Media Release

NSW Urged to Review Civics Education in Wake of Bondi Tragedy

21 February 2026

New South Wales has a critical opportunity to lead the nation in strengthening student’s understanding of the values and institutions that underpin the Australian way of life.

At a meeting of state and territory education ministers in Adelaide on Friday 20 February 2026, the Federal Minister for Education, Mr Jason Clare MP, called on the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) to review the national curriculum following the Bondi massacre. He stated that all students must now be explicitly taught Australian values, including “freedom, democracy, the rule of law and a fair go.”

It is now time for the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), under the direction of Deputy Premier, Minister for Education and Early Learning Ms Prue Car, to do the same and initiate a review of the NSW Curriculum in light of the Bondi massacre.

Even before Bondi, NSW had received repeated recommendations to prioritise civics education, with only incremental steps taken in recent reforms.

Recent Recommendations:

• Parliament of Australia, Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (January 2025): Recommended that the “Australian Government mandate a minimum of 10 hours a year of civics and citizenship education for all students nationally across Years 9 and 10″

• Parliament of NSW Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (June 2025): Recommended “That the NSW Department of Education develops a civics education curriculum as a stand-alone mandatory subject.”

At the public hearing of the Commonwealth Joint Standing Committee, NESA confirmed that forthcoming NSW syllabus changes, due for implementation in 2027, will embed civics and citizenship across History, Geography and Commerce rather than establishing a compulsory stand‑alone subject.

This means NSW will continue to rely on a piecemeal approach to civics instruction, which will vary widely depending on subject choices and teacher adoption.

The Bondi Beach tragedy of December 2025, combined with the continued decline in civic knowledge and engagement among NSW students, demonstrates that modest adjustments are no longer enough.

NSW must act decisively.

We need to supercharge civics education in NSW. Every young person in NSW, and across Australia, must receive explicit, consistent, and foundational education on the democratic values, institutions, and rule of law principles that bind Australians together.

Statement

The Rule of Law Education Centre is calling for:

1. Review of NSW Curriculum in light of Bondi to ensure sufficient compulsory, standalone civics components within the NSW curriculum, ensuring all students receive formal and explicit instruction in democratic values, freedoms, the rule of law (including an understanding of the role of the courts and an independent judiciary) and a fair go.

2. Compulsory civics and citizenship education in Initial Teacher Education programs, equipping all future teachers with a foundational understanding of governance and law, and the skills to facilitate respectful discussion of complex and difficult issues.

3. More opportunities for students to engage directly with civic institutions and communities, including positive encounters with representatives of the judiciary, parliament and affected community groups, to deepen understanding of democratic freedoms and responsibilities.

The Rule of Law Education Centre is a non partisan, not-for-profit charity that has supported Australian schools for over a decade by providing civics education resources, excursions, and professional development for primary and secondary teachers to equip Australians to champion and safeguard their freedoms secured by democracy and the rule of law. The Centre has a membership of over 3,000 Australians, 70% of whom are teachers. Initiatives like the Rule of Law Education Centre’s Informed Civics Competition and Law Day Out Court Excursions are already bringing civics and citizenship to life, but they need curriculum backing and teacher training to achieve a consistent, statewide impact.

For more details, please contact Sally Layson info@ruleoflaw.org.au

Further Details about Advocacy for Curriculum Changes

The Rule of Law Education has provided feedback and submissions on the Australian and New South Wales Curriculums. We believe that democracy and the key principles that underline our system of government such as equality, fairness and justice must be deliberately and intentionally taught to every generation of Australians. Intentionality ensures each generation has sufficient knowledge, understanding, skills and values required to maintain a constitutional, liberal democracy.