If I'm an adult and want to complete Year 12 (or equivalent), what are my options?
A student wishing to complete their secondary schools certificate should contact the state assessment board. The advice may vary slightly for each state. But as an example, any student in South Australia wanting to complete the SA Certificate of Education (SACE) must enroll with a high school (public or private) or at one of the adult re-entry schools. SACE is only available through schools.
If you are not keen to go back to a school, even an adult entry one, or if the times when you could attend are not suitable then you do have other choices. It depends if you are only interested in finishing high school, or if you want to use this as a basis for further study to gain employment or to advance your career.
TAFE and some other Registered Training Organisations (RTOs), offer adult students the opportunity to gain entry into courses based on education, life experience, employment etc and do have courses or suppport staff to help people with applying and sitting the STAT test for adult entry to universities or other tertiary courses.
You could also choose to do an introductory certificate or a diploma course related to your career, or area of interest, and use this as a basis for gaining entry to a university course of your choice. You are likely to gain some credit towards the course as a result of your studies provided these are in a related area and depending on the level of study that you complete.
For specific advice it would be best to make an appointment with a counsellor at your nearest RTO, or contact a counsellor at your nearest TAFE. Counsellors can sometimes arrange late afternoon or evening appointments or may be able to talk to you by telephone if attending a campus is difficult because of work commitments.
