Curriculum dimensions
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General FAQs
In 2008, all Australian governments agreed a national curriculum was needed to deliver an equitable, quality education for all young Australians. The first Australian Curriculum was released in 2010 for English, Mathematics, Science and History Foundation to Year 10 (Version 1.0). By 2015, all learning areas and subjects had been progressively added to the F–10 Australian Curriculum.
Read more about the history of the Australian Curriculum here.
In 2020–21 ACARA undertook a review of the F–10 Australian Curriculum at the direction of education ministers. Revisions were made to all 3 dimensions of the Australian Curriculum as a result of an extensive consultation and review process. In April 2022, education ministers approved revisions to the F–10 Australian Curriculum (Version 9.0) replacing the current curriculum (Version 8.4).
Overall, from Version 8.4 to Version 9.0, content was revised and realigned to ensure it was up-to-date, had a strong evidence base and matched the high standards expected in other high-performing countries. Content was also reduced and refined to improve useability and implementation, especially for primary school teachers.
Read more about the changes from Version 8.4 to Version 9.0 here.
The Australian Curriculum Version 9.0 includes the following key changes:
- improved consistency and clarity of language in achievement standards and content descriptions
- strengthened cognitive alignment between content descriptions and achievement standards
- refined content descriptions to provide greater clarity to teachers about what to teach
- removed and de-emphasised some content, while other content has been added or given more emphasis
- revised content elaborations to provide authentic examples for teachers, which identify opportunities to develop general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities
- improved level descriptions to provide teachers with a clear overview of the learning that students should experience in each level or band
- revised and strengthened general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities.
State and territory education authorities and non-government sectors will determine the timeline and approach to implementation of Version 9.0 in their jurisdiction and will communicate that to their schools.
Read more about state and territory implementation here.
By 2013 ACARA had developed 15 senior secondary subjects across English, Mathematics, Science, History and Geography as the agreed and common base for the development of state and territory senior secondary courses.
At this point in time, there are no future plans for ACARA to develop further senior secondary Australian Curriculum subjects. You can find the 15 senior secondary subjects here.
The senior secondary Australian Curriculum for each subject specifies content and achievement standards. State and territory curriculum, assessment and certification authorities are responsible for determining how the Australian Curriculum content and achievement standards are to be integrated into their courses. The state and territory authorities also determine assessment and certification specifications for their courses and any additional information, guidelines and rules to satisfy local requirements, including advice on entry and exit points and credit for completed study.
Information about the Australian Curriculum has been specifically developed for parents.
Parents can view information about what is taught in each Version 9.0 learning area here.
Parents can learn about the way literacy and numeracy skills develop and identify the particular literacy and numeracy skills their children are using or are currently learning here.
The Australian Curriculum: Work Studies is an optional curriculum that can be accessed on the Version 8.4 Australian Curriculum website: Work Studies (Version 8.4) | The Australian Curriculum (Version 8.4). Planning for its review is in the preliminary stages. The Version 8.4 curriculum for this subject should continue to be used.
The Australian Curriculum allows teachers, including classroom and specialist teachers, to implement the curriculum to meet the needs of their students. It also enables schools to partner with organisations to deliver programs that complement teacher-led learning.