  • kinds of information that will be publicly available either free or for a fee.

This Guide is reviewed regularly and updated at least every 12 months.

About us

NESA is an independent NSW Government agency, under the Education Standards Authority Act 2013. NESA replaced the Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW (BOSTES) on 1 January 2017.

NESA supports the school sectors to deliver the best possible outcomes for students. To achieve this, NESA sets and monitors quality in:

  • teaching
  • learning
  • assessment
  • school standards.

NESA has responsibility across NSW public, Catholic and independent schools for:

  • the Kindergarten to Year 12 Curriculum
  • accreditation of teachers and teaching degrees
  • development, content and application of professional teaching standards
  • giving Records of School Achievement and Higher School Certificates
  • basic skills testing
  • school compliance with registration requirements.

NESA also:

  • administers the program for home schooling registration under delegation from the Minister for Education
  • approves teacher accreditation authorities for non-government schools and early childhood education centres
  • approves schools to deliver courses to overseas students
  • administers the Australian Music Examination Board (NSW) (AMEB)
  • provides corporate services support to the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group.

Learn more about NESA

Our functions

Our functions are given by the education and teaching legislation:

Our Charter outlines NESA's:

  • mission and purpose
  • objectives and functions
  • standards
  • values and operating principles
  • the role of the Board.

NESA has also developed a Commitment to Aboriginal Education in partnership with the Aboriginal Education Consultative Group NSW (AECG).

For more detail about NESA's purpose and functions see who we are. 

Organisational structure

A Board of Governance oversees NESA's:

  • strategic direction
  • regulatory functions
  • financial governance.

For further information about NESA's structure and the board, see:

Contact and complaints

For contact information including how to visit our office and details of who to contact for specific requests, see contact us.

If there is a problem, you can make a complaint online or by downloading the complaint form (DOCX 28.13KB).

How NESA engages with stakeholders

NESA actively encourages and values participation and feedback from stakeholders and the wider community. NESA's stakeholders include:

  • the Minister for Education
  • the NESA Board and its Committees
  • schools
  • teachers
  • students
  • parents
  • tertiary education sector
  • researchers
  • employers
  • community
  • staff.

To find out more about how we engage with our stakeholders see what we do.

Information held

NESA holds a range of information, including:

  • policies, guidelines and manuals to assist stakeholders to implement and maintain education standards
  • procedures and planning documents
  • documents on the internal administration of the agency
  • internal working papers of the agency
  • correspondence with Ministers and other NSW Government agencies
  • correspondence with our stakeholders and authorities in other jurisdictions
  • preliminary and HSC syllabuses and course information
  • records of school achievement and academic results for the HSC
  • results of basic skills testing
  • registration and accreditation information about schools, teacher accreditation authorities and school providers
  • information about the accreditation of teachers
  • curriculum resources for students, parents and teachers including special needs information
  • HSC exam advice and resources, including past exam papers, standards materials including sample responses and multiple choice quizzes
  • bulletins and newsletters for students, teachers and schools
  • statistical data relating to our core functions.

Information available for a charge

You can apply for a range of educational documents as proof or recognition of your studies. There are also educational resources available for purchase to support students' studies. 

Replacement certificates and exam results

You can apply for replacement certificates and exam results of your:

  • Higher School Certificate (1967 onwards)
  • Tertiary Entrance Score (TES)/Tertiary Entrance Rank (TER) (1988–1996)
  • School Certificate (1965–2011)
  • Record of School Achievement (RoSA) (2012 onwards)
  • Year 11 Preliminary Certificate (1988–2012)
  • Leaving Certificate (1913–1966)
  • Intermediate Certificate (1912–1966).

Equivalent certificates

If you have secondary education qualifications from another country or Australian state or territory, you can apply for a Statement of Equivalence to have your education recognised in NSW.

