Previous years' disability provisions statistics

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About the statistics

Disability provisions allow students to participate in the examination process and show markers what they know and can do.

Applicants approved for disability provisions do not receive additional marks. Provisions are not intended to provide any advantage.

For the statistics on the most recent HSC year view:

Disability provision school statistics

Search NSW schools with disability provisions applications:

Total applications by school sector

View a summary of the total number of disability applications for schools between 2019 to 2021.

Use the dropdowns to view the number of applications for the school sector categorised by year.

Year	Number of schools with HSC examination students	Schools with HSC students applying for disability provisions	Percentage of schools with HSC students applying for disability provisions
2022	843	756	89.7%
2021	829	745	89.%
2020	822	728	88.6%
2019	822	716	87.1%

2022

By school sector	Number of schools with HSC examination students	Schools with HSC students applying for disability provisions	Percentage of schools with HSC students applying for disability provisions
Government	461	408	88.5%
Catholic (Syst)	111	109	98.2%
Independent	271	239	88.2%
Total	843	756	89.7%

2021

School sector	Number of schools with HSC examination students	Schools with HSC students applying for disability provisions	Percentage of schools with HSC students applying for disability provisions
Government	459	410	89.3%
Catholic (Syst)	109	107	98.2%
Independent	261	228	87.4%

2020

School sector	Number of schools with HSC examination students	Schools with HSC students applying for disability provisions	Percentage of schools with HSC students applying for disability provisions
Government	456	395	86.6%
Catholic (Syst)	109	107	98.2%
Independent	257	226	87.9%

2019

School sector	Number of schools with HSC examination students	Schools with HSC students applying for disability provisions	Percentage of schools with HSC students applying for disability provisions
Government	459	390	85.0%
Catholic (Syst)	107	105	98.1%
Independent	256	221	86.3%

Summary of students by school sector

Use the dropdowns to view the total number and percentage of students with disability applications between 2019 and 2022, and the total for each school sector.

Use the graphs to see the overall percentage of disability provision applications from each of the school sector between 2019 and 2022.

The total number of exam students includes self-tuition students.

2022 Summary

The following are the percentages from the schooling sectors of HSC students who had disability provisions applications in 2022:

Government schools – 11.1%
Independent schools – 18.5%
Catholic schooling system – 13.8%
Total applications across school sectors for the HSC – 13.6%.

2022 total and percentages of applications

View the total percentage and number of applications across the Government, Independent and Catholic System schooling sectors for 2022.

Total applications

School sector	Total exam students	Total disability provisions applications	Fully approved	Partially approved	Fully declined
Government	38,262	4,246	2,966	1,165	115
Catholic System	12,832	1,770	1,212	475	83
Independent	19,495	3,600	2,377	1,083	140
Total number	70,591*	9,616	6,555	2,723	338

* The total number of exam students included self-tuition students.

Percentage of applications

School sector	Percentage of total disability provisions applications	Percentage fully approved	Percentage partially approved	Percentage fully decline
Government	44.2%	69.9%	27.4%	2.7%
Catholic System	18.4%	68.5%	26.8%	4.7%
Independent	37.4%	66.0%	30.1%	3.9%
Total percentage	N/A	68.2%	28.3%	3.5%

2021 Summary

The following are the percentages from the school sector of HSC students who had disability provisions applications in 2021:

Government schools – 10.7%
Independent schools – 17.8%
Catholic schooling system – 14%
Total applications across school sectors for the HSC – 13.2%.

2021 total and percentages of applications

View the total percentage and number of applications across the Government, Independent and Catholic System school sector for 2021.

Total applications

School sector	Total exam students	Total disability provisions applications	Fully approved	Partially approved	Fully declined
Government	39,489	4,207	2,955	1,100	152
Catholic System	12,779	1,786	1,169	544	73
Independent	19,595	3,493	2,337	1,030	126
Total number	71,863	9,486	6,461	2,674	351

Percentage of applications

School sector	Percentage of total disability provisions applications	Percentage fully approved	Percentage partially approved	Percentage fully decline
Government	44.3%	70.2%	26.1%	3.6%
Catholic System	18.8%	65.5%	30.5%	4.1%
Independent	36.8%	66.9%	29.5%	3.6%
Total percentage	N/A	68.1%	28.2%	3.7%

2020 summary

The following are the percentages from the school sector of HSC students who had disability provisions applications in 2020:

Government schools – 9.8%
Independent schools – 12.8%
Catholic schooling system – 16.4%
Total applications across school sectors for the HSC – 12.1%

2020 total and percentages of applications

View the total percentage and number of applications across the Government, Independent and Catholic System school sectors for 2020.

Total applications

School sector	Total exam students	Total disability provisions applications	Fully approved	Partially approved	Fully declined
Government	40,037	3,904	2,687	1,087	130
Catholic System	12,766	1,634	1,098	468	69
Independent	19,110	3,129	2,114	918	97
Total number	71,913	8,667	5,899	2,473	296

Percentage of applications

School sector	Percentage of total disability provisions applications	Percentage fully approved	Percentage partially approved	Percentage fully decline
Government	45%	68.8%	27.8%	3.3%
Catholic System	18.9%	67.2%	28.6%	4.2%
Independent	36.1%	67.6%	29.3%	3.1%
Total percentage	N/A	68.1%	28.5%	3.4%

2019 summary

The following are the percentages from the school sector of HSC students who had disability provisions applications in 2019:

Government schools – 8.5%
Independent schools – 11.0%
Catholic schooling system – 14.3%
Total applications across school sectors for the HSC – 10.5%

2019 total and percentages of applications

View the total percentage and number of applications across the Government, Independent and Catholic System school sector for 2019.

