HSC Mathematics Advanced Past Papers (Mathematics)
HSC Mathematics Advanced is a single 3-hour written exam set and marked by NESA, covering the Year 12 topics: functions, trigonometric functions, calculus, financial mathematics and statistical analysis.
The current Mathematics Advanced syllabus was first examined in 2020, so there is a compact set of past papers - each one is worth doing under full timed conditions with the reference sheet.
Check the syllabus year. A new Mathematics Advanced syllabus is first examined in the 2027 HSC. If you sit the exam in 2027 or later, the past papers below are from the previous syllabus - still useful for exam technique, but confirm the content against the current syllabus. If you sit it in 2026 or earlier, they match your course.
Official Mathematics Advanced HSC exam papers & marking guidelines (2020–2025)
NESA publishes the past HSC exam papers, the marking guidelines and the notes from the marking centre for Mathematics Advanced on its own site. They are the real exam questions - sit them under timed conditions, then mark with the guidelines.
What's on the Mathematics Advanced exam?
The paper blends short multiple-choice questions with longer free-response questions across the whole course, drawing on the provided NESA reference sheet. It rewards fluent technique and clear working - marks are awarded for method, not just the final answer.
Doing the past papers to time is the single best way to build exam speed and spot the recurring question types.
How to use the past papers
Sit each Mathematics Advanced paper in one timed session, closed-book, before you look at anything else. Then mark it against NESA's marking guidelines for that year - the guidelines show exactly how marks are awarded, which is where most of the improvement comes from.
Finish with the notes from the marking centre (NESA's examiner feedback): it spells out what the strongest responses did and the mistakes the state cohort repeated. All three - the paper, the marking guidelines and the marking-centre notes - are on the official NESA page linked above.
Practice Mathematics Advanced beyond the past papers
There are only a handful of NESA papers, so once you've done them, generate fresh questions on the exact topics you're weakest on with Polarbear's AI exam-cram - grounded in the HSC Mathematics Advanced syllabus, free to try.
Mathematics Advanced past papers FAQ
Source: NESA's official Mathematics Advanced HSC exam papers. HSC exam papers are © State of New South Wales (NESA) - Polarbear links to the official papers rather than rehosting them, and is not affiliated with or endorsed by NESA.