After a lengthy review process and several redrafts, the new Australian Curriculum has been approved and released.

The document – dubbed Version 9.0 – was endorsed by Education Ministers on April 1, 2022 and published on a dedicated website on May 9.

While the website is primarily a resource for teachers, it includes a parent section which features frequently asked questions and a summary of the curriculum by subjects and year levels.

The independent statutory authority overseeing the curriculum update, the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), says the new document sets “high expectations and standards for what all students should know about and be able to do”.

ACARA also described it as a “more stripped back and teachable curriculum”.

It is also said to be one of the few digitalised curriculums in the world which would give teachers control over the way they view the curriculum and “make their work easier”.

“Teachers will be able to quickly and intuitively find relevant information, and lessons can be more easily planned,” ACARA CEO David de Carvalho said in a statement on May 9.

“The website has been designed so teachers can clearly see and explore the connections between the three dimensions of the curriculum – the learning areas, general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities,” ACARA’s Director of Curriculum Sharon Foster added.

Consent education included

One of the major changes in version 9.0 is a strengthening of the explicit teaching of consent and respectful relationships.

“In the current Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum, we have a focus titled Relationships and sexuality,” Ms Foster said in a statement.

The teaching of the skills and understandings required for respectfully giving and gaining consent is addressed in the Personal, social and community health strand through the focus areas Relationships and sexuality and Safety, explored in age-appropriate ways across the school years from Foundation to Year 10.

Read more about the changes to consent education in this story on the ACARA website.

Why was the curriculum updated?

In mid-2020, Australia’s Education Ministers asked ACARA to refine, update and declutter the curriculum.

The review’s aim was to produce a document that “focusses on the essential knowledge and skills students should learn and is clearer for teachers on what they need to teach”.

The initial review process produced a series of proposed revisions and the public – and in particular parents – were asked to consider it and provide feedback.

In February 2022, Education Ministers asked for a number of final changes which included further decluttering across several curriculum areas.

All ministers also agreed more work needed to be done to include mental health for young Australians in the revised Health and Physical Education curriculum, acting Federal Education Minister Stuart Robert said at the time.

“Chanel Contos from Teach Us Consent was invited to come along and speak to all ministers about the need for consent to be included in the health and physical education curriculum…and there is wide and unanimous agreement from all jurisdictions,” Mr Robert said.

What happens now?

The implementation of the new curriculum will depend on the “timelines and approaches” set by each state and territory education authority,” according to the statement by ACARA.

“Some jurisdictions may start supporting their teachers to become familiar with Version 9.0 in 2022 in preparation for starting to teach some or all learning areas from 2023.”

ACARA has committed to maintaining the existing Australian Curriculum website featuring the previous Version 8.4.

Both websites will remain live until all state and territories have transitioned fully to Version 9.0.

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