Year 8 Civics and Citizenship Achievement Standard
8 statements aligned to content descriptors and elaborations
Achievement standard (as ACARA publishes it)
Achievement standard
Click any sentence to jump to its statement and linked content descriptors.
By the end of Year 8, students explain how Australians are informed about and participate in their democracy. They describe the roles of political parties and elected representatives in Australian government. They explain the characteristics of laws, how laws are made and the types of law in Australia. Students identify ways in which Australians express different aspects of their identity and explain perspectives on Australia’s national identity.
Students develop questions and locate, select and organise relevant information from different sources to investigate political and legal systems, and contemporary civic issues. They analyse information and identify and describe perspectives and challenges related to political, legal or civic issues. They explain the methods or strategies related to civic participation or action. Students use civics and citizenship knowledge, concepts, terms and references to evidence from sources to create descriptions, explanations and arguments.
The 8 achievement standard statements
Open a statement to see the content descriptors ACARA links to it, then open a descriptor's elaborations.
By the end of Year 8, students explain how Australians are informed about and participate in their democracy.
Content descriptorAC9HC8K01 Knowledge and understanding
how Australians are informed about and participate in democracy
Elaborations (6)
- Elaboration investigating how Australians can participate in democracy, such as voting in elections, contacting their elected representatives, joining political parties and standing as candidates, and using lobby groups and taking direct action
- Elaboration explaining how who can vote and have a say in Australian democracy has changed since Federation, and the importance of an independent electoral service such as the Australian Electoral Commission
- Elaboration examining the issues of concern to young people in Australia today and investigating different ways they are seeking to influence political processes in addressing these issues
- Elaboration analysing case studies of citizen participation in political campaigns such as the Uluru Statement from the Heart
- Elaboration explaining how citizens’ understanding of issues, policies and political choices are shaped and can contribute to active and informed citizenship, including the influence of the media and social media, political parties, interest groups and election campaigns
- Elaboration examining a range of strategies used to influence citizens’ electoral choices, such as public debate, media and social media, opinion polls and political consulting firms, advertising, interest groups and political party campaigns
They describe the roles of political parties and elected representatives in Australian government.
Content descriptorAC9HC8K02 Knowledge and understanding
the role of political parties and independent representatives in Australian democracy, including elections and the formation of governments
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration examining the structure and composition of current parliaments, both federal and state/territory
- Elaboration evaluating different voting systems such as preferential and proportional representation
- Elaboration understanding how government is formed and may be lost, through discussing concepts such as parliamentary majority, the opposition, hung parliament, minority government, party discipline and balance of power
- Elaboration investigating the roles of political parties and elected representatives, including independents
They explain the characteristics of laws, how laws are made and the types of law in Australia.
Content descriptorAC9HC8K03 Knowledge and understanding
the characteristics of laws and how laws are made in Australia through parliaments (statutory law) and through the courts (common law)
Elaborations (5)
- Elaboration exploring the characteristics of laws, such as reflecting society’s values; being enforceable; being known, clear and understood; and being relatively stable
- Elaboration understanding how governments can introduce new rules and regulations without parliament voting on them (for example, delegated or subordinate legislation is not made directly by an Act of parliament, but under the authority of an Act of parliament)
- Elaboration questioning whether laws are affected by different cultural or social perspectives, such as those of First Nations Australians
- Elaboration identifying the 2 chief sources of law (parliament and the courts) and analysing a case study of statute and common law
- Elaboration examining the relationship between parliament and the courts
Content descriptorAC9HC8K04 Knowledge and understanding
the types of law in Australia, including criminal law and civil law, and the place of First Nations Australian customary law
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration explaining the fundamental difference between criminal law and civil law and their role in the protection of rights and freedoms
- Elaboration distinguishing statutory and common law from executive law (delegated law) and identifying how the houses of parliament can disallow delegated legislation
- Elaboration examining the significance of customary law for First Nations Australians through selected case studies
- Elaboration evaluating the opportunities and limitations of Native Title law for First Nations Australians
Students identify ways in which Australians express different aspects of their identity and explain perspectives on Australia’s national identity.
