Australian Citizenship

Tuning In

Students are provided with a stimulus, such as the Australian citizenship affirmation or Australia’s Local Hero and Australia’s 2024 local hero videos.

Discuss students’ views about what people said regarding being Australian. What do they agree with, disagree with and/ or wish to add?

Lesson Ideas

• Students use information from the Australian citizenship affirmation or Australia’s Local Hero and Australia’s 2024 local hero to identify the behaviours and values shown by local hero award winners. (This can also link back to the Democratic Values theme pack)
• Using the resource What I Like About Living in Australia, students draw up a list of things that they like about living in Australia. (Tell students the other two columns on the sheet will be completed later in the lesson Protecting What We Value).
• Discuss with students why people must comply with the following requirements to be eligible for Australian citizenship
  • be a permanent resident
  • meet the residence requirements
  • be of good character
  • intend to live or maintain a close and continuing association with Australia
• Students are provided with the Australian Affirmation & National Anthem resource used by participants at citizenship ceremonies.
  • Discuss with students why they think the reading of the Australian Affirmation has recently been added to the Citizenship ceremony.
  • Provide students with the resource Life in Australia: Australian Values and Principles. Students read the paragraphs taken from this document and discuss, using a think, pair, and share activity, what messages this information provides about Australia for new migrants.
  • Students are divided into 9 groups. Each group is allocated a value or principle to research. Each group chooses a method, such as poster, song, rap song, poem, speech, play or tweet, to explain to the rest of the class the purpose of this value or principle as part of Australian society today. (Students either access, online, the information contained in the resource Life in Australia: Australian Values and Principles, or are provided with downloaded copies of the relevant sections.)
  • In verse two of the National Anthem it states that, “we’ll toil with hearts and hands to make this Commonwealth of ours renowned of all the lands”. Discuss with students what this might mean in the context of citizens’ responsibilities, introducing the notion of active citizenship.
  • In 2019 Australian Education Ministers from all states and territories declared that a goal of education should be that students become active and informed members of the community. Discuss why Ministers thought that this was so important in a democratic society like Australia (democracy relies on citizen participation).

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