Year 10 HASS – Term 1 (WA Curriculum): Indigenous Rights, Democracy and Economic Change in Modern Australia

What this unit covers

In Term 1, Year 10 HASS in the WA Curriculum centres on the unit “Indigenous Rights, Democracy and Economic Change in Modern Australia”.

This unit examines the historical struggle for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights, the evolution of Australian democracy, and economic transformations that have shaped modern Australia.

Lesson sequence (30 lessons)

The unit breaks down into the following lesson-by-lesson sequence — each title below is a teachable lesson, in order:

1. Investigating the Aborigines Act 1905: How discriminatory legislation shaped Aboriginal lives in Western Australia
2. Analyzing primary sources from the Stolen Generations: Government policies and their human impact
3. Examining the 1938 Day of Mourning: Aboriginal resistance and early civil rights activism
4. Comparing the US Civil Rights Movement with Aboriginal rights campaigns: Learning from international movements
5. Evaluating the significance of the 1946 Pilbara Strike: Aboriginal workers fighting for fair wages
6. Analyzing the impact of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962: Voting rights for Aboriginal Australians
7. Investigating the 1967 Referendum: Analyzing voter responses and constitutional change
8. Examining the Freedom Rides of 1965: Challenging segregation in rural New South Wales
9. Analyzing the establishment of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy: Symbols of protest and sovereignty
10. Investigating the Mabo High Court decision: How Eddie Mabo changed Australian land law
11. Evaluating the Native Title Act 1993: Government responses to the Mabo decision
12. Analyzing the Bringing Them Home Report: Truth-telling about the Stolen Generations
13. Examining the Racial Discrimination Act 1975: Legal protections against discrimination
14. Investigating the 2023 Voice Referendum: Analyzing campaign arguments and voter responses
15. Evaluating Australia's response to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
16. Comparing Australia's democratic system with China's political structure: Elections and representation
17. Analyzing threats to Australian democracy: Corruption, misinformation and populism
18. Investigating safeguards protecting Australian democracy: Free media and anti-discrimination laws
19. Examining High Court constitutional cases: Brown v Tasmania and World Heritage protection
20. Analyzing Australia's role in UN peacekeeping operations: Global responsibilities and challenges
21. Investigating income inequality in Australia: Using the Gini coefficient to measure wealth distribution
22. Examining government taxation policies: Progressive vs regressive taxation and wealth redistribution
23. Analyzing how governments influence economic performance: Education funding and skills development
24. Investigating business responses to economic change: Research and development strategies
25. Examining workplace changes in the digital economy: The gig economy and casualisation trends
26. Analyzing ethical decision-making in business: Fair trade campaigns and labor conditions
27. Investigating cultural intellectual property rights: Aboriginal art and commercial appropriation
28. Evaluating different historical interpretations: Comparing perspectives on the Freedom Rides
29. Analyzing cause and effect relationships: How the Mabo decision led to Native Title legislation
30. Critically evaluating evidence about the Stolen Generations: Assessing government and survivor accounts

Curriculum codes in this unit

Content codes:

Skills codes:

Reading the codes: WA codes (the ones starting with WA) pack the year level, learning area, strand and content number into one string, while the national Australian Curriculum v9 uses a different anatomy that starts with AC9 — same content family, different labels. Our complete WA Curriculum guide decodes both, character by character.

Planning notes for Term 1

WA terms run roughly 9–11 weeks, and in 2026 Term 1 runs from Monday 2 February to Thursday 2 April — 9 weeks for WA public schools. With 30 lessons in this unit, that leaves breathing room for assessment, moderation and the weeks that disappear to carnivals, camps and public holidays — plan the assessable work to land two to three weeks before the end of term rather than in the final week.