ACARA seeks contractor to deliver 2027 student assessments

The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) is seeking a contractor to support delivery of the 2027 National Assessment Program (NAP) Opt-in assessments, with approximately 250,000 student responses expected to require marking.

The contract covers assessments in science literacy, civics and citizenship, and information and communication technology (ICT) literacy for students in Years 6 and 10. Schools can choose which domains and year levels to participate in, and may enrol an entire cohort or a selected group of students.

ACARA anticipates approximately 300 schools could participate in the 2027 program.

Scope of work

The successful contractor will support participating schools throughout the assessment cycle, including providing a toll-free telephone helpline and email support for registration, student enrolment, testing and reporting.

Other responsibilities include maintaining the project administration system, updating existing school guidance and training materials where required, and communicating key information to participating schools.

The contractor will also mark student responses, clean assessment data and prepare school-level performance reports.

For science literacy and civics and citizenship, the contractor must provide its own secure online marking system. ICT literacy responses will be marked using the technology system provided by a separate ICT literacy technology contractor.

The contract requires experienced markers to assess short and extended responses across all three domains. The successful supplier must establish a secure marking centre, provide marker training and quality-control procedures, and supply ACARA with reports on marking accuracy, consistency and productivity.

ACARA estimates approximately 250,000 scripts will require marking. Tenderers must provide pricing for volumes above this estimate in increments of 1,000 scripts.

Project timeline and requirements

The indicative schedule includes project initiation in November or December 2026, with the project plan and associated communication, risk management, security and quality assurance plans to be finalised in December.

School registration is scheduled to run from 23 March to 30 April 2027, followed by the assessment window from 3 to 31 May. Marking is scheduled for June, with data cleaning and analysis extending from late June to mid-July.

School reporting is scheduled between late July and the end of August 2027, followed by project close-out in August and September. The timetable may be revised by agreement between the parties.

The contractor must also meet ACARA’s data-security requirements. These include secure handling of assessment information, restrictions on transferring or accessing non-anonymised data from outside Australia without ACARA’s prior written consent, and immediate written notification of data breaches or security incidents. The contractor must securely delete data as directed at project completion.

What suppliers need to know

• Capability is the largest weighted criterion. Capability to deliver the services carries a 50 per cent weighting in ACARA’s evaluation. Tenderers must explain their proposed service delivery in the relevant response schedule.
• Experience and case studies count. Relevant experience, performance history and referees account for 25 per cent of the evaluation, with management capability and key personnel accounting for another 25 per cent. Tenderers are asked to provide relevant case studies.
• Register interest to receive updates. Prospective tenderers are advised to register their interest with ACARA’s nominated contact to receive any addenda to the tender documentation.
• Meet the submission requirements. Tender responses must be self-contained and must not rely on hyperlinks or other material incorporated by reference. Part A specifies a total limit of 10 MB and 100 pages. Late submissions generally will not be accepted.
• Note the deadlines. Questions are due by 3pm Sydney time on 22 October 2026. Tender responses close at 3pm Sydney time on 29 October 2026.

Pricing, financial viability and compliance with the draft contract are also assessed as part of the tender process.

The request for tender is RFT 7-26. Tenderers should review both Part A, which sets out the tender requirements and response schedules, and Part B, which contains the draft contract.

The tender documents are available from the ACARA tenders page.

For tender enquiries, contact Adam Larkins on 02 8098 3215 or at Adam.Larkins@acara.edu.au, copying procurement@acara.edu.au.