VCE and HSC Chinese: which course you can take, and how to crack each exam

Which Chinese course can you take?

Check which course you're allowed into before you plan anything else. Each state writes its own rules, and they test up to three things: years at a school taught in Chinese, time lived where Chinese is spoken, and Chinese at home.

The rules exist because early exposure is a big head start. WA's authority cites research showing that children who grow up with a language, or go to school in it, outpace classroom learners.

We read each authority's current rules. Here's what each state's second-language course allows:

Sources: VCAA's VCE Administrative Handbook 2027, NESA's course criteria, SCSA's criteria for WACE language courses, SACE information sheets 05 and 06, and QCAA's Chinese syllabus, all read 5 November 2026.

If you're over a limit, there's still a course for you. Victoria offers Second Language Advanced and First Language, NSW has Chinese in Context and Chinese and Literature, WA has Background and First Language, and SA has background speakers.

Speaking Chinese at home: it depends on your state

Victoria's rules test only your schooling and your time overseas, so Chinese at home doesn't rule you out. The handbook even lists "the language spoken in the student's home" among things that aren't grounds for an exception.

NSW used to bar students who spoke the language outside class. NESA removed that rule from Term 3 2022. In one of its own case studies, a girl who speaks Chinese with her parents is turned away from Continuers only because of four years at a bilingual school.

WA is the strictest. Its Second Language course doesn't allow you to use Chinese outside class with anyone who speaks it, and Background Language takes in students who do.

SA sits in between. Its guide says how often you use Chinese matters only when combined with schooling and long stays overseas, and its background speakers course is open to everyone. Queensland has no eligibility test at all.

One more detail matters in NSW, WA and SA: Cantonese, Hokkien and other dialects count as Chinese. So a Cantonese-speaking student is treated as a Chinese speaker.

How to apply, and when

Every state but Queensland wants evidence, such as overseas school reports and travel records. Start early, because some deadlines fall a year before you need the course:

• Victoria. Units 1 and 2 need no approval, but your school applies to the VCAA before you start Units 3 and 4. If you've lived overseas, you'll need an International Movement Record from the Department of Home Affairs. This year, the deadline for next year's students was 9 October.
• NSW. You apply to your principal, with a signed statutory declaration, before you enrol. You have a week to ask for a review, and then a week to appeal to NESA.
• WA. You lodge a Language Application on SCSA's student portal in Year 10, by late July or August depending on your school.
• SA. You hand your principal Form 8 for continuers or Form 7 for beginners. Background speakers needs no form.

Not sure where you fall? We built this checker from the same rules. Pick your state and answer four questions:

It can't decide for you. Your principal or the authority does, from your documents, so treat its answer as the question to ask at school.

Every course's exams on one page

Every course mixes school assessment with a final exam that has a spoken and a written part. Queensland is the exception: its orals are all school tasks.

We read each exam's official specification. Here's how the final exams compare:

Sources: VCAA's exam specifications and handbook; NESA's assessment pages for Continuers, Beginners and Extension; QCAA's 2025 syllabus; SCSA's Year 12 syllabus for 2027; SACE's Stage 2 subject outline.

In every state except Queensland, you may take a printed dictionary into the written exam; Queensland's final exam allows none. Victoria, NSW and WA don't let you use one while you speak in the oral.

These are the changes for students sitting in 2026 or 2027:

• Victoria. The current study designs now run to the end of 2027, so the 2027 exams keep today's format.
• NSW Extension. The prescribed text is now the film Nice View, first examined in 2026.
• NSW school tasks. From late 2026, schools may set only one take-home task, worth no more than 15%.
• Queensland. A new syllabus was first examined in 2026, with a multimodal presentation and interview as its biggest school task.
• SA. Since 2025, the oral is a conversation about your own world only, and the in-depth study counts for more in school.
• WA. A new Year 12 syllabus starts in 2027, but we compared its exam briefs with the current ones and found no change.

What a top result takes: scores, bands and scaling

Each state reports results its own way, and the numbers behind them tell you how hard a top result is.

Victoria: a study score, then scaling

Your study score runs from 0 to 50 and shows your rank among everyone who took the study. VTAC then scales it for your ATAR, and Chinese Second Language scales up more than any other Chinese study.

