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2026 HSC Health and Movement Science exam: What to learn from the official sample paper
Hi all, in preparation for the upcoming exam, here's what to take from the official sample paper.
Exam: Wednesday 28 October 2026, 9:20 am to 12:30 pm. All times are NSW local time.
This is the first HSC exam for Health and Movement Science. There is no 2025 HMS examiner report or cohort average to quote.
The 2026 format is 100 marks: 20 objective response, 56 short answer and two compulsory 12-mark extended responses. You have three hours plus ten minutes reading time.
These are answer traps in NESA's official sample, not mistakes attributed to a cohort that has not sat this exam:
Q24a: 4 marks. Challenges of online consultations for both groups.
Q24b: 6 marks. Healthcare technology beyond online consultations.
Q25: 8 marks. Applying training principles to a cyclist.
Q26a: 4 marks. Two factors affecting one group's health.
Q26b: 8 marks. Applying two overseas approaches in Australia.
1. Sample Q24a: Cover patients and medical professionals
The mistake to avoid
Answering only from the patient’s perspective, or listing issues without explaining their effect, would miss part of the task.
What the answer needs
For a patient, unfamiliar technology can make it difficult to access or communicate during a consultation. For a professional, the inability to conduct a physical examination can limit assessment of some symptoms. Explain why each creates a challenge in an online consultation. Four marks require more than naming internet problems.
2. Sample Q24b: Do not reuse telehealth as your main example
The mistake to avoid
The question explicitly excludes online medical consultations. Repeating Q24a would answer the wrong task.
What the answer needs
Use another technology and discuss its implications. An automatic medication dispenser can help a person follow a prescribed schedule and support independent living. It also has purchase, maintenance and training costs. Link those advantages and limitations to the healthcare system and patient outcomes. A description of what the device looks like does not discuss its use.
3. Sample Q25: Apply both training principles to the cyclist
The mistake to avoid
Definitions of progressive overload and training thresholds, with no application or performance link, would leave most of the work undone.
What the answer needs
Explain a gradual increase in a training demand after adaptation, such as increasing a continuous ride’s duration while monitoring recovery. Then explain training at an appropriate aerobic intensity for the cyclist. Link the repeated training stimulus to an adaptation such as increased stroke volume, improved oxygen delivery and the ability to sustain a higher workload. The sample guide uses 70–80% of maximum heart rate as an example; do not present that as an individually prescribed zone for every athlete.
4. Sample Q26a: Two factors, one group
The mistake to avoid
Naming a group and two health conditions would not describe the factors contributing to its health status.
What the answer needs
For rural and remote populations, one factor could be occupational exposure to machinery or chemicals, increasing particular injury or illness risks. Another could be exposure to natural disasters, with effects on physical safety and mental health. Describe the pathway from each factor to health outcomes. Keep both explanations tied to the same group.
5. Sample Q26b: Bring each overseas approach back to Australia
The mistake to avoid
Describing what two countries do without explaining an Australian application would miss the question’s main demand.
What the answer needs
The sample guide uses Māori participation in health-service decisions in New Zealand and the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy as examples. For the first, explain how community participation and culturally safe service design could inform Australian approaches, while recognising different cultural contexts. For the second, explain how a levy could encourage reformulation or reduce consumption of high-sugar drinks and support prevention funding. For each approach, identify the mechanism and the Australian health outcome it could improve.
Sources: NESA examination specifications and the official annotated sample paper and marking guidelines.
The Health and Movement Science hub has the subject resources.
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