Every now and then, a government announcement deserves more than a passing mention. Federal Education Minister Jason Clare’s announcement that education ministers across Australia have agreed to examine making civics and citizenship education compulsory in Years 9 and 10 is one of those occasions.
Clare put it rather well when he said, “Democracy doesn’t run on autopilot.” He is absolutely right. We cannot simply assume that young Australians will somehow acquire an understanding of our political institutions, electoral processes and democratic responsibilities by the time they turn 18.
Following the national Education Ministers Meeting on 2 November, the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has been asked to provide advice on strengthening civics and citizenship education in Years 9 and 10. It is not yet a decision, but it is a significant step in the right direction.
A problem we can no longer ignore
The latest national civics and citizenship assessment found that just 28 per cent of Year 10 students demonstrated the expected level of proficiency, the lowest result since national testing began in 2004.
Within a few years, these students will be voting. Yet many will arrive at the ballot box without a sound understanding of how governments are formed, how preferential voting works or how citizens can influence political decisions.
This is not a criticism of young people or their teachers, who already work within an extraordinarily crowded curriculum. But we would never accept students leaving school without basic numeracy or literacy. Why, then, accept that they might leave without understanding the institutions that determine so much about their lives?
From Tamworth to the national education agenda
As Chair of the NSW Labor Education and Skills Policy Committee, I have worked alongside committed educators and advocates pursuing precisely this reform. Our position has been straightforward: every student should leave Stage 5, the final two years of compulsory secondary schooling, with a sound understanding of Australia’s democratic system, their rights and responsibilities as citizens, and how they can participate.
Our committee secured a commitment in the party’s education platform. Committee member Kieran McHugh has been a particularly persistent advocate, speaking about civics education at the last two NSW Labor State Conferences and the Country Conference.
We have also had the support of NSW Parliamentary Secretary Mark Buttigieg MLC and the engagement of Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car, who, days before the national meeting, indicated that she would raise the issue. To see civics education then emerge as an agreed area for national consideration was enormously encouraging.
There is a lesson here for regional Australia. An idea developed in Tamworth can find its way through party policy processes, into discussions with ministers and onto the national education agenda. Good ideas are not the exclusive preserve of capital cities.
Many educators, organisations and advocates have called for stronger civics education, but I am proud our committee has been part of that effort.
Democracy is more than a history lesson
Knowing how our democracy developed is not the same as knowing how to participate in it. A student approaching voting age should understand how to enrol, how preferential voting works, the responsibilities of different levels of government and why independent electoral commissions matter. Participation also means joining community organisations, contacting elected representatives and advocating for change.
For young people across New England, where decisions about schools, hospitals, roads, water security and housing are made across different levels of government, knowing who is responsible for what gives them greater confidence to advocate for their communities.
Teaching young people to question, not what to think
Young people encounter political messages through short videos, online personalities and algorithms, much of it designed to provoke anger and division. The ability to distinguish fact from opinion, recognise manipulation and question political promises has never been more important.
That is not political indoctrination. It is precisely the opposite. Good civics education should never tell students which party to support. It should give them the confidence to make those judgments for themselves, and help them understand that disagreement is not a failure of democracy but an essential feature of it. At a time when political debate too often descends into personal abuse and manufactured outrage, that is a lesson worth teaching. And perhaps a few adults could benefit from it too.
Democracy belongs to all of us
Jason Clare deserves congratulations for placing civics education firmly on the national agenda, as do the state and territory ministers advancing this work. But the real achievement will come when every young Australian leaves Year 10 knowing not just that they live in a democracy, but how it works and how they can participate in it.
Democracy is not something that happens somewhere else, involving somebody else. It belongs to them. That is also the lesson I take from seeing an idea championed in Tamworth reach the national education agenda.
Denise McHugh is an experienced educator in Tamworth. She is Chair of the NSW ALP Education and Skills Committee and Deputy President of the Independent Education Union (IEU).
All opinion and comment on New England Times Engage is the opinion of the writer and not New England Times.
Got something on your mind? Go on then, engage. Submit your opinion piece, letter to the editor, or Quick Word now.