Here's what two typical study scores counted for in 2025:

Source: VTAC's 2025 scaling report. Its 2022 to 2024 reports also put Second Language first, and a 30 in it scaled to between 40 and 42 each year.

Scaling isn't a reason to pick a course, because your history picks it for you. It does mean that a solid Second Language result lifts your ATAR more than the same score in English.

Some university courses also add points for a language. At Monash, for 2027 entry, Arts adds two for any language you complete, but Commerce, Science, Engineering and Law add none. Check each course you're applying for.

NSW: bands, and a course that keeps growing

Your HSC mark is the average of your school's assessment mark and your exam mark, and a mark of 90 or more puts you in the top band. In Continuers, that band has become common.

Since NSW dropped its home-language rule, the Continuers class has grown by about three quarters in two years:

Source: NESA's performance band statistics for each year. The rule changed in Term 3 2022, so students who chose courses under it first sat the HSC in 2024.

We can't prove the rule change caused the growth, but the timing fits. Either way, more than half the class now reaches Band 6, so the top of the course is crowded.

Scaling tells a different story for each course. UAC scales every mark out of 50 per unit, and here's where the three courses landed in 2025:

Source: UAC's Report on the scaling of the 2025 NSW HSC, Table A3. The 2023 and 2024 reports rank the three Chinese courses the same way.

Beginners is small and splits in two: in 2025, almost half its students reached the top band, and almost two in five landed in the bottom three. So a top band isn't guaranteed; plan for steady weekly work from the start.

In WA, the tertiary aggregate adds a tenth of your best language's scaled score, TISC says, even if Chinese isn't in your best four. Queensland's grades appear in its own section below.

The VCE oral: seven minutes of talk, then your subtopic

The VCE oral is about 15 minutes with two assessors, and it's marked out of 40. After you give your student number in English, you tell them, in Chinese, your subtopic and the image you've brought. That part isn't marked.

Section 1 is about seven minutes of conversation about your own world and your life as a learner of Chinese. Section 2 is about eight minutes of discussion of your subtopic, which comes from the themes The Chinese-speaking communities or The world around us. Older study designs called this a detailed study, and some resources still do.

Each section is marked out of 20 on two criteria: what you say and how you say it. The top band asks you to respond readily and carry the conversation forward. The middle bands describe students who rely "on rote-learned language or literal translation from English", in VCAA's criteria.

So a memorised speech caps your marks, however good its Chinese. The 2025 assessors' report asked for more than "Good" when the question is how school is going, and praised students who corrected their own slips.

Here's an answer in a student's voice to a typical learner question, why did you choose Chinese? 你为什么选中文？ Nǐ wèishénme xuǎn Zhōngwén?

• 我从七年级开始学中文，已经学了六年了。 Wǒ cóng qī niánjí kāishǐ xué Zhōngwén, yǐjīng xuéle liù nián le. I started Chinese in Year 7, so I've been learning it for six years.
• 刚开始的时候，我觉得汉字特别难。 Gāng kāishǐ de shíhou, wǒ juéde Hànzì tèbié nán. At first I found characters really hard.
• 后来我发现很多汉字有一样的部首，记起来就容易多了。 Hòulái wǒ fāxiàn hěn duō Hànzì yǒu yíyàng de bùshǒu, jì qǐlai jiù róngyì duō le. Then I noticed that lots of characters share radicals, and they got much easier to remember.
• 去年我们学校去北京交流，我第一次用中文点菜，服务员都听懂了！ Qùnián wǒmen xuéxiào qù Běijīng jiāoliú, wǒ dì-yī cì yòng Zhōngwén diǎn cài, fúwùyuán dōu tīngdǒng le! Last year our school went to Beijing on exchange, and when I ordered food in Chinese for the first time, the waiter understood!
• 所以我想继续学下去，以后也许去中国留学。 Suǒyǐ wǒ xiǎng jìxù xué xiàqu, yǐhòu yěxǔ qù Zhōngguó liúxué. So I want to keep going, and maybe study in China one day.

That's a reason, a story and a plan, and each one gives the assessors something to ask about next. Leave those openings on purpose.

Section 2: use the image, then give your view

Section 2 starts with the assessors' questions. You don't need a one-minute introduction, VCAA says in its oral exam videos.

