EAL (English as an Additional Language) 

– Year 12 eligibility and application process

Students intending to do VCE EAL Units 3 & 4 will need to satisfy strict eligibility criteria (rules) set by the VCAA (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority).

The rule to be eligible are that, by January 1st of the year they will begin Year 12:

• They must have lived less than seven years of their lives in English-speaking countries (NB this is calculated over the whole of a student’s life)
• They must have had less than seven years of their total education where English has been the major language of instruction 

While University High School will process the initial application and required documentation (see below) please be aware that “if a decision is not clear, or if the application is for a student whose country of origin is Singapore or India then it must be forwarded with the required supporting documentation to the VCAA for assessment.” (VCAA website)

Required Documentation

Please note all documentation supplied in another language needs to be submitted with an official translation to English. If translations are required, contact the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) website: https://www.naati.com.au/online-directory/ and email: info@naati.com.au

To support an application, the following must be supplied:

• Evidence of where the student has lived and travelled:
  • Passport/s – scans of photo and identification details as well as all travel stamps.
    NB As some countries no longer stamp passports, an International Movement Record may also need to be supplied 
  • International Movement Record – this is a government issued record of travel that can be applied for here: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/entering-and-leaving-australia/request-movement-records 

How many hours a week the language of instruction was English

Evidence of the language of instruction throughout the student’s education:

School reports – a school report for every school the student attended outside of Australia. 

A letter from the school – this may be required if the language of instruction at a school is unclear. This is especially the case if the student attended private or international schools overseas. This letter needs to be provided on official letterhead and clearly outline:

The dates they attended the school

Suggestions to Parent(s)/Guardian(s)

A lot of this documentation can be difficult and time consuming to find. It is, however, compulsory. We strongly advise families to start gathering documentation as soon as possible. Ideally towards the end of Year 10 or the beginning of year 11.

Exceptions

Please note if the student experienced significant interruption to their schooling this may mean that exceptions may apply. If there are reasons that documentation is impossible to get (situations of war, closure of schools etc) please contact the EAL coordinator as soon as possible.