Western Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences Curriculum Guide
This guide has been produced by the expert team of HASS teachers, authors, and learning designers at Oxford University Press ANZ. It contains a clear, concise summary of the key changes to structure and content of the Western Australian Curriculum and is designed to save you time and help you plan and implement the new curriculum with confidence
Why
is
the Western Australian Humanities and Social Sciences Curriculum changing?
A review of the Western Curriculum Humanities & Social Sciences began in 2024. The new Western Curriculum Humanities & Social Sciences was finalised in February 2025 for implementation in 2026.
The new WA curriculum has adopted and adapted the Australian Curriculum version 9 for the Western Australian context.
Based on comprehensive feedback from teachers, the new curriculum:
• reduces content to be studied across Years 7 to 10
• divides each subject into two distinct units
• includes examples for some content descriptions – these aren’t mandatory
• reorganises content in some cases to improve continuity and flow within units
• retains the concepts from the current curriculum.
Key differences in the new curriculum
Knowledge
Sub-strand: History
The ancient world (Egypt, Greece, Rome, India or China) - overview
Depth study 1: Investigating the ancient past
Depth study 2: Investigating one ancient society (Egypt, Greece, Rome, India or China)
The ancient to the modern worldoverview
Curriculum Strand: Knowledge & understanding
Depth study 1: Investigating medieval Europe
Sub-strand: History
Depth study 2: Investigating the Black Death
The making of the modern world –overview
Depth study 1: Investigating the Industrial Revolution
Depth study 2: Investigating World War I
The modern world & Australia –overview
Depth study 1: Investigating World War II
Depth study 2: Investigating rights & freedoms
Strand: Knowledge & understanding
Sub-strand: History
Deep time history of Australia
The ancient world (choose one of Egypt, Greece, Rome, India or China)
Curriculum Strand: Knowledge & understanding
Investigating medieval Europe
The Industrial Revolution (1750–1914)
Sub-strand: History
Australian history (1750–1914)
Investigating World War I
Investigating World War II Investigating rights & freedoms
& understanding Sub-strand:
Moved from Year 9
While skills are the same for all four subjects and remain largely unchanged from the old curriculum, there has been notable change in the knowledge and understanding strands across all subjects – such as content being reorganised into distinct units, new units such as Deep time history and Australian history, as well as the Industralian Revolution unit moving from Year 9 to Year 8.
Detailed breakdown on how the content is changing
Geography
Only content that has been added, significantly modified or removed is listed here. Many other content descriptions have been refined or combined.
More detail on all content and assessment changes – together with scope and sequence charts, lesson plans, and assessment support – is available for schools implementing the Western Australian Curriculum with Oxford resources.
What’s been added or modified?
Year 7 Unit: Water in Australia
Year 7 Unit: Place & liveability
Year 8 Unit: Landforms, landscapes & hazards
The geographical processes that produce landforms, including a case study of one type of landform, such as mountains, volcanoes, riverine or coastal landforms
How the application of principles of prevention, mitigation and preparedness minimises the harmful effects of geomorphic hazards
Year 8 Unit: Changing nations
Nature of changes
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Removed
Removed
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Geography
What’s been added or modified?
Year 9 Unit: Biomes & food security
The environmental, economic and technological factors that influence crop yields in Australia and across the world (e.g. climate, soils, landforms, water resources, irrigation, accessibility, labour supply, agricultural technologies)
Year 9 Unit: Geographies of interconnections
Year 10 Unit: Environmental change & management
The environmental worldviews of people and the custodial responsibilities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and their implications for environmental management
Year 10 Unit: Geographies of human wellbeing
The role of international and national government and nongovernment organisations' initiatives in improving human wellbeing in Australia and other countries
Nature of changes
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Removed
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Addition of custodial responsibilities of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Removed
History
What’s been added or modified?
Year 7 Unit: Deep time history of Australia
Major time periods in history, including Deep Time History of Australia
How Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the world’s oldest continuing cultures, displaying evidence of both continuity and change over Deep Time
The development of early innovative technologies by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and how they were developed in different places
The importance of conserving cultural heritage in collaboration with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Year 7 Unit: The ancient world (Egypt, Greece, Rome, India or China)
Roles of key groups in the ancient society, and the influence of law and religion
Year 8 Unit: Investigating medieval Europe
The transformation of the medieval world to the early modern world, including the causes, impacts and significance of at least one of the following on European society: the Black Death, scientific advancement, cultural and intellectual revival
Key features of the medieval world (feudalism, trade routes, voyages of discovery, contact and conflict)
Year 8 Unit: Industrial Revolution
The social, economic, political, technological and/or environmental causes of the Industrial Revolution in Europe in the late 18th and 19th century
Nature of changes
New unit
New content description
New content description
New content description
New content description
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Removed
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
New content description
Removed
Moved from year 9 with minor refinements
New content description
History
What’s been added or modified?
he population movements and changing settlement patterns during the Industrial Revolution
Year 9 Unit: Australian history (1750–1914)
The causes of European imperial expansion and the movement of peoples in the late 18th and early 19th centuries
The effects of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Significant individuals and events in the development of Australian society during the time period
Different experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, colonisers and non-European settlers
Year 9 Unit: Investigating World War I
The impacts of World War I on the Home Front, including at least two of the following: the use of propaganda, the role of women, political debates about conscription, relationships with the British Empire, the experiences of returned soldiers, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Year 10 Unit: Investigating World War II
The inter-war years between World War I and World War II, including the Treaty of Versailles, the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression
Year 10 Unit: Investigating rights and freedoms
The continuing efforts to create change in the rights and freedoms in Australia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and one other group
Methods used by civil rights activists to achieve change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the role of one individual or group in the struggle
Nature of changes
Removed
New unit
New content description
New content description
New content description
New content description
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Addition to content description
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Removed
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
New content description
Removed
Year 10 Unit: Investigating rights and freedoms
History
What’s been added or modified?