Bring one picture or photo on paper no bigger than A3: no collage, chart or mind map, and almost no writing. Describing it earns a middle mark, while using it to support your points earns a high one.

Here's how a discussion of the Mid-Autumn Festival might open, with the image, a view and a counter-view:

• 我选的题目是中秋节，这是我带来的图片。 Wǒ xuǎn de tímù shì Zhōngqiū Jié, zhè shì wǒ dàilái de túpiàn. My subtopic is the Mid-Autumn Festival, and this is the picture I've brought.
• 图片里，一家人坐在院子里，一边吃月饼一边看月亮。 Túpiàn lǐ, yì jiā rén zuò zài yuànzi lǐ, yìbiān chī yuèbǐng yìbiān kàn yuèliang. In the picture, a family sits in a courtyard, eating mooncakes and looking at the moon.
• 我觉得中秋节最重要的意义是团圆。 Wǒ juéde Zhōngqiū Jié zuì zhòngyào de yìyì shì tuányuán. I think the festival's most important meaning is being together.
• 有人说现在的年轻人不重视传统节日，我不太同意。 Yǒu rén shuō xiànzài de niánqīngrén bú zhòngshì chuántǒng jiérì, wǒ bú tài tóngyì. Some say young people today don't value traditional festivals. I don't really agree.
• 比如我和朋友们会在网上给远方的家人发中秋祝福。 Bǐrú wǒ hé péngyoumen huì zài wǎngshàng gěi yuǎnfāng de jiārén fā Zhōngqiū zhùfú. My friends and I, for example, send festival wishes online to family far away.
• 所以我认为传统没有消失，只是庆祝的方式变了。 Suǒyǐ wǒ rènwéi chuántǒng méiyǒu xiāoshī, zhǐshì qìngzhù de fāngshì biàn le. So I think the tradition hasn't disappeared; only the way we celebrate has changed.

Choose a subtopic narrow enough to know deeply. VCAA's 2024 report called hot pot too broad and warned that the Great Wall needs advanced vocabulary. Its 2025 report added that assessors explore more than the two or three aspects you prepare.

When you're stuck, say so in Chinese. VCAA's 2025 report praised students who used the first two, and recommended the last two for holding the floor:

• 对不起，请您再说一遍。 Duìbuqǐ, qǐng nín zài shuō yí biàn. Sorry, could you say that again, please?
• 对不起，我要说的是…… Duìbuqǐ, wǒ yào shuō de shì…… Sorry, what I meant to say is…
• 怎么说呢…… Zěnme shuō ne…… How shall I put it…
• 我想想…… Wǒ xiǎngxiang…… Let me think…

The VCE written exam rewards key details and the right tone

The written exam gives you 15 minutes' reading time and two hours to answer. You may use a printed dictionary throughout.

Here's where its marks are, for both studies:

Source: VCAA's written exam specifications for Second Language and Advanced. The paper is out of 75 in both.

The 2025 written report shows that listening marks hang on small words. Students lost marks by leaving out "airport" and by hearing 三刻(sān kè), three quarters of an hour, as three minutes.

In Part B, the top answers used at least five points from the text and tied them to the writer's own situation. Weaker ones paraphrased the text without making it personal.

Section 3 marks the writing style as well as the Chinese. In 2025, the informative task needed a neutral tone, so the report told students to avoid 必须(bìxū) and 一定要(yídìng yào), both meaning "must":

• 你一定要设置隐私。 Nǐ yídìng yào shèzhì yǐnsī. You must set your privacy settings. This sounds persuasive.
• 你可以先在设置里打开隐私保护。 Nǐ kěyǐ xiān zài shèzhì lǐ dǎkāi yǐnsī bǎohù. You can start by turning on privacy protection in settings. This sounds informative.

Write from the role the task gives you, too. Students asked to evaluate a QR-code ordering system as a part-time worker scored lower when they wrote from the restaurant's point of view.

Second Language Advanced asks for more of everything, as the table shows, and accepts no pinyin at all; Second Language accepts a little for words beyond its character list. Our Second Language Advanced practice book has a persuasive article and a personal diary task with model answers.

HSC Continuers: a ten-minute conversation and a three-hour paper

The Continuers oral is about ten minutes of conversation about your personal world, marked out of 20. The examiner can ask about past, present and future, and from another person's point of view.

