Civics & Citizenship Resources

Teaching the 3 levels of Australian Government can be tricky to explain to your kids as well as being a little uninspiring. Get your kids motivated to learn about Roles & Responsibilities of Government with our engaging Year 6 Civics & Citizenship teaching resources!

The content of the civics and citizenship sub-strand allows students to develop understanding about government and democracy, laws and citizens and citizenship, diversity and identity.

Civics & Citizenship teaching programs teach students about the key institutions of Australia’s democratic government, including state/territory and federal parliaments, and the responsibilities of electors and representatives.

They will be learning about:

• Laws – How state/territory and federal laws are made in a parliamentary system.
• Citizenship & Identity –  Australian citizenship and the rights and responsibilities of Australian citizens
• Citizenship, Diversity & Identity – explore the obligations that people may have as global citizens

Civics & Citizenship Inquiry Questions:

• What are the roles and responsibilities of the different levels of government in Australia?
• How are laws developed in Australia?
• What does it mean to be an Australian citizen?

What To Teach – 3 Levels of Australian Government

We’ve had a dig around the different State curriculum docs and have discovered that everyone, is on the same page with this one. Although Victoria has tweaked their wording & Content Description number a little, all states focus on the  Inquiry Question:

• What are the roles and responsibilities of the different levels of government in Australia?

and the Content descriptor (all States except Victoria)

• ACHASSK144  – The roles and responsibilities of Australia’s three levels of government

For Victorian Teachers

• VCCCG008- Discuss the values, principles and institutions that underpin Australia’s democratic forms of government and explain how this system is influenced by the Westminster system 

So here’s what you need to include:

• The Australian Government is a Federation, which means that power is shared over 3 separate levels of government
• The three levels of government work together to provide us with the services we need.The three levels are:
  • federal—Australian—Parliament, in Canberra
  • state and territory parliaments, in each state and territory capital city
  • local councils—also called shires or municipalities—across Australia.

Each Level of government has it’s own Roles and Responsibilities

Roles:

• Federal government raises money to run the country by collecting taxes on incomes, goods and services, and company profits, and spends it on national matters.
• State and territory governments also raise money from taxes but receive more than half their money from the federal government and spend it on state and territory matters.
• Local councils collect taxes—rates—from all local property owners and receive grants from federal, state and territory governments, and spend this on local matters

Responsibilities:

Federal Government – Responsible for national  issues that affect all Australians 

• Defence
• Income tax
• Immigration
• Social Welfare
• Foreign Affairs
• Industrial Relations
• Currency
• Trade

State Government -Responsible for issues that affect people in that state or territory 

• Public Transport
• Schools
• Hospitals
• Electricity
• Police & Ambulance
• Public Housing
• Justice
• Consumer Affairs
• Forestry
• Main Roads

Local Government – Responsible for issues that affect local communities

• Rubbish Collection & Recycling
• Parks, Sports Fields & Swimming Pools
• Pet Control
• Local Roads
• Libraries & Art Galleries
• Building Regulations
• Land Sub-divisions

Information from Australian Electoral Commission & Parliamentary Education