This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Yesterday evening, an unknown hacker posted messages on the Victorian exam authority website, saying they had accessed 2026 Year 12 exam papers. Year 12 students are in the final stages of exams, which are due to finish on Nov. 18.
The ABC reported the hacker claimed to have distributed exam papers to students. According to the ABC, one of the messages on the website, which has since been removed, stated, "I'm here to say a big THANK YOU to a much cooler group of people—those who purchased an Official VCA 2026 Exam from me ahead of the Exam day this year." A Victorian exam authority spokesperson says there's no evidence Year 12 exam papers have been accessed or distributed. "The claims made in relation to VCE exams are fabricated.
These are false claims designed for financial gain from the exploitation of anxious students." Victorian exam authority chief executive Andrew Smith says Year 12 exams will go ahead as usual. But this doesn't mean the incident hasn't had an effect on students' well-being. We're clinical psychologists who study academic stress.
Here's what can help with setbacks during the exam period. If you're a Year 12 student, you're likely already experiencing stress, especially if you still have some exams left. So this news is likely to make it worse, even though the exam authority says the hacker's claims are false.
This is because when we are maxed out with stress, our emotional resources are depleted—we are physically and emotionally drained—and so little things can make us feel like things are out of control. The thought that some students might already have access to upcoming exam questions can set off a series of catastrophic thoughts leading to fear, anger and hopelessness. But you don't want to get yourself worked up over something that might not be true in the first place.
Catastrophic thinking is when we imagine the worst possible outcome that could happen. Although it feels like an inevitable outcome at the time, psychologists refer to these thinking styles as "cognitive errors." Here, we overestimate the probability and cost of a negative outcome. In this scenario, you might think it is likely Year 12 exams have been distributed widely.
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