2019 HSC malpractice data
This data reports on the breaches and offences that were committed in HSC assessments in 2019. Find the number of offences committed, the proportion of breaches across subjects and the breach by assessment type.
About assessment breaches and offences
Every year NESA receives a small number of reports on HSC students breaching the rules of exams or school-based HSC assessments.
Previous years' statistics and malpractice information can be found on:
Number of offences by course
In 2019, a total of 222 schools registered 670 offences in school-based assessments, involving 595 students.
View the table for a breakdown of the penalties imposed for this offence.
| Course | Number of offences | Offences per 1000 students |
|---|---|---|
| English Standard | 91 | 3.0 |
| Biology | 51 | 2.7 |
| English Advanced | 45 | 1.8 |
| Modern History | 45 | 4.0 |
| Personal Dev, Health & PE | 38 | 2.4 |
| Mathematics Standard 2 | 36 | 1.2 |
| Business Studies | 34 | 1.9 |
| English Studies | 34 | 4.1 |
| Industrial Technology | 34 | 6.0 |
| Board Endorsed Course | 29 | 1.5 |
| Chemistry | 20 | 1.9 |
| Community & Family Studies | 17 | 2.0 |
| Legal Studies | 15 | 1.4 |
| Physics | 15 | 1.8 |
| Ancient History | 14 | 1.9 |
| All other courses | 153 | 1.3 |
Assessment types and total number of offences
Use the graph to see the total number of HSC assessment breaches. Use the accordions to view details about the type of offence that was committed for the different assessment types.
Overview
In 2019 there were:
- 431 take-home written task offences
- 88 timed examination offences
- 72 project offences
- 45 other offences
- 20 oral examination offences
- 15 practical assessment offences.
There was a total of 431 take-home written assessment breaches in 2019
View the table for a breakdown of the types of offences that were imposed.
| Offence type | Total number of offences | Percentage of all offences |
|---|---|---|
| Plagiarism | 323 | 75% |
| Other | 37 | 9% |
| Collusion | 33 | 8% |
| Late submissions | 32 | 7% |
| Unacknowledged assistance | 3 | <1% |
| Making a false claim | 2 | <1% |
| Unauthorised notes | 1 | <1% |
There was a total of 88 timed examination breaches in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the types of offences that were imposed.
| Offence type | Total number of offences | Percentage of all offences |
|---|---|---|
| Use electronic device | 23 | 26% |
| Unauthorised notes | 21 | 24% |
| Other | 16 | 18% |
| Unauthorised access | 9 | 10% |
| Collusion | 7 | 8% |
| Unauthorised alteration | 6 | 7% |
| Plagiarism | 3 | 3% |
| Making a false claim | 2 | 2% |
| Offensive behaviour | 1 | 1% |
There was a total of 72 project breaches in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the types of offences that were imposed.
| Offence type | Total number of offences | Percentage of all offences |
|---|---|---|
| Plagiarism | 49 | 68% |
| Collusion | 10 | 14% |
| Late submissions | 6 | 8% |
| Other | 4 | 6% |
| Unacknowledged assistance | 2 | 3% |
| Making a false claim | 1 | 1% |
There was a total of 45 other assessment breaches in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the types of offences that were imposed.
| Offence type | Total number of offences | Percentage of all offences |
|---|---|---|
| Plagiarism | 19 | 42% |
| Other | 9 | 20% |
| Unauthorised notes | 7 | 16% |
| Late submissions | 6 | 13% |
| Making a false claim | 3 | 7% |
| Electronic device usage | 1 | 2% |
There was a total of 20 oral examination breaches in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the types of offences that were imposed.
| Offence type | Total number of offences | Percentage of all offences |
|---|---|---|
| Plagiarism | 18 | 90% |
| Unauthorised notes | 1 | 5% |
| Collusion | 1 | 5% |
There was a total of 15 practical assessment breaches in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the types of offences that were imposed.
| Offence type | Total number of offences | Percentage of all offences |
|---|---|---|
| Plagiarism | 5 | 33% |
| Late submissions | 3 | 20% |
| Other | 5 | 33% |
| Make a false claim | 1 | 7% |
| Unauthorised access | 1 | 7& |
Offence types and total penalties imposed
Use the graph to see an overview of the total number of penalties imposed for each offence type. Use the accordions to view details about each offence type.
