ATARMAxxing
← Food Technology

All VCE, HSC & QCE past papers by subject →

Ft
HSC · HSC Year 12 · official past papers

HSC Food Technology past exams 2016–2025, by year and topic

The official NESA exams, marking guides and examiner reports we index, organised by topic and subtopic and labelled with the study design it was written under. Open the official paper, work the question in your own workspace, or bring a tutor into it live.

Index last synced .

Papers, marking guides and examiner reports open on the official NESA website — they stay official and up to date. Question descriptions below are our own; we never republish exam content. Prefer to be walked through it? See the tutor directory →

Not sure what a topic below is actually meant to cover? Read the syllabus for Food Technology, area by area →

ATARMAxxing indexes 20 official NESA Food Technology papers from 2016 to 2025, with 26 questions mapped to 4 topics. Every paper opens on the NESA website.

Try a worked Food Technology question

The hub has an original model-exam question with its worked answer and a sample revision note, free to preview. The official papers below remain free on the exam authority's website.

Preview the worked question →
Food Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013) · 2015–2025

HSC Food Technology exams by year: official papers & marking guidance

Past exams indexed: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016. Open the official NESA papers.

YearStudy designOfficial paper(s)Marking guidance
2025 HSC Food Technology examFood Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam ↗ · Marking guidelines ↗—
2024 HSC Food Technology examFood Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam ↗ · Marking guidelines ↗—
2023 HSC Food Technology examFood Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam ↗ · Marking guidelines ↗—
2022 HSC Food Technology examFood Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam ↗ · Marking guidelines ↗—
2021 HSC Food Technology examFood Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam ↗ · Marking guidelines ↗—
2020 HSC Food Technology examFood Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam ↗ · Marking guidelines ↗—
2019 HSC Food Technology examFood Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam ↗ · Marking guidelines ↗—
2018 HSC Food Technology examFood Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam ↗ · Marking guidelines ↗—
2017 HSC Food Technology examFood Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam ↗ · Marking guidelines ↗—
2016 HSC Food Technology examFood Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam ↗ · Marking guidelines ↗—

20 official papers across 10 years (2016–2025), published by NESA.

Browse by topic

Pick a topic, open the exact question in the official paper, then work it in your own workspace — or hand the question straight to a live tutor session.

The Australian Food Industry · 7 mapped questions

Sectors of the Australian food industry

Policy and legislation

Aspects of the Australian food industry

Also in this topic: Sectors of the Australian food industry (agriculture and fisheries, food processing/manufacturing, food service and catering, food retail) · Emerging technologies in food production, manufacturing and packaging (biotechnology/GM foods, ecologically sustainable production e.g. organic farming) · Aspects of the Australian food industry — levels of operation and mechanisation (household, small business, large companies, multinationals), research and development, quality assurance, consumer influences (value-added foods) · Impact of the AFI on environment (waste management, packaging, production techniques, transportation), economy (profit, employment) and society (lifestyle changes, careers, working conditions, gender issues) · Policy and legislation — advisory groups, government policy and legislation (labelling requirements) affecting the Australian food industry — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Food Manufacture · 7 mapped questions

Production and processing of food

Packaging, storage and distribution

Preservation

  • 2025Food Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam Q247 marksResponse covering causes of can-bulging spoilage and quality management procedures in commercial food production.Official paper ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2025Food Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam Q259 marksResponse on the benefits of food preservation and a comparison of temperature control against another preservation principle.Official paper ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2019Food Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam Q2715 marksCase-study response on the 2018 strawberry contamination incident — sector impacts, quality-management considerations, and preservation processes to reduce waste.Official paper ↗Check tutors for this question →

Also in this topic: Production and processing of food — quality/quantity control of raw materials, role of food additives, equipment characteristics, production systems (small scale, large scale, manual, automated, computerised) · Quality management in industrial practice — HACCP, work health and safety, hygiene, critical control points, food safety hazards and risks · Preservation — reasons for preserving food, causes of deterioration/spoilage (environmental, enzymatic, microbial), preservation principles (temperature control, moisture restriction, exclusion of air, pH), preservation processes (canning, drying, pasteurising, freezing, fermenting) · Packaging, storage and distribution — functions and types of packaging materials, current developments (active packaging, modified atmosphere packaging, sous vide), storage conditions and distribution systems — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Food Product Development · 5 mapped questions

Marketing plans

Steps in food product development

  • 2025Food Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam Q2715 marksExtended-response case study on a new native-ingredient ice cream — an additive used in manufacture, a SWOT analysis, and a marketing plan proposal.Official paper ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2019Food Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam Q259 marksResponse identifying and justifying a target market for a gluten-free sourdough product, then examining GM food use in the AFI.Official paper ↗Check tutors for this question →

Factors which impact on food product development

Reasons for and types of food product development

  • 2019Food Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam Q215 marksShort answer — reasons for developing a new food product, plus matching product-development types to food examples in a table.Official paper ↗Check tutors for this question →

Also in this topic: Factors impacting food product development — external/macro-environment (economic, political, ecological, technological) and internal/micro-environment (personnel expertise, production facilities, financial position, company image); SWOT analysis · Reasons for and types of food product development — market/consumer/societal/technological/profitability drivers; line extensions, me-toos, new-to-world products · Steps in food product development — design brief, idea generation and screening, market research, product specifications, feasibility study, production process development, prototype development and testing (sensory evaluation, consumer testing, packaging tests, storage trials) · Marketing plans — product planning, price structure, place and distribution, promotional program (four Ps) — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Contemporary Nutrition Issues · 7 mapped questions

Diet and health in Australia

  • 2025Food Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam Q2311 marksExtended response on a named nutritionally-at-risk group — a health-promotion strategy, justified modifications to a supplied breakfast meal plan, and how the economic environment affects new product development.Official paper ↗Check tutors for this question →
  • 2019Food Technology Stage 6 Syllabus (amended 2009, updated 2013)Exam Q238 marksResponse outlining nutritional considerations for a named group and a strategy to improve that group's health outcomes.Official paper ↗Check tutors for this question →

Influences on nutritional status

Nutritionally modified foods

Active non-nutrients and supplements

Also in this topic: Diet and health in Australia — physical effects and economic costs of malnutrition (under- and over-nutrition) and diet-related disorders, nutritional considerations for specific groups, role of individuals/community groups/food industry/government/private agencies in promoting health · Nutritionally modified foods — functional foods and fortified foods meeting consumer demand · Active non-nutrients and supplements — phytochemicals, probiotics, fibre; role of dietary supplements in a balanced diet · Influences on nutritional status — diet's role in obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, food sensitivity/intolerance/allergy; lifestyle, cultural and social practices; media and ethical issues in food advertising — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Work a question with a tutor

If a HSC tutor is listed for Food Technology, the question you pick is attached when you book and loads into a shared live workspace — the tutor sees your working as you type, on a video call beside the official paper.

See Food Technology tutors →

Keep going