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Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Page: 6821

Mr GARRETT (Kingsford Smith—Minister for School Education, Early Childhood and Youth) (09:03): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

In December 2010, the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Devel­opment and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) endorsed the Foundation to Year 10 Australian Curriculum in the initial four learning areas of English, maths, science and history. Ministers agreed that from 2011, states and territories will commence staged implementation of the agreed Australian Curriculum with substantial implementation to be completed by the end of 2013. The implementation date defined in the act needs to be replaced to reflect this decision.

The single implementation date currently prescribed by the act does not accommodate the different implementation time frames that will accompany each new phase of the Australian Curriculum endorsed by edu­cation ministers.

Nor does it provide a means of dealing efficiently with future additions or revisions to the national curriculum, which are an accepted part of curriculum development processes.

The proposed amendment to the act will overcome these deficiencies by introducing a standing regulation that prescribes both the national curriculum and associated implem­entation time frames as those authorised by education ministers via the Council of Australian Governments' Standing Council for School Education and Early Childhood, formerly known as MCEECDYA.

The new standing regulation will provide a mechanism to efficiently accommodate phased implementation of the Australian Curriculum, as well as any future additions or revisions to the curriculum endorsed by the standing council.

Debate adjourned.