Overview
In 2019 there were:
- 417 plagiarism penalties
- 71 other penalties
- 51 collusion penalties
- 47 late submission penalties
- 30 unauthorised notes penalties
- 24 electronic device usage penalties
- 10 unauthorised access penalties
- 9 false claim penalties
- 6 unauthorised alteration penalties
- 5 unacknowledged assistance penalties
- 1 offensive behaviour penalty.
There was a total of 417 plagiarism offences. This makes up 62% of all offences in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the penalties imposed for this offence.
| Penalty | Total number | Percentage of all penalties for this offence |
|---|---|---|
| Zero marks | 233 | 56% |
| Reduced marks | 165 | 40% |
| Warning | 16 | 4% |
| Other | 3 | <1% |
There was a total of 71 other offences. This makes up 11% of all offences in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the penalties imposed for this offence.
| Penalty | Total number | Percentage of all penalties for this offence |
|---|---|---|
| Zero marks | 50 | 70% |
| Warning | 11 | 15% |
| Reduced marks | 8 | 11% |
There was a total of 51 collusion with other students offences. This makes up 8% of all offences in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the penalties imposed for this offence.
| Penalty | Total number | Percentage of all penalties for this offence |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced marks | 29 | 57% |
| Zero marks | 13 | 25% |
| Warning | 9 | 18% |
There was a total of 47 late submission offences. This makes up 7% of all offences in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the penalties imposed for this offence.
| Penalty | Total number | Percentage of all penalties for this offence |
|---|---|---|
| Zero marks | 27 | 57% |
| Reduced marks | 12 | 26% |
| Warning | 8 | 17% |
There was a total of 30 possessing or using unauthorised notes offences. This makes up 4% of all offences in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the penalties imposed for this offence.
| Penalty | Total number | Percentage of all penalties for this offence |
|---|---|---|
| Zero marks | 25 | 83% |
| Reduced marks | 5 | 17% |
There was a total of 24 electronic device usage offences. This makes up 4% of all offences in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the penalties imposed for this offence.
| Penalty | Total number | Percentage of all penalties for this offence |
|---|---|---|
| Zero marks | 20 | 83% |
| Reduced marks | 3 | 13% |
| Other | 1 | 4% |
There was a total of 10 unauthorised access offences. This makes up less than 1% of all offences in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the penalties imposed for this offence.
| Penalty | Total number | Percentage of all penalties for this offence |
|---|---|---|
| Zero marks | 5 | 50% |
| Reduced marks | 3 | 30% |
| Warning | 2 | 20% |
There was a total of 9 false claim offences. This makes up 1% of all offences in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the penalties imposed for this offence.
| Penalty | Total number | Percentage of all penalties for this offence |
|---|---|---|
| Zero marks | 4 | 44% |
| Reduced marks | 3 | 33% |
| Other | 2 | 22% |
There was a total of 6 unauthorised alteration offences. This makes up less than 1% of all offences in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the penalties imposed for this offence.
| Penalty | Total number | Percentage of all penalties for this offence |
|---|---|---|
| Zero marks | 4 | 67% |
| Reduced marks | 1 | 17% |
| Warning | 1 | 17% |
There was a total of 5 unacknowledged assistance offences. This makes up 1% of all offences in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the penalties imposed for this offence.
| Penalty | Total number | Percentage of all penalties for this offence |
|---|---|---|
| Reduced marks | 3 | 60% |
| Warning | 1 | 20% |
| Other | 1 | 20% |
There was a total of 1 offensive behaviour offences. This makes up less than 1% of all offences in 2019.
View the table for a breakdown of the penalties imposed for this offence.
| Penalty | Total number | Percentage of all penalties for this offence |
|---|---|---|
| Zero marks | 1 | <1% |
Examination breaches
In 2019 the following numbers were penalised by the Examination Rules Committee:
- 153 cases of non-serious attempts
- 82 cases (projects penalised) for the non-certification of projects
- 34 students with 35 offences for the breach of examination rules and malpractice.