2025 2026

In a world defined by unpredictability and constant change, VCE Politics offers students the chance to explore the forces that shape both national and international decision-making. This course delves into political power, conflict, and cooperation, examining contemporary issues from Australian politics to the broader Indo-Pacific region and global crises.

Students will analyse pressing challenges such as climate change, human rights, inequality, economic instability, and political reform, investigating how political actors respond to and influence these issues. They will explore the sources of power available to governments, organisations, and individuals, and the consequences of their use.

VCE Politics is built on eight core characteristics that guide students in their exploration of contemporary political issues, conflicts, and actors. These elements shape students' ability to think politically, analyse power structures, and construct informed arguments. Through these eight characteristics, VCE Politics equips students with the tools to understand and navigate the complexities of contemporary political landscapes.

By studying real-world case studies from the last 10 years, students will develop a deep understanding of how political systems function, how conflicts arise and are resolved, and how democratic values are upheld or challenged. They will critically assess the competing interests and perspectives that shape political decision-making and explore Australia’s role on the global stage.

Curriculum focus

Unit 1 - Politics, power and political actors

In the first semester of Year 11 (Unit 1), students learn that politics is about how political actors use power to resolve issues and conflicts over how society should operate. Each area of study focuses on concepts that allow students to gradually build on their understanding of what it is to think politically. VCE Politics is a contemporary study and focus will be on examples and case studies from within the last 10 years. This is a fundamental difference between History and Politics. These examples and case studies may need to be contextualised by a brief outline of historical causes (more than 10 years ago); however, the focus must be on the contribution of short-term causes (within the last 10 years) to the contemporary issue and/or crisis.

Unit 2 - Democracy: stability and change

In the second semester of this course, (Unit 2), students investigate the key principles of democracy and assess the degree to which these principles are expressed, experienced and challenged, in Australia and internationally. They consider democratic principles in the Australian context and complete an in-depth study of a political issue or crisis that inherently challenges basic democratic ideas or practice. Students also investigate the degree to which global political actors and trends can challenge, inhibit or undermine democracy, and evaluate the political significance of these challenges. Each area of study focuses on concepts that form essential disciplinary knowledge, and which allow students to gradually build on their understanding of what it is to think politically.