About SAC
Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) can provide extra help for otherwise capable students in addressing various barriers to achievement in assessments for NCEA or New Zealand Scholarship.
Your school will make a submission for you
Submissions for SAC are made by schools to NZQA on your behalf. SAC support is available for both internal and external assessments (exams).
Some examples of SAC:
- special papers for vision-impaired students
- writers or readers for students with learning disorders, such as dyslexia
- rest breaks for students with diabetes
- separate accommodation for students with anxiety disorders.
NZQA's SAC rules
Our rules about the provision of Special Assessment Conditions are published annually.
Read the SAC Rules in Schedule 3 of the Assessment Rules for Schools, TEOs assessing against Achievement Standards, and Candidates 2023:
Go to Schedule 3: Candidate Special Assessment Conditions Processes
On this page
Who can get SAC
Students with a permanent or long-term sensory, physical, medical or learning difficulty that directly affects their access to fair assessment for national qualifications may be eligible for SAC.
What SAC is available
SAC is available for both internal and external assessments, such as exams.
How to apply for SAC
Your school will make a submission to NZQA for SAC on your behalf. There is no charge for this process.
Contact your school
If you think you need SAC support you should contact your school and request that a SAC submission be sent to NZQA.
Before your school can make a SAC submission to NZQA you should give the school signed approval to do this.
Information your school needs to apply for SAC
NZQA does not require independent reports from professionals to support a SAC submission in most cases. However, these can be supplied if already available.
The school can gather information in a number of ways to help decide whether SAC is appropriate for a student and to use as evidence to support a SAC submission to NZQA.
Examples include:
- the student’s history of learning support provided at school
- comments and observations from teachers, the student and their parents
- any medical or other report provided by the student or their parents
- the result of any testing done by the school, for example, reading and writing tests
- the result of any trials of SAC.
Contact the SAC team
If you have a question or feedback, contact the SAC team at sac@nzqa.govt.nz