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Assessment Certification Examination (ACE)
NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA)

Submitted works and practical examinations: health and safety issues

ACE 9016

Last Updated: 1 April 2019

The development and selection of student projects, major works, exhibitions and performances must satisfy health and safety requirements. They must:

  • be undertaken within the operating guidelines and directives of education authorities and/or schools
  • recognise and reflect relevant state and national legislation, regulations and standards including those relating to workplace health and safety (WHS), animal welfare, dangerous goods, hazardous substances and weapons
  • take account of the needs of students, teachers, markers and others, including the general public.

Any HSC project that might be considered dangerous to health or safety may not be marked.

Prohibited weapons, replicas and related articles
Student projects, major works, bodies of work, exhibitions and performances should not produce, display or use prohibited weapons, replicas, or related articles. Plastic toys and other objects that would not be mistaken for real weapons are permissible. Students using such toys to represent a weapon in a performance must advise the markers before they begin their performance.

Examples of prohibited weapons, replicas and related articles include, but are not limited to, firearms, knives, cross-bows, archery bows and arrows, catapults, kung fu sticks or nunchaku, batons, spear guns, handcuffs and self-defence sprays.

WHS certification
Where student projects, major works, exhibitions and performances involve the production or modification of items or processes that would normally require WHS certification for sale or use in the community or workplace, they must carry appropriate certification by an accredited person in accordance with Australian Standards. Examples of situations where WHS certification should be provided include, but are not limited to, works involving electrical voltages in excess of 32 volts and/or high currents, welded structures and components under load, vehicles and trailers, pressure vessels and flammable gases.