HSC results check, mark reports and exam responses

See HSC results services for the:

  • HSC Results Check to verify student marks were correctly processed.
  • HSC Raw Marks Report which lists the raw mark a student was allocated for each examination question and student’s raw examination mark in a course.
  • HSC Examination Responses to request a copy of student examination responses for each course the student studied that had a written examination.

Resources sold through the NESA shop

Visit the NESA shop to buy:

  • HSC exam workbooks
  • Effective Classroom Practice K-6
  • syllabus and support document products such as Creative Arts K-6, PDHPE K-10, Technology Mandatory 7-8, Science and Technology K-6, Geography K-6, History K-10
  • Young Writers Showcase
  • Encore CDs
  • resources for teachers, parents and students.

How to access NESA's information

You can access NESA's information in the following four ways:

Open access information (mandatory release)

The GIPA Act makes it necessary for us to freely provide the following information:

  • an information guide describing our structure and functions, how those functions affect the community, the type of information NESA holds and how the information is available
  • documents tabled in Parliament by or on behalf of NESA
  • NESA's policy documents
  • a disclosure log of information released under formal access applications that may be of interest to the community
  • a register of contracts that NESA has with private sector organisations with a value of $150,000 and over
  • a record of the open access information that is not made public due to an overriding public interest against releasing that information.

Authorised proactive release

In addition to the mandatory release requirements, NESA proactively releases other information that might be of interest to the public. This includes annual statistical information about the HSC, disability provisions and illness or misadventure applications and appeals.

NESA reviews the proactive release program every 12 months to identify the kinds of government information that can be made publicly available.

Informal release

NESA routinely provides information on request where there is no overriding public interest against disclosure. This includes requests for data in relation to academic research.

NESA may impose conditions on your use or disclosure of information that is released in response to your informal request.

Request informal release information

If you would like to request information related to research then contact the Psychometrics and Analytics team for assistance. For other information requests, where the information is not available on our website, you can contact the Right to Information Officer.

Access application (formal release)

Making a formal access application is considered the ‘last resort’ for requesting government information, where the information you are seeking is:

  • not available on this website, and
  • is not otherwise routinely provided by NESA on request.

You do have a legally enforceable right to formally apply for access to specific information. However NESA will not release information if there is an overriding public interest against its disclosure.

Access applications are subject to application fees and processing charges.

If NESA holds your personal or health information, you can request access to it using the GIPA Act, the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act) or the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 (HRIP Act). There are different fees, processing times and review rights depending on which Act you choose to apply under. See NESA's Privacy Management Plan for how to access and amend personal and health information.

How do I make a formal access application?

The GIPA Act requires that formal access applications meet the following requirements. Your application must:

  • be in writing
  • be lodged with the correct agency
  • state that you are seeking the information under the GIPA Act
  • include your name and your postal or email address for a response
  • be clear and specific about the information you seek, so that it can be identified
  • include the $30 application fee.

You can make a formal application by downloading and completing our access to government information form (PDF 639.4KB) and sending it, together with the $30 application fee to the Right to Information Officer.

You can contact the Right to Information Officer by email, phone or post:

Obtaining information by subpoena or for law enforcement purposes

Subpoenas to produce documents must be accompanied by conduct money of $30.00. Subpoenas or information requests for law enforcement purposes should be addressed to The Proper Officer. 

Contact by email, phone or post:

Role of Information Commissioner under the GIPA Act

The Information Commissioner has an independent regulatory oversight role over agencies’ compliance with the GIPA Act. This includes:

  • review of decisions made under the GIPA Act
  • investigation and reporting on the exercise by agencies of their functions under and compliance with the GIPA Act
  • investigation of complaints made about an agency’s conduct in carrying out its functions under the GIPA Act.

The Information Commissioner is also:

  • an investigating authority under the Public Interest Disclosures Act 1994, and
  • the NSW Open Data Advocate.

For more information on accessing government information, you can contact the Information and Privacy Commission NSW by email, phone or post:

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