Total applications

School sector	Total exam students	Total disability provisions applications	Fully approved	Partially approved	Fully declined
Government	39,196	3,322	2,245	953	124
Catholic System	12,732	1,396	930	406	60
Independent	18,663	2,675	1,727	834	114
Total number	70,591	7,393	4,902	2,193	298

Percentage of applications

School sector	Percentage of total disability provisions applications	Percentage fully approved	Percentage partially approved	Percentage fully decline
Government	44.9%	67.6%	28.7%	3.7%
Catholic System	18.9%	66.6%	29.1%	4.3%
Independent	36.2%	64.6%	31.2%	4.3%
Total percentage	N/A	66.3%	29.7%	4.0%

Types of provisions

This table displays most of the disability provisions available to students and the number of students approved for each provision from 2019 to 2022.

Provision types

Provision	2019	2020	2021	2022	Details
Assistance	129	174	191	204	Approved for students who require assistance in negotiating the examination, for example, an aide to turn pages or prompt student with an obsessive condition to move to the next question.
Bite-sized food*	251	306	305	265	Approved for students who have a medical need for regular nutrition.
Black and white paper	17	26	24	23	Approved for students with colour blindness who cannot interpret the colour material in Geography or Visual Arts.
Coloured lenses / overlay	153	148	146	105	Approved for students who need coloured filters to address glare or print distortion
Diabetic provisions	216	228	201	214	Approved for students with diabetes who need to check their blood glucose level and possibly take remedial action.
Drink*	216	227	226	158	Approved for students who have a medical reason for regular hydration, or who require a drink such as glucose or electrolytes. Note: all students may take water in a clear container into the examinations.
Examiner aware	54	77	0	39	Approved for performance examinations where the examiner may mistake a pre-existing condition (such as a stutter) for performance anxiety.
Extra time	947	1,056	1,095	1,105	Approved for students with demonstrated vision or cognitive disability or very limited reading ability. Additional two and a half minutes or five minutes per half hour. See also reader or extra time.
Extra time - work or rest	5	7	3	1	Approved for students who require both extra time and rest breaks, but not cumulatively. Additional five minutes per half hour.
Extra time to type	5	11	16	5	Approved for students granted a computer with a very slow demonstrated typing speed; conditions such as cerebral palsy.
Extra time to write	272	333	380	354	Approved for students with demonstrated slow writing speed on extended responses. Additional 2.5 minutes per half hour.
Feeding breaks	1	2	3	2	Approved for recent mothers who need to feed their baby regularly. This is not a disability but uses the provision application process.
Heat or ice pack*	139	177	141	131	Approved for students with shown to be alleviated by this provision.
Hospital or alternative venue	84	134	115	132	Approved for students currently in hospital, or unable to attend a school due to medical or psychological conditions.
Illness/misadventure if required	1	1	1	0	Advised to students with an irregular condition such as migraine that is better supported by an illness/misadventure appeal should it occur during an exam.
Individual audio CD	16	6	4	0	Approved for students who have a hearing disability which affects their access to a listening examination in the examination centre.
Individual instructions*	133	132	118	100	Approved for students with hearing or attention disabilities who may not hear general announcements.
Individual supervision	169	224	213	245	Approved for students who are unable to sit with other students, generally for reasons such as anxiety or vocal tics.
Medication*	305	397	346	267	Approved for students with a medical need to take prescribed medication at regular intervals.
Modified examination paper	196	299	425	219	Approved for students with a demonstrated need for modified examination papers such as enlarged print, a split paper or inability to use mathematical instruments.
Oral and/or Sign interpreter	42	50	23	17	Approved for students who communicate by lip reading and/or signing.
Personal computer	69	114	95	100	Approved for students with a demonstrated handwriting disability and for whom no other provision (rest, extra time or writer) is shown to be effective.
Reader	1,167	1,358	1,382	1,475	Approved for students with low reading ability, as demonstrated on an accepted reading test.
Reader OR extra time	246	282	309	348	Approved for students with very low reading ability who may elect at each examination to use a reader OR extra time
Rescheduled examination	40	51	55	35	Approved for students with a condition such as cystic fibrosis, chronic fatigue or sleep apnea who are unable to sit an examination at the scheduled time.
Rest breaks	4,657	5,917	6,732	6,924	Approved for students with demonstrated pain, anxiety disorder or concentration issues who have difficulty completing the examination without a break. Provided as five minutes per half hour without access to examination paper or responses.
Special furniture*	298	402	367	341	Approved for students requiring special furniture such as a tilted desk, padded chair or footrest.
Special lighting*	153	154	162	123	Approved for students with vision disability who have problems with fluorescent or artificial lighting.
Stand / stretch*	575	746	756	747	Approved for students with chronic pain or concentration disability that prevents sitting for an extended period.
Thesaurus/dictionary	39	43	21	14	Approved for students with a moderate to profound hearing loss.
Toilet breaks	160	188	182	177	Approved for students with an infection or chronic condition that requires frequent or extended visits to the toilet.
Towel*	27	31	31	41	Approved for students with hyperhidrosis who need to dry their hands frequently.
Varied seating*	425	446	447	362	Approved for students who require particular seating, for example students with a hearing or vision disability which requires sitting at the front, or students needing to sit near a window or exit.
Ventilation provisions*	36	47	47	44	Approved for students who require a controlled temperature range.
Vision aids*	14	31	19	24	Approved for students who require magnification or other vision assistance.
Writer	807	909	867	921	Approved for students unable to write/type (fracture or sprain), persistent pain when writing/typing, illegible writing or poor spelling. Includes additional five minutes per half hour to compensate for dictation.
Various other provisions	220	347	355	516	Provisions approved for a very small number of students, for example, brailler, audio headphones* or talking calculator.
* refers to a provision approved by the principal under delegation from NESA. Students may be approved for more than 1 provision (for example, a reader and a writer).