The Story of Our Rights and Freedoms
Help students explore how rights and freedoms have shaped Australia's history, laws and community life.
What to expect
This series encourages school students to understand the significance of rights, the role of government, and the actions of individuals and groups over time.
Students will learn:
- how democratic principles and freedoms developed in Australia
- the impact of colonisation on First Peoples
- key milestones in Australia's human rights history
how citizens have influenced change through activism and reform.
Designed for Years 7 to 10, The Story of Our Rights and Freedoms supports civics, citizenship, and history lessons. It also helps students build literacy skills, critical and creative thinking skills, and intercultural and ethical understanding.
These resources teach important cross-curriculum priorities, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures.
About the curriculum
These lessons are linked to Version 8.4 of the Australian Curriculum.
Now that version 9.0 of the curriculum is being rolled out in schools, we've provided links to the updated content descriptions and elaborations.
Overview of lessons
Year 7: Exploring rights, freedoms and constitutional change
An introduction to the ideas of rights, freedoms, democracy and citizenship. Students investigate early democratic developments and the formation of Australia's legal system.
Lessons
- The Australian Constitution
- Changing the Australian Constitution
- A constitutional referendum in action
- The balance of power
- What are human rights?
V9 Australian Curriculum Year 7 Civics and Citizenship links
Knowledge and Understanding
- The key features of Australia's system of government, including democracy, the Australian Constitution, responsible government and federalism (AC9HC7K01)
- The characteristics of Australia's democracy, including freedom of speech, association, assembly, religion and movement (AC9HC7K02)
- Explain the methods or strategies related to making decisions about civic participation (AC9HC7S04)
- The key principles and features of the Australian legal system, including the Australian Constitution, the rule of law and the court system (AC9HC7K03)
Skills
- Develop questions to investigate Australia’s political and legal systems, and contemporary civic issues (AC9HC7S01)
- Analyse information, data and ideas about civic, political or legal issues to identify and explain differences in perspectives and potential challenges (AC9HC7S03)
- Identify, gather and sort information and ideas from a range of sources (AC9HC7S02)
Year 8: Human rights and democracy
Exploring the rights and freedoms of citizens and how Australians can actively and responsibly participate in their democracy.
Lessons
- What rights and freedoms do we enjoy in Australia?
- Understanding democracy
- Democratic dissent
- Our democratic freedoms
- Human rights in our community
V9 Australian Curriculum Year 8 Civics and Citizenship links
Knowledge and Understanding
- Different experiences of, perspectives on and debates about Australia’s national identity and citizenship, including the perspectives of First Nations Australians as owners of their respective nations, and of different migrant groups (AC9HC8K06)
- The role of political parties and independent representatives in Australian democracy, including elections and the formation of governments (AC9HC8K02)
- How Australians are informed about and participate in democracy (AC9HC8K01)
Skills
Year 9: Exploring human rights and justice
This unit explores people's legal rights and avenues for addressing discrimination and breaches of rights, including conciliation and the role of the courts.
Lessons
- Understanding conciliation
- Rights, freedoms and the court system
- Rights, freedoms and the law
- Exploring human rights.
V9 Australian Curriculum Year 9 Civics and Citizenship links
Knowledge and Understanding
- How and why individuals and groups, including community, religious and cultural groups, participate in and contribute to civic life in Australia and to global citizenship (AC9HC9K05)
- The key features and jurisdictions of Australia’s court system, and the operations of courts and tribunals (AC9HC9K03)
- The role of courts, judges, lawyers and juries in trials, and the rights of the accused and the rights of victims (AC9HC9K04)
Skills
- Create descriptions, explanations and arguments using civics and citizenship knowledge, concepts and terms that incorporate evidence (AC9HC9S05)
- Develop and modify questions to investigate Australia’s political and legal systems, and contemporary civic issues (AC9HC9S01)
- Locate, select and compare information, data and ideas from a range of sources (AC9HC9S02)
- Analyse information, data and ideas about political or legal issues to identify and evaluate differences in perspectives and interpretations (AC9HC9S03)
Year 10: Advocating for rights and freedoms
Exploring human rights, the civil rights movements, and the struggle for the rights and freedoms of First Nations people.
Lessons
- What are rights and freedoms?
- Australia, the UN and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- Struggles for rights and freedom around the world
- The struggle for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights and freedoms.
V9 Australian Curriculum Year 10 History links
Knowledge and Understanding
- The origins and significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, including Australia’s involvement in the development of the declaration (AC9HH10K15)
- The effects of global influences on Australia’s changing identity as a nation and its international relationships (AC9HH10K19)
- The causes of First Nations Australians’ campaigns for rights and freedoms before 1965, such as discriminatory legislation and policies, the 1938 Day of Mourning and the Stolen Generations (AC9HH10K09)
- The significant events and methods in the movement for the civil rights of First Nations Australians and the extent to which they contributed to change (AC9HH10K11)
- The contributions of significant individuals and groups in the campaign for the recognition of the rights of First Nations Australians and the extent to which they brought change to Australian society (AC9HH10K10)
Skills
- Develop and modify a range of historical questions about the past to inform historical inquiry (AC9HH10S01)
- Create descriptions, explanations and historical arguments, using historical knowledge, concepts and terms that incorporate and acknowledge evidence from sources (AC9HH10S08)
- Explain the usefulness of primary and secondary sources, and the reliability of the information as evidence (AC9HH10S04)