NESA's marking guidelines give the top marks to students who engage "fluently in a conversation by responding in some depth". The 2025 marking feedback warns against pre-prepared material that misses the question.

Expect to be interrupted, the feedback says, and ask for repetition in Chinese if you need it. Here's an answer to a plans question, with past, present and future in it: what are your plans after school? 你中学毕业以后有什么打算？ Nǐ zhōngxué bìyè yǐhòu yǒu shénme dǎsuàn?

• 我打算先休学一年，去打工赚钱。 Wǒ dǎsuàn xiān xiūxué yì nián, qù dǎgōng zhuàn qián. I plan to take a year off first and work to earn money.
• 我现在在一家咖啡店打工，每个星期工作十个小时。 Wǒ xiànzài zài yì jiā kāfēidiàn dǎgōng, měi ge xīngqī gōngzuò shí ge xiǎoshí. I already work at a café, ten hours a week.
• 虽然很累，但是我学会了怎么跟客人沟通。 Suīrán hěn lèi, dànshì wǒ xuéhuìle zěnme gēn kèrén gōutōng. It's tiring, but I've learned how to talk with customers.
• 一年以后，我想上大学学商科，因为我对国际贸易很感兴趣。 Yì nián yǐhòu, wǒ xiǎng shàng dàxué xué shāngkē, yīnwèi wǒ duì guójì màoyì hěn gǎn xìngqù. After that, I'd like to study business at university, because I'm very interested in international trade.
• 如果有机会，我还想去上海实习。 Rúguǒ yǒu jīhuì, wǒ hái xiǎng qù Shànghǎi shíxí. If I get the chance, I'd also like to do an internship in Shanghai.

Notice where the place goes in the second line: 在咖啡店打工(zài kāfēidiàn dǎgōng), before the verb. The 2025 feedback flagged the English order instead, as in 我跑步在公园(wǒ pǎobù zài gōngyuán), for "I run in the park".

The written paper gives you three hours, including ten minutes' reading time. Here's how its 80 marks split:

Source: NESA's Chinese Continuers exam specifications. The oral adds 20 marks.

In 2025, the better listening answers stated a position first and then the evidence. The weaker ones translated whole sentences instead of summarising, and mixed up cricket, 板球(bǎnqiú), with baseball, 棒球(bàngqiú).

In writing, markers wanted the conventions of the text type, clear paragraphs and one consistent argument. They flagged students who argued for both choices in an advice email, contradicting themselves.

HSC Beginners: five minutes of talk and short, accurate writing

The Beginners oral is about five minutes of conversation about your own life, marked out of 20. The top band goes to students who converse "by exchanging relevant information, opinions and comment", NESA's guidelines say.

That means short answers aren't enough, even at this level. Add an opinion, a reason or a time phrase to every reply, as this weekend answer does: what do you usually do at weekends? 你周末常常做什么？ Nǐ zhōumò chángcháng zuò shénme?

• 周末我常常和朋友去海边游泳。 Zhōumò wǒ chángcháng hé péngyou qù hǎibiān yóuyǒng. At weekends I often go swimming at the beach with friends.
• 我也喜欢在家一边听音乐一边做作业。 Wǒ yě xǐhuan zài jiā yìbiān tīng yīnyuè yìbiān zuò zuòyè. I also like doing homework at home while I listen to music.
• 上个周末，我跟家人去了一家中国饭馆，吃了饺子。 Shàng ge zhōumò, wǒ gēn jiārén qùle yì jiā Zhōngguó fànguǎn, chīle jiǎozi. Last weekend I went to a Chinese restaurant with my family and had dumplings.
• 下个周末我要去看篮球比赛。 Xià ge zhōumò wǒ yào qù kàn lánqiú bǐsài. Next weekend I'm going to watch a basketball game.

The 2025 marking feedback praised exactly these moves: 一边……一边 yìbiān…yìbiān, while; past and future time phrases; and varied adjectives. It also flagged lists that repeat 和(hé), and, between every item.

The written paper gives you two and a half hours, plus ten minutes' reading time. Listening and reading are worth 30 marks each and are answered in English; writing is worth 20.

In writing, you produce two short texts of about 150 characters between them, then a longer one of about 150 from a choice of two. NESA's character list has 161 characters, and you may write a little pinyin for words beyond it.

