Modified SACE in South Australia: What It Is and When It Applies

When families of students with significant cognitive disabilities reach the senior secondary years, they often hit a wall: the standard SACE, even with special provisions and extensive adjustments, is simply not designed for students whose learning goals are fundamentally different from the mainstream curriculum. The Modified SACE exists for exactly these students — but it is poorly understood, and many families discover it only when they should have been planning for it years earlier.

What the Modified SACE Is

The Modified SACE is a parallel pathway within the South Australian Certificate of Education designed for students who have a significant cognitive disability and who cannot access the standard SACE curriculum, even with the full range of reasonable adjustments and Special Provisions in place.

Rather than assessing students against standard learning outcomes and producing grades from A to E, the Modified SACE assesses students against highly individualized learning goals derived from their One Plan. The result of each subject is recorded as "Completed" or "Not Completed" — there are no letter grades in the traditional sense. A student who completes the Modified SACE has achieved a recognized South Australian qualification, though the pathway and credential differ from the standard SACE.

The Modified SACE is not a simplified version of the standard curriculum — it is a differently constructed pathway with learning goals calibrated to the student's actual functional level and educational priorities. For many students with intellectual disabilities or global developmental delay, this is the most meaningful and equitable pathway through senior secondary education.

Who the Modified SACE Is For

Eligibility for the Modified SACE is not based solely on having a disability. The deciding factor is whether the student can access the standard SACE curriculum — with all available adjustments — or whether their learning goals need to be fundamentally individualized.

In practice, students on the Modified SACE pathway typically have:

• An intellectual disability diagnosis, often requiring cognitive assessment scores of around 70 (plus or minus 5 points) on a full-scale cognitive assessment, combined with adaptive behavior scores two standard deviations below the mean
• Documented extensive adjustments under the NCCD — meaning highly individualized, comprehensive, and ongoing support across all settings
• A history of working toward modified Australian Curriculum or life-skills-focused learning goals rather than standard year-level content

Students who are autistic, have ADHD, have specific learning difficulties, or have physical and sensory disabilities but who can access standard curriculum content — even with significant support — are not the typical Modified SACE cohort. For those students, the appropriate pathway is the standard SACE with Special Provisions applied.

If you are unsure which pathway is appropriate, this is a conversation to have with the school's SACE Coordinator and the Inclusion Coordinator, ideally starting in Year 9 or Year 10 at the latest.

How the Modified SACE Works in Practice

Students on the Modified SACE pathway still access the senior secondary school environment. The structure, subjects, and timetabling can look similar to the standard pathway from the outside. The difference is in the content of the learning goals and how achievement is assessed.

Learning goals are developed through the One Plan process and are linked to the SACE framework. They reflect what is functionally meaningful for the individual student — which might include communication skills, literacy and numeracy at a functional level, independence skills, vocational preparation, or community participation. The school's SACE Coordinator works with the classroom teacher, the Inclusion Coordinator, and the family to develop these goals.

Assessment is ongoing and school-based. Because the goals are individualized, assessment methods are also flexible — observation, portfolio evidence, practical demonstrations, and teacher judgment all contribute to the "Completed" or "Not Completed" determination.

What the Modified SACE Does Not Provide

It is important to be clear about what the Modified SACE credential does and does not open up. It is a recognized qualification but not ATAR-eligible. Students who complete the Modified SACE cannot use it to apply for university courses through the standard ATAR pathway.

Post-school options for Modified SACE graduates typically include TAFE SA (which has its own disability access and inclusion supports through its Student Success and Wellbeing team), NDIS School Leaver Employment Supports (SLES), Disability Employment Services, and supported employment programs. Planning for these transitions should be embedded into the senior secondary years — ideally with NDIS Local Area Coordinators involved from Year 10 onward.

Planning Ahead: Why Year 9 Is Not Too Early

The single most consistent mistake families make with Modified SACE planning is starting the conversation too late. If a student is going to follow the Modified pathway, the groundwork — diagnosis documentation, NCCD categorization at the Extensive level, One Plan goals that align with the modified curriculum — should already be in place well before Year 10.

Schools vary considerably in how proactively they initiate this conversation with families. Some SACE Coordinators and Inclusion Coordinators will raise the Modified pathway early and clearly. Others will assume families know about it or will delay the conversation. Do not wait for the school to bring it up.

At the first Year 9 or Year 10 parent-teacher or One Plan meeting for a student who may be heading toward the Modified pathway, ask directly:

• Is our child's current NCCD categorization at Extensive? If not, what would change that?
• Are the current One Plan learning goals structured at a modified curriculum level?
• What is the school's experience supporting students through the Modified SACE?
• Who is the SACE Coordinator and when can we meet to discuss the pathway in detail?

The Difference from Standard SACE Special Provisions

Parents sometimes confuse the Modified SACE with the standard SACE Special Provisions process. They are distinct and serve different populations.

Standard SACE Special Provisions are adjustments to the conditions of assessment — extra time, a scribe, a separate room, assistive technology. The student is still working toward the same learning outcomes and receiving the same A-to-E grades as everyone else. Special Provisions are appropriate for students who can access the standard curriculum but need the playing field leveled in terms of how they demonstrate their knowledge.

Modified SACE changes the content of what is being assessed. The learning outcomes themselves are individualized. The result is Completed/Not Completed, not A-to-E. This pathway is for students whose educational goals are fundamentally different from the standard curriculum, not just differently accessed.

A student can use both: a student on the Modified SACE pathway may still have accommodations in place for how they demonstrate their individualized learning goals — for example, being assessed verbally rather than in writing. But the adjustments are applied within the Modified framework, not within the standard Special Provisions process.

Getting the SACE pathway right for students with significant cognitive disabilities requires planning that begins well before senior secondary. For a practical guide to the One Plan goals, NCCD documentation, and transition planning that supports Modified SACE eligibility in South Australian government schools, the South Australia Disability Support Blueprint covers this in detail.

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