Foreword

The strength and stability of Australia’s democracy depends on the capacity of our citizens to confidently engage with politics and cast an informed vote. Australia’s system of compulsory voting means that all Australians need to be informed to participate in our democracy and elections. This is particularly important at a time when democracies around the world, including Australia, are facing rising disengagement, distrust, and misinformation and disinformation in an increasingly complex online information environment.

Effective civics education in schooling is vital to give young people the tools to be informed and responsible citizens. However, teachers, students and other stakeholders report that the quality of civics education varies considerably between states, territories, and even individual schools. Civics is often given little time or focus, and content can be dry, lack relevance to students’ lives, and does not teach practical skills like how to vote. National civics education assessments of students in Years 6 and 10 undeniably demonstrate this. There are gaps in teacher training and confidence, and teachers fear backlash from bringing contemporary issues into the classroom that can be perceived as controversial.

Australia needs a strengthened and standardised approach to formal civics education. The Committee recommends nationally aligned and mandated civics and citizenship content for high-school students, with greater accountability and consistency in how this is implemented, by working more closely with state and territory governments. There are many hard-working and passionate teachers in our schools, but they need to be better supported to deliver quality civics education through improved professional development and high-quality, nationally aligned teaching resources.

While a school trip to Canberra is memorable for some, it is out of reach for many. This report recommends increased resourcing and support so that more students, particularly those living in regional and remote areas, can visit Canberra or access digital learning experiences.

Civic engagement is a lifelong learning process that continues beyond the classroom, but some Australians report never having received any form of civics education, which can result in feelings of alienation and distrust in political processes and institutions. Some groups also face unique challenges that impact their access to education and equal participation, including language and cultural differences, distance from Canberra and urban centres, disability, and socioeconomic barriers. The Australian Government must work more closely with trusted grassroots communities to provide meaningful and culturally appropriate voter education opportunities and materials. Support is also needed for polling stations in regional and remote communities. While many young people are passionate about social issues, diverse youth must be empowered and provided with meaningful opportunities to build their understanding and have their say on formal policies and processes.

Australians are increasingly consuming news on social media and other online platforms, where false narratives and misinformation can proliferate. Evidence to the inquiry highlighted that many of Australia’s young people and adults receive very little, poorly suited, or no education to develop media literacy skills, potentially undermining other efforts to strengthen civics education. Voters need the skills to judge the reliability of information when faced with misinformation and disinformation, artificial intelligence, social media algorithms and declining public interest journalism.

The size of the challenge requires a long-term national media and digital literacy strategy with a coordinated approach across education institutions, government, cultural and community organisations. The Committee recommends four parts to this strategy: prioritising media and digital literacy in the Australian Curriculum, working with community organisations to deliver training for vulnerable populations, resourcing for the Australian Electoral Commission to develop factual, translated resources to counteract disinformation, and advancing research on media consumption patterns and recommender systems on social media.

This report would not have been possible without the work of all those who contributed their time and expertise to this inquiry. I particularly wish to thank all the organisations and individuals who provided valuable evidence in more than 130 submissions and at 11 public hearings and five site visits around the country, from Canberra to Maningrida.

The Committee visited schools to hear from students and teachers, was hosted by migrant groups doing on-the-ground work and by First Nations organisations in remote communities. We spoke to members of some of Australia's youth councils and this inquiry was informed by people most affected by the topics we considered – students, teachers and curriculum designers. Another way this inquiry heard from school students, educators and school leavers was through an online survey, and I thank the 959 individuals who participated to help the Committee understand the current state of civics and citizenship in Australian schools.

Senator the Hon Carol Brown

Chair