HSC Exam Day Checklist: What to Pack and Check

The exam can start going wrong before you even open the paper: you arrive at the wrong centre, mistake the timetable’s start time for your arrival time, or discover your calculator isn’t permitted. None of those problems has anything to do with how well you know Physics, Chemistry, or Mathematics.

Use this checklist in order: confirm the sitting, prepare the correct equipment, plan your journey, and follow the supervisor’s instructions. The aim is to make every practical decision before exam day, when there’s still time to fix a problem.

01The decision rule: check the right source

Different sources answer different questions. Don’t rely on one general checklist, or a classmate’s memory, to cover everything.

• When and where is your exam? Check your personal timetable in Students Online.
• What can you bring into the room? Check the current-year NESA Rules and Procedures guide and the HSC exam equipment list.
• Where do you enter, store your belongings, or report a problem? Follow your school’s instructions.

If something is missing, incorrect, or inconsistent, contact your school immediately. Don’t settle a timetable disagreement by trusting the newest screenshot in a group chat.

One detail catches students out: the start time shown on your HSC timetable is when reading time begins. It is not the time you should arrive at the venue. NESA’s HSC written exam timetable explains how to check your personal schedule.

02The night before the exam

This is when you solve problems, not when you discover them. Work through the checklist once, then stop repeatedly checking your bag.

1. Confirm your timetable and venue

• [ ] Open your personal timetable in Students Online.
• [ ] Check the exact date, course name, start time, and exam centre.
• [ ] Confirm the correct course appears, especially if you study courses with similar names, such as Mathematics Extension 1 and Mathematics Extension 2.
• [ ] Check that every expected exam is listed.
• [ ] Confirm the centre’s address and how to reach the correct entrance.
• [ ] If a course is missing, a location looks wrong, or your timetable conflicts with an official school message, contact your school immediately.

Don’t assume your HSC exam will be held at your usual school. Your personal timetable specifies the centre you must attend.

2. Pack your equipment

Start with the standard kit, then add anything required for your particular course.

The distinction between generally permitted and required for your course matters. A calculator may be allowed only in specified exams, while some courses require additional equipment. Optional equipment is different from equipment you may need to answer a question.

Check the NESA exam equipment list, making sure you’re looking at the correct exam year. If the list or your school gives you unclear instructions, ask before exam day.

Before putting your calculator away, check its exact model, display, buttons, and battery. If you’re allowed to use it, you need to know how it works and be confident it is in good working order.

NESA’s rules state that equipment failure is not a valid basis for an illness or misadventure application. You also cannot borrow equipment during an exam. A familiar calculator with a failing screen is not a reliable plan.

3. Decide what stays outside the exam room

Some items are prohibited even if you have no intention of using them. Switching a device off does not make it permitted.

Under the 2026 NESA Rules and Procedures guide, you must not bring the following into the exam room:

• Mobile phones.
• Smart glasses and programmable watches, including smartwatches.
• Other electronic devices, except equipment specifically permitted for your exam. Examples of prohibited devices include tablets, wireless earphones or headphones, electronic dictionaries, and music players.
• Stopwatches.
• Paper, printed material, or written material, including your exam timetable.
• Dictionaries, except where permitted for particular language exams.
• Correction fluid or correction tape.
• Wallets.
• Temporary writing on your body, even if it is unrelated to the exam.

You may be able to bring some of these items to the venue, but they must stay outside the exam room. Plan their storage before you arrive. Exam supervisors may direct you where to put unauthorised items, but they are not responsible for looking after them.

If you normally use your phone to navigate or pay for transport, solve that problem the night before. Arrange a physical travel card or another suitable payment method, and decide where your phone will be stored securely. Don’t arrive expecting to negotiate an exception at the door.

4. Plan your journey and prepare for problems

• [ ] Check your public transport service, traffic, or parking arrangements.
• [ ] Identify an alternative route in case your usual service is disrupted.
• [ ] Allow time for walking, transfers, finding the entrance, and getting seated.
• [ ] Set your alarms and prepare your clothes and bag.
• [ ] Confirm any approved exam provisions or special arrangements with your school.
• [ ] If you’re sitting an online HSC exam, confirm the separate equipment and setup requirements with your teacher.

For 2026, the online HSC exams include Enterprise Computing, Science Extension, and Software Engineering. These exams require a supported desktop or laptop with the NESA lockdown browser installed, a physical keyboard, a mouse, and wired headphones where required. A laptop must have sufficient battery power or access to power. Smartphones, Chromebooks, and iPads cannot be used as substitutes for the required exam computer.

Test the device and software at school beforehand, following the instructions for your course. Don’t wait until the morning to find out that the browser isn’t installed or your device isn’t supported.

