Year 5 HASS – Term 4 (WA Curriculum): Democracy in Action - Understanding Our Rights and Responsibilities

What this unit covers

In Term 4, Year 5 HASS in the WA Curriculum centres on the unit “Democracy in Action - Understanding Our Rights and Responsibilities”.

Students explore the roles of citizens and representatives in Australian democracy, examining how laws and regulations protect rights and affect daily life.

Lesson sequence (8 lessons)

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

1. What Makes a Good Citizen? Exploring Our Democratic Rights and Responsibilities
2. From Local to National: Understanding Different Types of Laws in Australia
3. Who Speaks for Us? The Role of Elected Representatives in Parliament
4. Your Voice Matters: How Citizens Participate in Democracy Through Voting
5. Laws That Protect Us: Investigating Human Rights in Australian Society
6. Democracy in Debate: Presenting Arguments About Community Issues
7. Taking Action: How Young Citizens Can Make a Difference
8. Reflecting on Democracy: What We've Learned About Our Civic Future

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 4

WA terms run roughly 9–11 weeks, and in 2026 Term 4 runs from Monday 12 October to Thursday 17 December — 10 weeks for WA public schools. With 8 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.