The markers' advice for writing is plain: answer every key word in the question, such as "arrangements" or "experience", and keep the text type's conventions. They flagged 我等你在火车站 wǒ děng nǐ zài huǒchēzhàn for its English word order; 我在火车站等你 Wǒ zài huǒchēzhàn děng nǐ, I'll wait for you at the station, is right.

HSC Extension: one film and an argument in three minutes

Extension is a one-unit course for Continuers students, built around one prescribed text. For 2026 to 2030 it's the film Nice View, 奇迹·笨小孩 Qíjì · Bèn Xiǎohái, directed by Wen Muye, 文牧野(Wén Mùyě), with eight extracts set for study.

The film follows Jing Hao, a young man in Shenzhen raising money for his little sister's heart surgery. NESA's prescriptions set three issues: the pursuit of personal goals, relationships, and social inequality.

The written paper has two sections. Section I asks short questions in English on an extract, then a reply of about 250 characters in which you write as a character or imagine a situation. Section II asks for an argument of about 350 characters on one of the issues.

The oral gives you seven minutes to prepare one of two questions, then about three minutes to argue. A 10 goes to "a logical and well-structured argument within the time allocation", NESA's marking guidelines say.

Here's a plan for a question of our own, with the view, two kinds of evidence and a conclusion that moves beyond the opening: some say chasing dreams matters more for young people than a stable job. Do you agree? 有人说，年轻人追求梦想比找一份稳定的工作更重要。你同意吗？ Yǒu rén shuō, niánqīngrén zhuīqiú mèngxiǎng bǐ zhǎo yí fèn wěndìng de gōngzuò gèng zhòngyào. Nǐ tóngyì ma?

• 我基本同意，但是梦想需要计划。 Wǒ jīběn tóngyì, dànshì mèngxiǎng xūyào jìhuà. I mostly agree, but dreams need a plan.
• 在电影里，景浩为了给妹妹治病，在深圳开了一家小工厂。 Zài diànyǐng lǐ, Jǐng Hào wèile gěi mèimei zhì bìng, zài Shēnzhèn kāile yì jiā xiǎo gōngchǎng. In the film, Jing Hao opens a small factory in Shenzhen to pay for his sister's treatment.
• 他遇到了很多困难，可是一直没有放弃。 Tā yùdàole hěn duō kùnnan, kěshì yìzhí méiyǒu fàngqì. He runs into one problem after another, but never gives up.
• 所以，追求梦想不等于不负责任，关键是要有计划、肯吃苦。 Suǒyǐ, zhuīqiú mèngxiǎng bù děngyú bú fùzérèn, guānjiàn shì yào yǒu jìhuà, kěn chīkǔ. So chasing a dream isn't the same as being irresponsible; the key is a plan and the will to work hard.

Between the film and the conclusion, add an example from beyond your own life, such as a statistic or a public figure. The 2025 feedback asked for exactly that, and for a conclusion that doesn't just repeat the introduction.

Extension students do well: in 2025, almost two in three got the top band, E4, and the rest got the band below it. Our Extension practice book has four issues to argue, two texts to analyse and an oral where the examiner pushes back.

Queensland, WA and SA weigh the same skills differently

The other three states test listening, reading, writing and speaking too, but they split the marks differently. Here's how their courses compare:

Sources: QCAA's Chinese 2025 syllabus; SCSA's Year 12 syllabus for teaching from 2027 and WACE Manual 2026; SACE's Stage 2 subject outline, from 2025.

In Queensland and SA, the tasks you do at school during the year outweigh the final exam, so prepare for each one as you would for an exam.

Queensland: the big task is your presentation

Queensland's Chinese course has no eligibility rules and a new syllabus, first examined in 2026. Its biggest school task is a multimodal presentation followed by an unprepared interview, so practise speaking from short notes instead of a script.

The external exam allows no dictionary, though your first school exam does. You answer questions on several short texts in English and in Chinese, then write one longer response.

Queensland hands out a lot of top grades. Here's the share of students with an A over three years:

Source: QCAA's Chinese subject reports for 2023, 2024 and 2025, under the old syllabus. An A took 85 marks or more out of 100 in each year.