Content descriptorAC9HC8K05 Knowledge and understanding
how culture and religion may influence individuals' and groups' perceptions and expressions of citizenship and their actions as citizens
Elaborations (3)
- Elaboration exploring how people express different aspects of their personal identity through membership of multiple communities, such as cultural groups, faith groups, professional associations, trade unions, and sporting and social clubs, and how this is reflected in expressions of citizenship; for example, fund-raising for community services or supporting people experiencing health concerns
- Elaboration exploring the collective identities of several different groups in Australia’s multicultural society, and how these identities might be represented and perceived
- Elaboration discussing the differences between legal citizenship, active citizenship and global citizenship
Content descriptorAC9HC8K06 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
Elaborations (6)
- Elaboration examining the meaning of “national identity”, what it means to be an Australian citizen, and its role and significance in a globalised world
- Elaboration analysing different representations of Australian identity, historical and current
- Elaboration investigating the factors shaping debates about Australian identity, such as place, immigration and standard of living
- Elaboration exploring the reasons why some migrants elect to be become Australian citizens, while others choose not to become citizens
- Elaboration examining the types of questions asked in the citizenship test and exploring how these questions reflect our national identity
- Elaboration discussing how the national anthem contributes to our national identity
Students develop questions and locate, select and organise relevant information from different sources to investigate political and legal systems, and contemporary civic issues.
Content descriptorAC9HC8S01 Skills
develop questions to investigate Australia’s political and legal systems, and contemporary civic issues
Elaborations (3)
- Elaboration developing a key question and related questions to investigate an issue; for example, "How do young people effectively participate in democratic processes to influence issues that impact on them?", "How did public opinion help in persuading the government on the importance of providing a National Disability Insurance Scheme?"
- Elaboration developing a range of closed and open-ended questions about a particular topic or issue; for example, “What are the main features of a democracy?”, “How are laws made?” and “What is the relationship between democracy and active citizenship?"
- Elaboration considering current events to generate ideas for research; for example, how Australian governments have developed media and communications campaigns on public health issues to reach the culturally and linguistically diverse groups in Australia, why media coverage of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap reflects changing perspectives on Australia's national identity
Content descriptorAC9HC8S02 Skills
locate, select and organise information, data and ideas from different sources
Elaborations (3)
- Elaboration locating information from a range of print and online sources (for example, online journal articles, news reports or social media posts) using advanced search functions or targeted criteria about a citizenship issue, such as the nature of the Australian citizenship test
- Elaboration selecting information from a range of sources by applying understandings of accuracy and reliability to the selection of information
- Elaboration organising the ideas in different sources, such as opinion pieces, information from political parties, government reports and reports from independent organisations, by identifying bias, language choices and selective use of information
They analyse information and identify and describe perspectives and challenges related to political, legal or civic issues.
Content descriptorAC9HC8S03 Skills
analyse information, data and ideas about political, legal or civic issues to identify and explain differences in perspectives and potential challenges
Elaborations (4)
- Elaboration examining speeches from prominent Australian politicians or jurists to explain how Australia’s legal and political systems promote a fair and cohesive society
- Elaboration identifying and analysing the criteria for awarding Australian of the Year and Young Australian of the Year and explaining the different ways in which recipients of these awards have met the criteria and demonstrated the values of "good citizenship"
- Elaboration examining letters to the editor about current issues, and identifying and explaining the differences of opinion
- Elaboration identifying and explaining possible reasons for the difference in perspectives about a civics and citizenship issue, such as marriage equality
They explain the methods or strategies related to civic participation or action.
Content descriptorAC9HC8S04 Skills
explain the methods or strategies related to making decisions about civic participation
Elaborations (2)
- Elaboration describing how active citizenship strategies may contribute to an informed and positive change, and to building a democratically cohesive society; for example, stopping whaling, reducing carbon emissions
- Elaboration explaining the links between democratic societies, active citizenship and global citizenship at national, regional and global levels, and methods used to take civic action; for example, citizens who protest against militaristic and authoritarian regimes and/or abuses of human rights in other societies
Students use civics and citizenship knowledge, concepts, terms and references to evidence from sources to create descriptions, explanations and arguments.
Content descriptorAC9HC8S05 Skills
create descriptions, explanations and arguments using civics and citizenship knowledge, concepts and terms that reference evidence
Elaborations (2)
- Elaboration persuading the public on a contemporary issue or about a need for action, using evidence; for example, to argue the case for a constitutional change or an advertisement promoting participation in Australia’s democracy
- Elaboration using appropriate terms and concepts such as “freedoms”, “responsibilities”, “common law”, “statutory law” and “customary law”
This achievement standard describes the expected learning for Year 8 Civics and Citizenship. Use it to plan teaching and assessment with the Australian Curriculum v9.
At a Glance
| Strand | Substrand | CDs | Elaborations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knowledge and understanding | Government and democracy | 2 | 10 |
| Knowledge and understanding | Laws and citizens | 2 | 9 |
| Knowledge and understanding | Citizenship, diversity and identity | 2 | 9 |
| Skills | Questioning and researching | 2 | 6 |
| Skills | Analysis, evaluation and interpretation | 1 | 4 |
| Skills | Civic participation and decision-making | 1 | 2 |
| Skills | Communicating | 1 | 2 |
| Total | 11 | 42 | |