Civics and citizenship / Year 8 / Civics and Citizenship Knowledge and Understanding / Government and democracy

Curriculum content descriptions

How citizens can participate in Australia’s democracy, including use of the electoral system, contact with their elected representatives, use of lobby groups, and direct action (ACHCK062)

Elaborations
  • comparing the effectiveness of different forms of participation in Australia’s democracy
  • exploring how elected representatives can advocate on behalf of citizens
  • investigating examples where citizens have taken direct action such as organising a public demonstration or social media campaign
  • analysing how opinion polls are conducted and the ways they are used in democratic debate
  • exploring the different ways that citizens can participate in and support Australia’s democracy through their working lives, such as by serving in the armed services or as a reservist, teaching, representing Australia abroad as a diplomat or aid worker, or joining the police service or the public service
General capabilities
  • Critical and creative thinking Critical and creative thinking
  • Personal and social capability Personal and social capability
  • Ethical understanding Ethical understanding
ScOT terms

Activism,  Voting rights,  Active citizenship,  Direct action

Text

Voting in Australia

The representatives elected to federal Parliament make decisions that affect many aspects of Australian life including tax, marriage, the environment, trade and immigration. This 28 page PDF document explains the history of Australia’s electoral system and how it works, Australia’s system of government and the role citizens ...

Video

Get involved

Explore the ways ordinary Australians can get involved in the work of Parliament with this short video (6:25 min). Find out how you can get informed about the work of the Parliament, the role of petitioning and ways to participate in parliamentary inquiries.

Interactive

Discovering democracy: men and women in political life

Interact with a slideshow of images and text to explore some Australian men and women who have influenced the political landscape of Australia, both as elected representatives and as political leaders outside parliament. Complete a related task.

Text

Drug Crime and the Law

This sequence of four lesson ideas focuses on the concept that Australia's social wellbeing is enhanced when individuals understand the behaviours and laws associated with being responsible citizens, and report signs of illicit criminal drug activity to the appropriate authorities. This resource provides the opportunity ...

Interactive

Be the change

This is an interactive about becoming an effective agent of change through civic action in a local community. Users learn a number of practical ways to take democratic action on issues. The context is an abandoned block of land located in an area with a range of issues, such as youth unemployment and environment concerns. ...

Downloadable

Aboriginal change makers

Aboriginal history, self-determination and identity are examined in this teaching and learning eBook. The book draws on the lived experience of First Nations peoples drawing on historical record, cultural protocols and community connections to explore perspectives on traditional culture and leadership in the face of colonisation. ...

Online

Get Voting

This website provides a step-by-step guide to running an school elections such as student leadership positions. The five-step process provides practical advice on preparation and a variety of downloadable resources. The forms can be customised and include nomination forms, ballot papers, how to vote cards and tally sheets ...

Interactive

MP for a Week: Online Game

Challenge your students to survive a week in politics and keep their party, their voters and the media happy. The game gives young people a virtual taste of life as an MP. While created for a UK audience, there are many similarities with the Australian content.

Text

Defining moments in Australian History

This extensive web-based resource examines events, people and places of profound significance to the Australian people and their personal, community and national histories. The resource includes a list of 100 'defining moments' identified by historians supported by background information, images, video and links to the ...

Video

Mabo: the native title revolution

This a multi-layered website about the life and times of Eddie Mabo and the part he played in Indigenous land rights, produced by the National Sound and Film Archive. There are section headings on: The Mabo film; Mer; The man; The case; Native title; Land rights; and Terra Nullius. Each heading has multiple subheadings ...

Video

Tour of NSW Government House

This resource is a YouTube playlist containing a series of videos taken as a group of senior high school students are given a guided tour of NSW Government House in 2010. The tour covers primary sources such as architecture, furniture and images significant to the history of Australia and NSW.

Interactive

Discovering democracy: democratic struggles

Interact with a slideshow of images and text to explore the influence of the Chartist movement in Britain on the miners' struggles at the Ballarat goldfields, and the development of democratic ideas in Australia.

Interactive

Discovering democracy: parties control parliament

Interact with a slideshow of images and text to explore the role political parties and independents have in Australia. Learn about some of fundamental principles underpinning the major parties. Complete a related task.

Interactive

Discovering democracy: what sort of nation?

Interact with a slideshow of images and text to explore what has influenced the sort of nation Australia is and how it has changed over time. Complete a related task.

Interactive

Discovering democracy: a democracy destroyed

Interact with a slideshow of images and text to explore, through the demise of democracy in Germany in 1933, how the justice system can be used for undemocratic purposes. Complete a related task.

Online

Indigenous Stories about War and Invasion

This is a website about Indigenous experiences of invasion and war during the British invasion, World War I and World War II. The resource is presented in three sections: Introductory information; Story Objects; and Story Education Resources. There are eight story objects that tell the stories of individuals, events and ...

Interactive

Discovering democracy: law

Interact with a slideshow of images and text to explore the struggles of Indigenous Australians for land rights. Look in particular at the early land rights petition of 1963 and the roles played by Vincent Lingiari and Eddie Mabo. Complete a related task.

Interactive

Discovering democracy: human rights

Interact with a slideshow of images and text to explore the historical development of human rights and how they are upheld in Australia. Complete a related task.

Video

The Australian Dream: Cultural identity

Cultural identity gives us a sense of connection and belonging and an understanding of who we are and where we come from. There is a direct connection between people's sense of cultural identity and their health and wellbeing. This clip explores some of our nation’s history, including how Australia Day is seen by both Indigenous ...

Video

Meet the Fremantle Port Hostesses

In the 1960s, Marie Novak and Pauline Noble worked for the Fremantle Port Authority as hostesses, welcoming new migrants who arrived by ship. Why were hostesses needed? How do Marie and Pauline describe their time as hostesses? Compare the migration experiences of Marie's and Pauline's families. How did their backgrounds ...