• A Charles Sturt University survey of Australian voters has shown a profound lack of knowledge of how the Australian constitution works
• Fifty-one per cent of respondents said they had never been taught about the constitution
• Nevertheless, survey respondents said they are willing to contemplate reform if provided with accurate information

A Charles Sturt University survey shows a disturbing lack of knowledge of civics on the part of Australian voters, but a willingness to accept constitutional reform if adequate background information is given.

The survey was conducted by Dr Bede Harris, a constitutional law expert and Senior Lecturer and Law Discipline Head in the Charles Sturt School of Business in the Faculty of Business, Justice and Behavioural Sciences.

His survey of Australian voters conducted this year as part of a wider project about how to cultivate good citizenship has shown a profound lack of knowledge of how the Australian constitution works, but also a surprising willingness by voters to contemplate constitutional reform.

Fifty-one per cent of respondents said that they had never been taught how the constitution works, while 52 per cent were unaware that the constitution protects fundamental rights.

Twenty-eight per cent incorrectly thought that seats in parliament were allocated in proportion to the per centage of votes parties obtained at an election, while 40 per cent did not know how they were allocated.

“Much of this is unsurprising, as previous surveys have revealed similar lack of knowledge about the constitution,” Dr Harris said.

“Most concerningly, the civics knowledge of high school students is in decline; results of school examinations in 2024 showed that only 28 per cent of Year 10 students were proficient in civics.

“This was the lowest rate recorded since the Australian Curriculum Authority began collecting data and it represented a 10 per cent decrease compared to results in 2019.”

Dr Harris points to the fact that inadequate time is devoted to civics in the curriculum.

“Under the Australian Curriculum, civics is compulsory only to the end of Year 10,” he said. “This leaves students without exposure to civics in the two years before they vote for the first time.

“Furthermore, the Australian Curriculum is not mandatory. It is up to the states and territories to determine whether, and to what extent, to follow it, which means that some students may receive even less than is contained in the Curriculum, and that civics may not even be taught as a stand-alone subject.”

Civics education was the subject of an inquiry by the Commonwealth parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters earlier this year. Although the Committee’s report said that civics education be made a stand-alone subject, this was undermined by a recommendation that a mere 10 hours per year be devoted to it.

Dr Harris said that more attention needs to be paid to overseas models.

“French students study civics throughout their school career and in the final year of school take a mandatory subject in philosophy so that knowledge of the mechanics of government is complemented with the intellectual skills necessary to evaluate public affairs from an ethical point of view,” he said. “This is something Australia should emulate.”

Dr Harris said that there is, however, surprising room for optimism when it comes to constitutional reform.

Other questions in the survey assessed voter willingness to accept the adoption of a proportional representation electoral system and Australia becoming a republic.

Attitudinal change was ascertained by asking respondents the same question twice: once on its own and again after being provided with background information.

The number of respondents supporting proportional representation increased from 51 per cent to 59 per cent after being exposed to data from different countries which showed that even though proportional representation usually leads to coalition government, this does not lead to more frequent elections.

In the case of an Australian republic, 60 per cent of respondents initially indicated that they were concerned that an elected president might breach the unenforceable conventions that currently regulate the office of Governor-General.

But this position was dramatically reversed after being informed that the conventions could be converted into enforceable legal rules, leading 70 per cent of voters to say that this would allay their concerns.

“These results showed that contrary to the prevailing view that Australian voters are averse to constitutional change, they are willing to contemplate reform ─ if provided with accurate information,” Dr Harris said.