The Australian History Curriculum Reference Group was appointed by the then Minister for Education, Science and Training, Ms Julie Bishop MP on 25 June 2007 to continue the work that began at the Australian History Summit in August 2006.
Following the Summit, Ms Bishop commissioned Associate Professor Tony Taylor from Monash University to conduct a study on the development of an outline model national curriculum framework in Australian history for years 3-10. Professor Taylor used the questions and key dates and events identified by the summit working group as a basis for this study and consulted widely with state, territory and non-government education authorities, teachers of history, parents, principals, teacher educators and experts in Australian history.
The Australian History Curriculum Reference Group has used Associate Professor Taylor’s draft Outline of a Model Curriculum Framework: Australian History Years 3-10 to develop a guide for teachers and the community on the length, breadth and depth of knowledge that students studying Australian history should acquire in years 9 and 10.
The four members of the Australian History Curriculum Reference Group were Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Blainey, Dr Nicholas Brown, Dr Gerard Henderson and Mrs Elizabeth Ward.
The Guide to the Teaching of Australian History in Years 9 and 10 
(2.0 MB) developed by the Australian History Curriculum Reference Group provides the rationale and objectives for the study of Australian history in Years 9 and 10 as a separate subject in schools across Australia. It outlines:
- the skills students should acquire through this study;
- a programme of study built around a series of Topics and key Milestones which inform a chronological approach; and
- a range of historical perspectives to provide a context for these Topics and to help students to pursue in-depth studies.
The Guide does not specify required outcomes and related assessment techniques, nor does it offer a guide to teaching resources. Consideration of outcomes, assessment techniques, and detailed curriculum and associated resources required to support the programme, will be the next priority in developing a national curriculum in Australian history.
The Guide will inform the development of core curricula standards for Australian history in Year 10 being progressed through the Realising Our Potential – core curricula standards initiative.
For further information see:
The then Minister for Education, Science and Training, Ms Julie Bishop MP, met with twenty-three leading Australian historians, public figures who promote the study of history and educational leaders at the Australian History Summit in Canberra on 17 August 2006.
Ms Bishop convened the Summit to seek advice on ways the Australian Government could strengthen the place and maintain the integrity of Australian history in the school curriculum and re-establish a structured narrative in the teaching of Australian history throughout primary and secondary schools.
The Summit participants agreed that “the study of Australian History should be sequentially planned through primary and secondary schooling and should be a distinct subject in Years 9 and 10. This would be an essential and required core part of all students’ learning experience to prepare them for the 21st Century”. There is currently no guarantee that students have an opportunity to study Australian history in a systematic, structured way in all States and Territories.
Australian students need to know the history of Australia because it is their story. For most students, what they learn at school is their only significant contact with the study of history. It is therefore crucial that Australian history is taught well at school and that all students have a thorough understanding of our nation's past. In the words of the Summit communiqué:
”Australia’s history is longer than that of many European countries, and is in many ways unique. Australia is one of the world’s oldest, continuous democracies. A knowledge of our history is therefore vital. Nearly all of the crucial public debates embody and appeal to history. We are convinced of the urgent need for a nation wide revival in the teaching of Australian History and its global, environmental and social contexts. We urge that steps be taken to enlist all States and Territories and relevant authorities in the task”
Two discussion papers were prepared for the Summit:
- An Overview of the Teaching and Learning of Australian History in Schools, prepared by Tony Taylor (Associate Professor of Education, Monash University) with Anna Clark (Australian Postdoctoral Fellow, Monash University), and
- The Teaching of Australian History in Australian Schools: A Normative View, prepared by Associate Professor Gregory Melleuish (Associate Professor of History and Politics, The University of Wollongong).
The following links contain The Australian History Summit documents: