Draft a Bill of Rights for Australia

Getting started

• Use the ‘Rights’ discussion starters in the Rights, power, action discussion starters to prompt conversation about the rights of citizens in Australia.
• Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with students. There is also a youth-friendly version. As a class, discuss:
  • • Which of these rights are most important to you?
    • Which of these rights are most important in a democracy?
    • Which of these rights do you think are well protected in Australia? Which could be better protected?

Activity (60 minutes)

1. Define the term Bill of Rights. Explain that Australia does not have its own Bill of Rights and only a handful of rights are mentioned in the Constitution, instead our rights come from international law, common law (courts) and statute law (parliament). 
2. Ask students to research arguments for and against an Australian Bill of Rights, either individually or in pairs. Remind students to record their sources and think critically about each source’s reliability. You may wish to use the Bill of Rights graphic organiser to help scaffold this research. 
3. Use the opinion continuum discussion strategy from the Unpack democracy classroom activity to find out if students think Australia should have a Bill of Rights. Ask students to justify their position on the continuum using arguments they have uncovered in their research.
4. Divide students into small groups and ask them to draft a Bill of Rights for Australia. You may wish to use the Bill of Rights scaffold to help students structure their Bill of Rights. Ask groups to share with the whole class which rights they have included and why.

Discussion questions

• Is it democratic for the Australian Parliament to decide which rights belong in an Australian Bill of Rights?
• What steps would need to be taken for Australia to have a constitutional Bill of Rights? 
• What might be the advantages and disadvantages of having the rights of citizens enshrined in the Australian Constitution?

Extension

Select one group’s Bill of Rights to be debated by a class parliament using the Make a law: House of Representatives classroom activity. 

To differentiate the activity so it is suitable for your students, you may wish to:

• Divide the class so the government does not have a clear majority. A minority government will make for a particularly close debate. 
• Give your opposition the option of supporting the bill. Inform them that the majority of bills are supported by both the government and the opposition. If your opposition chooses to support the bill, they should ask the government questions about their bill and push for changes to be made. (Which additional rights do they think should be included in the Bill of Rights? Which rights should be left out and why?)
• Give your students a free – conscience – vote on the Bill of Rights, so that instead of agreeing with their team, they can vote as they wish.

• Australian Constitution
• Years 9+10
• Senior secondary