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Civics and citizenship / Year 7 / Civics and Citizenship Knowledge and Understanding / Government and democracy

Curriculum content descriptions

The key features of government under the Australian Constitution with a focus on: the separation of powers, the roles of the Executive, the Houses of Parliament, and the division of powers (ACHCK048)

Elaborations
  • exploring the concept of the separation of powers between the legislature, executive and judiciary and how it seeks to prevent the excessive concentration of power
  • using an issue such as water management, education or health to explore the division of powers between state/territory and federal levels of government and identifying the way that conflicts between state laws and Commonwealth laws are resolved
  • describing the role of the Governor-General, the different roles of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Prime Minister, ministers or the Cabinet and courts
  • identifying the principles of representative and responsible government that underpin the Australian Constitution
  • identifying the composition of the Legislature (the Queen, represented by the Governor-General, and the Senate and the House of Representatives), Executive (the Queen, represented by the Governor-General, Prime Minister and ministers) and Judiciary (the High Court and other federal courts)
  • discussing how ministers are subject to the scrutiny of other members of the parliament led by an officially recognised opposition
General capabilities
  • Personal and social capability Personal and social capability
  • Ethical understanding Ethical understanding
ScOT terms

Constitutions,  Separation of powers

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