Australian Civics Teachers - ACT Now

11/11/2025

Today was the anniversary of the 1975 dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam.

Not only was this just another extremely interesting event in Australia's political and civic history, but it was the first and only time in our history where such powers were exercised.

One side of history considered it a dark day for Australian democracy, where the removal of a Prime Minister was not put in the hands of the Australian people, while the other side of history considered it a necessity to ensure the functioning of good governance would continue.

Whichever position you may hold, we can all agree it was a significant event that needs to be studied to ensure our students and citizens understand the full powers of our Constitution and those of the Governor-General.

10/11/2025

"Why civics? How?"

I'm often asked how we make civics more relevant to our students' lives. The fact is, every school will have a different approach in terms of the content based on the context and needs of their school.

For me, the easiest example I can give, in the context of my school is this.

When I ask a student to pick up a bit of rubbish, I am often met with "But I didn't throw it."

My response is usually along the lines of "I didn't say you did. I'm not blaming you for it. I'm simply asking, can you please pick it up so we can all make our school cleaner".

Students at my school can often feel victimised because they do not often experience social justice. So they can clench up, become defensive and rarely take a collectivist view to making society better. Afterall, why contribute to something they feel have never given them anything in return?

Little interactions like these can slowly change how our students view their place in society, and eventually, their comfortability in contributing to society.

12/10/2025

11/08/2025

In Queensland public school teachers are currently in the midst of negotiating a new Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA11).

As part of this process we saw QLD teachers launch industrial strike action last week. More than 48,000 teachers walked off the job, with over 10,000 appearing in public strike meetings across the state - the largest strike in QLD’s history.

What is heartening to see and hear from a range of teachers is the fact that their students are interested in not only the process of striking - but why their teachers have undertaken such action.

This is precisely the type of opportunities that we as teachers need to be searching for to not only engage our students, but to arm them with the knowledge, understanding and skills for them to be able to act as responsible members of society.

Wherever you may stand on the political spectrum - and regardless of what your personal views on industrial action may be - don’t miss this opportunity to act now!

Credit: Photo from The Guardian Australia.
References: Statistics from the QLD Teachers Union.

21/07/2025

The Federal Attorney-General plans on making civics education more of a focal point, in a bid to lift our understanding and trust in our democratic institutions.

It’s early days in Michelle Rowland’s tenure as Attorney-General and much depends on what she eventually does, not what she says.

13/07/2025

This week's "Linking Civics into the Classroom" series sees us look at a potential activity you could use for grade 7, linking to the Achievement Standards.

30/06/2025

22/06/2025

Introducing our first "Did you know? Civics in Australia" series.

22/06/2025

**OUR PURPOSE?**

According to the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) exam results from 2024 show that less than one-third of Australian grade 10 students are proficient in civics. This is a 10 percent drop from the last results conducted in 2019.

Grade 6 students' understanding has also dropped to below 50% - sitting at 43% - across Australian schools.

The drop in understanding the importance of Australia's civics and democratic institutions will have wide-ranging ramifications moving forward. However, when we look at the following data then it's not surprising why our students are failing.

- 41% of Australians surveyed were dissatisfied with Australian democracy (Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Reference Committee, 2020, p. 128);

- 37% do not trust the Australian Government (ANU Centre for Social Policy Research, 2024);

- A perception that Australia's public participation in democracy is not made easy outside of voting.

Despite these, however, some very interesting conclusions from the New Democratic Audit was also observed. The audit concluded that:

- Australia was viewed internationally as a leading liberal democracy;

- Despite growing dissatisfaction with Australian democracy, the trend in comparison to the rest of the world saw Australians more satisfied with our democratic processes.

Our purpose at ACT Now is to make Civics education more accessible and more interesting. Many teachers around Australia are teaching civics despite not having a background in the subject. We are here to support you.

Civics is more than just about our democratic processes. At the heart of it, civics is about our society and the world around us.