03The morning of the exam

Your morning checklist should be short. The complicated decisions have already been made.

• [ ] Check your transport service and any relevant weather warnings before leaving.
• [ ] Eat breakfast and follow your normal routine.
• [ ] Fill your clear, label-free water bottle.
• [ ] Check that your stationery and any required course equipment are in your bag.
• [ ] Confirm that prohibited items have been left at home or have a secure storage arrangement outside the room.
• [ ] Leave with enough time to reach the centre comfortably before the required arrival time.

How early should you arrive?

NESA’s 2026 Rules and Procedures guide specifies these minimum arrival times:

These are minimums, not recommended departure times. Your school may ask you to arrive earlier, and an unfamiliar venue or unreliable transport may require more time.

For example, if an ordinary written exam has a listed start time of 9:25 am, the 2026 minimum is arrival by 9:15 am. You should not plan a journey that only gets you there at 9:14 am under ideal conditions.

If illness or an unexpected mishap affects your attendance, tell your principal immediately if you cannot attend. If you can still attend but the issue may affect your exam, tell the presiding officer when you arrive. Don’t put yourself in danger to reach an exam during a flood, bushfire, or other unsafe conditions; contact your school for guidance.

04At the exam venue

Once you arrive, your job is to follow the instructions in front of you. Don’t improvise with exam rules because you’re in a hurry.

Before entering the room

• [ ] Follow the venue’s directions for entry and seating.
• [ ] Put prohibited items in the storage arrangement you organised beforehand.
• [ ] Keep only permitted equipment with you.
• [ ] If you’re unsure whether an item is allowed, ask the appropriate staff member before entering the room.

Don’t assume you’ll be allowed to keep an unauthorised item in your bag, or that a supervisor will look after it for you.

Once you’re seated

• [ ] Sit at the desk showing your name and NESA student number.
• [ ] Check that you’ve received the correct exam paper for your course.
• [ ] When instructed, check that all pages are present.
• [ ] For personalised exam materials, check that your name and/or student number is correct.
• [ ] Raise your hand immediately if something is wrong.

If the paper or personalised materials are incorrect, don’t try to fix the problem yourself. Tell the supervisor and follow their instructions.

During reading time

For paper exams, reading time is for reading. You must not write, mark your paper, or use equipment, including highlighters, during this time. Online exams have different rules, so follow the instructions for your course.

Wait until writing time begins before writing anything. Once instructed, complete the required identification fields, use black pen unless told otherwise, and write in the correct answer booklets. Don’t write your name or school name on your response booklets.

When the supervisor gives instructions

• [ ] Listen carefully and follow all verbal and written directions.
• [ ] Stop writing immediately when instructed.
• [ ] Return all parts of the exam, even if you haven’t completed every question.
• [ ] Complete the Student Completion Record and wait for the supervisor to check it before leaving your desk.

You generally cannot finish and leave during the first hour or the last 15 minutes, and your school may require students to remain until the exam ends.

05Common mistakes to avoid

Treating the timetable start time as your arrival time

The timetable’s start time is when reading time begins. You need to arrive earlier, allowing time for the minimum arrival requirement and any additional travel buffer.

Taking a phone because it’s switched off

The rule is about bringing the device into the room, not whether it’s turned on. Arrange secure storage outside the room or leave the phone at home.

Trusting an old timetable screenshot

A screenshot in a group chat may be outdated, particularly if a course entry or exam arrangement has changed. Use your personal timetable in Students Online, and contact your school if anything looks wrong. A group chat can be useful for reminders, but it isn’t a substitute for official information. See The Lifecycle of an HSC Group Chat: How to Keep It Useful.

Assuming any scientific calculator will do

NESA-approved calculators are a specific list of models, not a general category. Check the exact model and make sure it works. Don’t expect to borrow equipment during the exam or rely on equipment failure as grounds for misadventure.

Bringing your timetable or notes into the room

Paper, printed material, and written material are prohibited, including your exam timetable. Use your timetable to prepare before entering the room, then leave it outside.

Leaving storage arrangements until the last minute

Supervisors are not responsible for looking after unauthorised items. Decide where your phone, wallet, and other prohibited belongings will go before you leave home.

06Questions and solutions

Question 1

An ordinary written HSC exam, which is not the first English exam or an online exam, has a listed start time of 10:00 am. Under the 2026 NESA rules, what is the latest minimum arrival time, and what does 10:00 am mean?

Solution 1

You must arrive by 9:50 am at the latest under the minimum arrival requirement, but arriving earlier is safer. The listed 10:00 am start time is when reading time begins, not when you should walk through the venue entrance.

