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VCE · VCE Units 3 & 4 · official past papers

VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies past exams 2016–2025, by year and topic

The official VCAA 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 19 August 2026.

Papers, marking guides and examiner reports open on the official VCAA 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 →

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ATARMAxxing indexes 10 official VCAA Outdoor and Environmental Studies papers from 2016 to 2025, with 39 questions mapped to 7 areas of study. Every paper opens on the VCAA website.

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SD 2024–2028 (current) · 2024–2028SD 2018–2023 · 2018–2023SD 2012–2017 · 2012–2017

VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies exams by year: official papers & marking guidance

Past exams indexed: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016. Open the official VCAA papers, with marking guidance where available.

Year	Study design	Official paper(s)	Marking guidance
2025 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies exam	SD 2024–2028 (current)	Written examination ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2024 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies exam	SD 2024–2028 (current)	Written examination ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2023 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies exam	SD 2018–2023	Exam ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2022 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies exam	SD 2018–2023	Exam ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2021 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies exam	SD 2018–2023	Exam ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2020 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies exam	SD 2018–2023	Exam ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2019 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies exam	SD 2018–2023	Exam ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2018 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies exam	SD 2018–2023	Exam ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2017 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies exam	SD 2012–2017	Exam ↗	Marking guidance ↗
2016 VCE Outdoor and Environmental Studies exam	SD 2012–2017	Exam ↗	Marking guidance ↗

10 official papers across 10 years (2016–2025), 10 with marking guidance, published by VCAA. These span more than one study design; the most recent is SD 2024–2028 (current). Earlier papers may cover material that has since changed.

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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.

Unit 3, AOS 1 — Changing human relationships with outdoor environments · 7 mapped questions

Specific Indigenous peoples' relationships before and after European colonisation

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q13 marksDescribes a specific Indigenous peoples' relationship with a visited or studied environment in the period before European colonisation.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Non-Indigenous relationships: Early colonisation (1788–1859)

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q26 marksUses three dated images of the Yarra River to outline the non-Indigenous relationship shown in each of Early colonisation, Pre-Federation and Post-Federation.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Non-Indigenous relationships: Post-Federation (1901–1990)

2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q26 marksAnalyses how non-Indigenous peoples' relationship with a specific environment changed from Pre-Federation to Post-Federation.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Beginnings of environmentalism: Lake Pedder, Franklin River, Little Desert

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q3a3 marksDescribes, with a specific example, how a studied historical environmental campaign began.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q3a3 marksDescribes one prescribed historical environmental campaign from the Post-Federation period with specific examples.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Influence of environmentalism on government and political party policy

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q3b4 marksEvaluates how effectively that campaign influenced a government or political party before 1990.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q3c5 marksCompares how the historical campaign and the recent environmental issue have each shaped political party policy.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Also in this areas of study: Australian environments before humans: biological isolation, geological stability, climatic variation · Non-Indigenous relationships: Pre-Federation (1860–1900) — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Unit 3, AOS 2 — Relationships with Australian environments in the past decade · 12 mapped questions

Indigenous custodianship: land and water councils, Registered Aboriginal Parties

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q4a3 marksExplains the process by which a group becomes a Registered Aboriginal Party.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Conservation, recreation and economic relationships

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q4b6 marksDiscusses how a RAP could influence both economic and conservation relationships with a visited or studied environment.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q6a3 marksIdentifies three different stakeholders from a proposed mountain-bike-park stimulus.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q6b6 marksDescribes how those stakeholders' views represent economic, conservation and recreational relationships with the area.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Methods used by individuals and groups to influence decisions

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q5a5 marksFrom a hypothetical inner-city vehicle-ban stimulus, describes one method each of two opposing groups could use to influence decision-makers.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q4b3 marksExplains one method one of those parties could use to influence decisions about the environment.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Processes land managers use to resolve conflicts

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q5b4 marksEvaluates one process that could be used to resolve the vehicle-ban conflict.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q4c3 marksExplains one process that could be used to resolve the selected conflict.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q4d4 marksEvaluates the effectiveness of that resolution process.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Prescribed conflicts (Alpine feral species, Victorian logging, mountain bike parks, Southern Ocean whaling, Murray-Darling water)