With so many As, an A alone won't make you stand out, so the marks inside it matter for your ATAR. QCAA's 2025 report gives the clearest advice: paraphrase evidence instead of quoting, don't reuse evidence across questions, and write in paragraphs, or the extended response can't get full marks.

WA: choose your stimulus card well

The WA practical exam starts with five stimulus cards, each an image and a question, and a dictionary you may use while you prepare. Pick the card whose topic you know best; the picture matters less.

You can glance at your notes during the discussion, but shouldn't read them, and the general conversation that follows is worth as much. In the written exam, listening and reading are answered in English and carry most of the marks.

SCSA's 2025 report asked for those answers in full sentences and correct English. In the writing section, many students leaned on rote-learned text. Write in characters, never pinyin, and follow the conventions of the text type you're given.

SA: your school tasks carry most of the result

In SA, the folio is worth 40% of your result and the in-depth study 30%. Since 2025, the in-depth study no longer comes up in the oral, which is only a conversation about your own world; you may bring photos but no notes.

Examiners flag the same mistakes every year

We read three years of VCAA reports and NESA's 2025 marking feedback. The same handful of mistakes comes up again and again, and each is easy to fix:

• Time and place go before the verb. 我明天在学校打网球。 Wǒ míngtiān zài xuéxiào dǎ wǎngqiú. I'm playing tennis at school tomorrow. VCAA's 2024 report heard the English order instead.
• "Interested in" wraps around its object. 我对中国文化感兴趣。 Wǒ duì Zhōngguó wénhuà gǎn xìngqù. I'm interested in Chinese culture. Not 我感兴趣对中国文化 wǒ gǎn xìngqù duì Zhōngguó wénhuà, VCAA's 2025 report says.
• 比(bǐ) comparisons take no "very". 他比我聪明。 Tā bǐ wǒ cōngming. He's smarter than me. NESA's 2025 feedback flagged 他比我非常聪明 tā bǐ wǒ fēicháng cōngming.
• Nouns need the right measure word. 一本书，一辆车 yì běn shū, yí liàng chē, a book, a car. NESA flagged 一个书(yí ge shū) and 一个车(yí ge chē).
• 也(yě) goes after the subject. 我也学物理。 Wǒ yě xué wùlǐ. I study physics too. Not 也我学物理(yě wǒ xué wùlǐ).
• Say how well with 得(de). 我跳舞跳得不好。 Wǒ tiàowǔ tiào de bù hǎo. I'm not a good dancer. Not 我的跳舞不好(wǒ de tiàowǔ bù hǎo).
• Tones change the meaning. Visit, 参观(cānguān), isn't restaurant, 餐馆(cānguǎn); the Qin dynasty, 秦朝(Qíncháo), isn't the Qing, 清朝(Qīngcháo).
• Idioms only where they fit. VCAA's reports praise apt idioms but warn against ones used for show, so learn a few well.

Most of these are English habits, so they show up most under pressure. Record yourself answering a question, then check each sentence against this list.

For the sounds, our free Tone Checker shows your pitch as you say a word, next to a reference voice. VCAA's 2024 and 2025 reports also asked students to slow down, because speed causes many of these slips.

Learn the character list first, then HSK 3 and 4 words

Victoria and NSW publish lists of the characters you're expected to know. We matched three of these lists against the characters on the HSK 3.0 syllabus, China's official scale.

Nearly every character on them sits within the first four HSK levels:

Sources: NESA's Beginners character list, the VCE Second Language and Advanced study designs, and the 2025 HSK syllabus; our count. The Continuers list leaves out the Years 7 to 10 characters, so we couldn't compare it whole.

So the HSK lists are a fair map. A Beginners student needs about HSK 1 and 2, a Second Language student about HSK 3, and an Advanced student HSK 4 and a little more.

The lists are only the minimum. VCAA expects you to understand "a wider range of vocabulary" on the course themes, and the exam texts use it.

Learn words by theme, because every course is organised that way. Victoria, NSW Continuers, WA and SA share two themes, the individual and Chinese-speaking communities, plus a third on the wider world. NSW Beginners has six everyday topics instead.

Our HSK 3 word list has every word with pinyin, English and audio, and a CSV for flashcards. If you write in traditional characters, Victoria accepts them, and our guide to the two scripts shows how they differ; NSW and SA expect simplified characters.