The continuing efforts to create change in the rights and freedoms in Australia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and one other group
Methods used by civil rights activists to achieve change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the role of one individual or group in the struggle
The US civil rights movement and its influence on Australia
Economics & Business
What’s been added or modified?
Year 7 Unit: Consumers & business
Why opportunity cost exists when decisions are made to allocate limited resources to meet unlimited needs and wants
Year 7 Unit: Innovation and enterprise
Different types of business ownership
The concept of innovation and the ways businesses identify and respond to business opportunities
The ways people who have retired from employment earn an income (e g age pension, superannuation, private savings)
Year 8 Unit: Australia’s mixed market economy
How the demand and supply model shows the interactions between consumers and businesses
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
New content description
Nature of changes
Removed
Removed
Nature of changes
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
New content description
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
New content description
Moved from Year 9
Removed
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
New content description
Australia’s system of taxation and why the government collects taxation revenue New content description
Year 8 Unit: Work and financial decision-making
The reasons individuals work; the types of work they are involved in; and how they may derive an income
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Moved from Year 7
Year 8 Unit: Australia s mixed market economy to content descriptions
Economics & Business
How the demand and supply model shows the interactions between consumers and businesses
What’s been added or modified?
New content description
Australia’s system of taxation and why the government collects taxation revenue New content description
Nature of changes
Year 8 Unit: Work and financial decision-making
The reasons individuals work; the types of work they are involved in; and how they may derive an income
Factors that influence major consumer and financial decisions
Ways that individuals plan and budget to achieve short-term and long-term financial goals
Year 9 Unit: Australia in the global economy
he interdependence of households, businesses, and the financial, government and overseas sectors using the five-sector circular flow model
Year 9 Unit: Opportunities, risks & rewards
How Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander businesses develop opportunities in the market
Year 10 Unit: Economic performance & living standards
How the business cycle model shows changes in economic activity over time
Year 10 Unit: The changing world of business
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Moved from Year 7
New content description
New content description
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Revised content description
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
New content description
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
New content description
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
The role of ethical decision-making in production and consumption New content description
Civics & Citizenship
What’s been added or modified?
Nature
of changes
Year 7 Unit: Australian Constitution
Year 10 Unit: Economic performance & living standards
The division of powers between state/territory and federal levels of government in Australia
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
How the business cycle model shows changes in economic activity over time New content description
Removed
Year 7 Unit: Australia’s legal system
Year 10 Unit: The changing world of business
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
The role of courts, judges, lawyers and court officials in trials New content description
The role of ethical decision-making in production and consumption New content description
Year 8 Unit: Freedom & democracy
The election process and how government is formed
Year 8 Unit: Law & order
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
New content description
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Young people’s rights and responsibilities when interacting with law enforcement New content description
Different perspectives about Australia’s national identity, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and what it means to be Australian
Year 9 Unit: Shaping voter decisions
Removed
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
How young people can participate in and contribute to civic life in Australia and as a global citizen New content description
Year 9 Unit: Australia’s court system
Year 10 Unit: Protecting democracy
Year 10 Unit: Australia as a global citizen
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
Minor refinements to add examples to content descriptions
How is Oxford supporting implementation?
We are currently developing a new edition of Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 7–10 as well as a host of supportive resources that will be arriving when you are ready to implement in 2026.
This new edition will be hosted on our brand-new Oxford Digital platform, updated to improve usability and accessibility so you can engage students of all abilities and save time in planning and delivering lessons.
Engage every student with all core content now on our new accessible platform - adjust font sizes, enable read-to-me functionality, and customise content views for diverse learning needs.
Track student progress with quick, curriculum-aligned quizzes that provide instant feedback.
Revolutionise your classroom planning with lesson plans written by experts and accessed at the beginning of each lesson
Connect with students by using live lesson mode via Oxford Digital and live-assign resources and quizzes as you progress through customisable lesson plans.
Trust the experts. Trust Oxford.
All of our content and resources have been written by experts, ranging from classroom teachers with over 20 years of experience to learning designers with industry-leading expertise.
Content has been carefully mapped to the curriculum to ensure that anything you’re teaching in the classroom can be reported against curriculum outcomes and requirements.
7–10
Smarter Teaching Starts Here. From ready-to-go lesson plans to real-time assessment tools, save teachers time and support meaningful learning outcomes.
Oxford Humanities and Social Sciences 7–10 provides comprehensive, curriculum-aligned coverage of the 2025 Western Australian Curriculum. Designed to support teachers and engage students, the series integrates scaffolded skill development, interactive learning tools, and Oxford Digital’s powerful planning and assessment features, ensuring every student has the opportunity to succeed.
Full coverage of all four subjects separately, so teachers can choose how to teach.
Support resources written so that teachers out of field can deliver curriculum aligned lessons.
Speak with a local education consultant oup.com.au/contact
Connect with every kind of learner with engaging videos and accessibility support.
