HOW TO USE THIS RESOURCE
This document has been compiled by Parliamentary Education Services as suggested resources and information for the teaching of the Australian Curriculum in Civics and
Citizenship.
Not all of the material may be directly relevant for each year group but is considered helpful to teachers with a range of prior civics knowledge and to allow for differentiation of
classes and student abilities.
If you have any other useful materials that you believe could be valuable to other educators, or any further feedback, please contact us on [email protected] .
Disclaimer
These links are being provided as a convenience and for informational purposes only; Parliamentary Education Services bears no responsibility for the accuracy,
legality or content of the external site or for that of subsequent links. Contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.
YEAR 5 CURRICULUM RESOURCES
Year 5 Inquiry Questions:
 What is democracy in Australia and why is voting in a democracy important?
 Why do we have laws and regulations?
Knowledge and
Elaborations
Suggested Resources - Website Links
Understanding
The key values that
underpin Australia’s
democracy
 discussing the meaning of democracy
http://education.aec.gov.au/democracyrules/files/topic1.pdf
This offers a detailed examination of
democracy

http://education.aec.gov.au/democracy-rules
Black Line Masters
http://moadoph.gov.au/democracy/australian-democracy
The values in the elaboration are all
mentioned in this resource which also gives
them a good context
https://www.dss.gov.au/our-responsibilities/settlementand-multicultural-affairs/programs-policy/taking-theinitiative/resources/values-and-law
This is an excellent resource on Australian
values

The key features of the
electoral process in
Australia
Comments
discussing the meaning and importance of the key values
of Australian democracy (for example, freedom of election
and being elected; freedom of assembly and political
participation; freedom of speech, expression and religious
belief; rule of law; other basic human rights)
considering how students apply democratic values in
familiar contexts
 exploring the secret ballot and compulsory voting as key
features of Australia’s democracy
https://www.vec.vic.gov.au/files/ActivitySheet17.pdf
http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/default.asp?i
d=9456
 recognising the role of the Australian Electoral
Commission in administering elections that are open, free
and fair
http://www.aec.gov.au/Voting/Compulsory_Voting.htm
This elaboration could discuss school
elections, deciding where a class excursion
should go, who gets to choose a new topic
A good, simple Victorian resource on the
secret ballot
Lesson plan on compulsory voting
Detailed compulsory voting information
and who can vote
 clarifying who has the right to vote and stand for election
in Australia
http://www.aec.gov.au/About_AEC/index.htm
http://www.legalanswers.sl.nsw.gov.au/guides/hot_topics
/voting_and_elections/who_can_stand/stand_for_electio
ns.html
Why regulations and laws
are enforced and the
personnel involved
 categorising the different types of laws and regulations in
their community and who enforces them (road laws –
police; health laws – public health department; pollution
laws – environmental protection officer)
 identifying and researching the role of different people
associated with law enforcement (for example, quarantine
and customs officials, police) and the legal system (for
example, judges and lawyers)
Information about the Australian Electoral
Commission
Who can stand for election
https://parliament.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006
/378960/Representative-Democracy.pdf
Becoming a Member of Parliament Activity
https://parliament.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007
/378961/Voting-and-Elections.pdf
A voting activity
http://www.civicsandcitizenship.edu.au/cce/pl_law_types,
9538.html
Good listing of laws in different categories
http://www.pfes.nt.gov.au/Police/Our-history.aspx
A good background to the Northern
Territory police, with a summary of their
current role at the end of the page
http://work.chron.com/role-police-officer-8056.html
Information about the role of a Police
Officer
http://www.careerharvest.com.au/possibilities/communic
ations/quarantine-officer/
Information about the role of an Australian
Quarantine Officer
http://www.cscja-acjcs.ca/role_of_judge-en.asp?l=5
http://www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch13s03s06s01.php
These two links talk about the role of a
judge
https://www.city.ac.uk/law/careers/become-alawyer/what-lawyers-do
Information about what Lawyers do
http://lawsocietynt.asn.au/
The society may be able to help locate a
lawyer willing to talk to school children