A 12-week plan, and six months if you start early

Count back 12 weeks from your oral exam, because in most states the written exam follows it within weeks. Here's how we'd spend about 40 minutes a day:

The plan is our own. Exam timings come from each authority's specifications.

If you have six months, spend the first three on the character list and theme vocabulary, then run the plan above. Start the daily speaking habit on the first day, because it's the skill that takes longest to build.

If you grew up with Chinese, your plan changes shape. Your listening and speaking start ahead, so put the time into characters, written accuracy and formal register. Our guide for heritage speakers explains the gap.

If you learned Chinese only at school, speaking is where the time goes. Answer out loud every day, because a ten-minute oral can't be crammed in a week.

Free practice, starting with the official papers

Start with the authorities' own papers, because they show the real format and how it's marked. VCAA posts its Chinese Second Language and Advanced papers since 2020 with their audio and assessors' reports. Read the reports: they're the best free advice there is.

NESA's exam packs give each Chinese course its papers, marking guidelines and marking feedback, plus audio and transcripts for the listening sections. The Continuers packs go back to 2015. NESA's HSC standards materials add real answers at each band.

QCAA posts each year's external exam with its audio and marking guide. SCSA posts recent ATAR exams with their marking keys, transcripts and a summary report for each year, and SACE keeps past exams in its teachers' area.

Our six workbooks practise each exam's own tasks, with model answers and free audio: VCE Second Language, Advanced, HSC Beginners, Continuers, Extension, and QCE, WACE and SACE.

For video, VCAA's oral exam videos walk through the room, the timing and the image rules. On YouTube, Mandarin Corner has casual conversations in Chinese with little English, pitched at intermediate learners, which suits Continuers and Second Language. Everyday Chinese teaches the Chinese of daily life, closer to the Beginners topics.

For speaking without a partner, our conversation practice has dialogues on everyday topics with audio, and our guide on how to speak Chinese explains why talking out loud daily works.

Exam days, results and what to bring

Most 2026 exams are done, but Victoria's written paper is on 18 November and WA's written exams run until the 19th. Here are the dates published so far; confirm yours with your school:

Sources: VCAA's 2026 timetable and results page; NESA's HSC key dates; QCAA's 2026 timetable and results page; SCSA's exam timetables; SACE's 2026 timetable and results page.

On oral day in Victoria and NSW, don't wear your school uniform, and arrive 30 minutes early. Bring your exam slip or confirmation sheet; in Victoria, also bring photo ID and your image. In NSW you may revise while you wait, but notes and dictionaries stay out of the room.

If a result disappoints, Victoria lets you repeat Units 3 and 4 the next year, as long as you redo all their assessments. Other states have their own rules, so ask your school.

Where SayMei fits, and where it doesn't

SayMei is an app for learning Mandarin by speaking with Mei Lin, an AI teacher, and its lessons are levelled by HSK. For Year 12 Chinese, it helps most with what every oral rewards: answering out loud, at length, with feedback on your tones.

Our six exam workbooks are free with a SayMei account. Each one practises its exam's own tasks, with model answers and free audio, and none is an official paper.

SayMei Premium is US$5.99 a month for 200 minutes with Mei Lin, shown in your currency on our pricing page. Depending on your country, you start with a free first lesson or a free week that needs a card.

It doesn't do several things you'll need. It can't mark your work against VCAA or NESA criteria, research your subtopic, or rule on your eligibility. Mei Lin isn't an exam simulator and doesn't teach your course's topics or set text. For marked practice papers and feedback on your writing, your teacher, or a tutor who knows your course, is the better choice.

SayMei isn't affiliated with or endorsed by the VCAA, NESA, QCAA, SCSA or the SACE Board. VCE® is a registered trademark of the VCAA.

What to do next

• Check your eligibility this term. Read your state's rule, then ask your school which course your documents allow.
• Read last year's examiner report. It tells you what this year's markers will look for.
• Start a daily speaking habit. Answer one likely question out loud each day, with a reason and an example.
• Pick your subtopic or study your film early. Depth takes weeks, and examiners notice it.
• Sit one full past paper under exam timing. Then check it against the marking guide.

Next, get the free VCE Chinese Second Language practice book, or the one for your exam.