NESA’s 2026 guide requires students to arrive at least 10 minutes before ordinary written exams. You still need to allow for travel delays, finding the correct room, and following entry instructions.

Question 2

A student packs black pens, 2B pencils, an eraser, a clear water bottle, a phone switched off, a smartwatch, a wallet, and a printed timetable. Which items may enter the exam room, and what should the student do about the rest?

Solution 2

The pens, pencils, eraser, and clear water bottle are generally permitted. The phone, smartwatch, wallet, and printed timetable must stay outside the exam room.

The distinction is between an item’s usefulness and whether it is permitted. A phone switched off is still prohibited, and a smartwatch is still a programmable watch. A regular non-programmable watch may be brought in, but it must be removed and placed in clear view on the desk. The student should arrange secure storage for the prohibited items before entering rather than assume a supervisor will keep them safe.

Question 3

A Mathematics Extension 1 student owns a scientific calculator that has worked reliably for two years, but its model is not on NESA’s approved list. A friend has an approved calculator but can only lend it to the student after the exam has started. What is the safest plan?

Solution 3

The student should arrange a working NESA-approved calculator before the exam and should not rely on borrowing one during the sitting. The familiar calculator is not acceptable simply because it works or has the usual scientific functions.

The model must be approved for use in the exam, and the equipment must be in good working order. NESA does not accept equipment failure as a basis for an illness or misadventure application. The correct fix is to resolve the equipment problem beforehand, not hope that someone can lend a calculator once the exam begins.

Question 4

A student’s personal timetable in Students Online lists Centre A at 9:25 am. A classmate shares a screenshot listing Centre B at 9:30 am. The student cannot tell which screenshot is newer. What should they do?

Solution 4

The student should treat the personal timetable as their current individual assignment and contact their school immediately to resolve the apparent conflict. They should not choose a venue or time based on the classmate’s screenshot.

The personal timetable is the relevant source for the student’s own exam details. NESA also directs students to contact their school immediately if information is missing or incorrect. The student needs the conflict resolved before travelling, because going to the wrong centre or misreading the timetable is not a problem that can safely be fixed at the venue.

Question 5

A student’s personal timetable lists an ordinary Physics exam at Centre A at 9:25 am. Under the 2026 rules, the student must arrive by 9:15 am at the latest. Their usual train would normally get them there at 9:12 am, but a service alert warns that the train may be delayed until 9:23 am.

The student’s phone is their only transport pass. They also have a smartwatch, a wallet, and an approved calculator whose screen has started flickering. Assume a safe alternative route can get the student to the centre by 9:00 am, and a physical travel card and a working approved calculator can be obtained tonight. Their parent can securely keep the phone and wallet.

What should the student do, in order, and why is simply taking the usual train, switching off the phone, and hoping to borrow equipment a poor plan?

Solution 5

The student should take the safe alternative route, obtain a physical travel card and a reliable approved calculator tonight, and leave the phone, wallet, and smartwatch outside the exam room.

The decisions need to be handled in sequence:

Step 1: Fix the travel plan. The usual train would arrive at 9:12 am under normal conditions, leaving only three minutes before the minimum arrival time. The disruption warning makes that plan unreliable. The alternative route allows arrival by 9:00 am, giving the student time to find the correct room and follow entry instructions.

Step 2: Separate the transport problem from the room rules. The phone may be useful during the journey, but switching it off does not make it permitted inside the exam room. The physical travel card removes the need to take the phone into the room, and the parent provides secure storage for the phone and wallet.

Step 3: Fix the equipment problem before the exam. A flickering calculator screen may fail when the student needs it. The student should obtain and test a working approved model rather than assume the problem will disappear or that another student can lend equipment during the exam.

Step 4: Leave the smartwatch outside. It is prohibited even if the student does not intend to use it. If the student wants a watch for timekeeping, they can instead use a non-programmable watch in accordance with NESA’s instructions.

The tempting plan fails because it treats each problem in isolation. The usual train looks fast enough, the phone looks harmless when switched off, and borrowing a calculator seems like a backup. But the travel delay threatens the arrival requirement, the phone remains prohibited, and equipment borrowing is not allowed during the exam. A reliable plan must satisfy all three constraints at once.

If the travel situation changes again or attendance becomes unsafe, the student should contact their school immediately rather than put themselves in danger.

With the logistics settled, the next useful decision is how to use your remaining revision time. If you’re choosing what to revisit based on your trial results, read Are Trial HSC Exams Harder Than the HSC? What Students Should Know. Use that reflection to target your remaining study, rather than spending the final evening repeatedly checking a bag you’ve already packed.