Introduction to the Office of the Board of Senior Secondary Studies (BSSS)

Workshop 1

Target Audience: Teachers New to the ACT Senior Secondary System


Welcome to teaching year 11 and 12 in the ACT Senior Secondary System. Our system is unique in Australia and it is important that staff have a clear understanding in order to best advise students.

This is Workshop 1 focusing on:

  • The ACT Senior Secondary System

  • Curriculum

  • Assessment

  • Moderation

This course Workshop will be a series of Google Site pages, some of which will have Google Forms for you to complete at the end of the page. To receive credit for this 3 hour Workshop you will need to submit the six Google Forms across the pages. Workshop 1 is a pre-requisite of workshop 2.

Workshop 2 focuses on:

  • Package Types

  • AST

  • Certification

  • Unit Outlines

  • Markbooks

Workshop 2 will be TQI accredited for 2 hours.

Please reach out to bsss.enquiries@act.gov.au if you have any questions. We will endeavour to get back to you within 1 working day.

Thank you and congratulations on your new career teaching college students in the ACT.

The ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies is responsible for the certification of senior secondary school studies in government and non-government schools in the ACT. The Board currently delivers certification services to 25 ACT and six overseas schools. It also certificates studies from a number of external providers.


The ACT Board of Senior Secondary Studies (ACT BSSS) is a statutory authority responsible for the certification of senior secondary school studies in government and non-government schools in the Australian Capital Territory.

The OFFICE of the Board of Senior Secondary Studies is made up of a team who work to implement the decisions of the Board and help government and non-government schools to implement Senior Secondary curriculum, assessment, moderation and certification processes as described in the BSSS Policies and Procedures Manual.

We are located in Woden at the Callam Street Offices.

The three main areas that the BSSS govern are:

1) Curriculum --the structure, content and accreditation of courses

2) Certification --the policies and procedures and quality assurance mechanisms for fair and consistent awarding of the Senior Secondary Certificate and Tertiary Entrance Statement

3) Assessment --procedures for assessment and moderation of assessment to ensure consistency of grades and equity of access for students regardless of college

This workshop will provide an overview of Curriculum, Assessment and Moderation.

Workshop 2 will provide an overview of package options, Certification, ACS and the ACT Scaling Test.