2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q4a4 marksSummarises a studied prescribed conflict and identifies two opposing parties.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Federal political party and representative environmental policy

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q5c4 marksProposes how two federal political parties or representatives might respond to the conflict in the lead-up to an election.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q3b3 marksExplains how one environmental policy of a major political party in the last decade has influenced a visited or studied environment.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Also in this areas of study: Social debates: climate change, renewable energy, water management — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Unit 4, AOS 1 — The importance of healthy outdoor environments · 8 mapped questions

Pillars of sustainability, interdependence and critiques

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q73 marksExplains, using a specific environment, how social and environmental sustainability are interdependent.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q13 marksIdentifies two pillars of sustainability and outlines how they are interdependent.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Observable characteristics: water, air and soil quality

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q96 marksDescribes the health of a visited or studied environment using two observable characteristics and recommends one solution to improve it.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Observable characteristics: species and ecosystem biodiversity

2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q6c3 marksAssesses one possible impact on species or ecosystem biodiversity if the bike park proceeds.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Threats: land degradation, introduced species, urbanisation, climate change, flood, fire

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q84 marksAnalyses the impact of one threat other than climate change on society and outdoor environments.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q5a4 marksSelects a prescribed threat and analyses its potential impact on a specific environment.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Local, national and international climate change mitigation strategies

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q63 marksUses a CSIRO ocean-heat-content graph to describe one national strategy addressing rising ocean heat.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q5b5 marksSuggests a mitigation strategy and analyses how it could lessen the impact of climate change on that same environment.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Also in this areas of study: Healthy environments and individual and societal wellbeing — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

Unit 4, AOS 2 — The future of outdoor environments · 11 mapped questions

Indigenous and non-Indigenous land management strategies

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q10a4 marksFor a proposed jointly managed council park, describes one Indigenous and one non-Indigenous land management strategy.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q7c5 marksCompares the effectiveness of one community action with a non-Indigenous land management strategy for the same river and farmland.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section B Q115 marksLetter to the editor describing custodianship, analysing how colonisation affected Indigenous peoples' ability to care for Country, and describing an Indigenous management strategy linked to specific communities and environments.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Acts and conventions: FFG Amendment Act 2019, Ramsar, EPBC Act 1999, VEAC Act 2001, Planning and Environment Act 1987

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q12a4 marksSelects two of the five prescribed Acts or conventions from a table and describes each.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Evaluating and proposing changes to Acts and conventions

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q12b5 marksCompares how effective the two selected Acts or conventions could be in managing a wilderness walk affected by cinnamon fungus and introduced species.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Community actions: regenerative farming, Trust for Nature, Landcare, 'Friends of' groups

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q10b3 marksEvaluates one community action that could support the health of the new park.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q7a4 marksDescribes two community actions that could sustain the health of a river and its surrounding farmland.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q7b3 marksJustifies which of the two community actions would be more effective.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Individual actions: activism, advocacy, ethical and sustainable consumerism, green home design

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q115 marksCompares two individual actions that could sustain a visited or studied environment.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q8a4 marksDescribes two individual actions that could sustain an outdoor environment.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →
2024SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section A Q8b4 marksExplains how both individual actions could help address Australia's waste problem, linked to the stimulus.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Unit 4, AOS 3 — Investigating outdoor environments · 1 mapped question

Using data from at least two environments in Section B

2025SD 2024–2028 (current)Written examination Section B Q115 marksExtended response on how Australians' outdoor recreation changed from the Post-Federation eight-hour-day era to the last decade, its wellbeing role and its environmental impact, using primary and secondary data from at least two environments.Official paper ↗Marking guidance ↗Check tutors for this question →

Also in this areas of study: Planning and conducting an independent investigation · Primary and secondary data; logbook authentication · Report conventions and representations of data — question-level mapping in progress; the year table above links every official paper.

The rest of the study design

Question-level mapping for these areas is still being verified. Every official paper covering them is in the year table above.

Unit 1 — Connections with outdoor environments (not examinable, foundational) — Motivations for and responses to outdoor environments · Ways of knowing and experiencing outdoor environments · Safe, sustainable and minimal-impact participation
Unit 2 — Discovering outdoor environments (not examinable, foundational) — Characteristics and natural processes of outdoor environments · Human impacts on outdoor environments and environmental impacts on humans · Independent participation in outdoor experiences

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