The first key concept of the organising ideas highlights the special connection to Country/Place by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and celebrates the unique belief systems that connect people physically and spiritually to Country/Place.
The second concept examines the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ culture through language, ways of life and experiences as expressed through historical, social and political lenses. It gives students opportunities to gain a deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ ways of being, knowing, thinking and doing.
The third concept addresses the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies. It examines kinship structures and the significant contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples on a local, national and global scale.
For each cross-curriculum priority, a set of organising ideas reflects the essential knowledge, understandings and skills for the priority. The organising ideas are embedded in the content descriptions and elaborations of each learning area as appropriate.
| Code | Organising ideas |
|---|---|
| Country/Place | |
| OI.1 | Australia has two distinct Indigenous groups: Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, and within those groups there is significant diversity. |
| OI.2 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities maintain a special connection to and responsibility for Country/Place. |
| OI.3 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have holistic belief systems and are spiritually and intellectually connected to the land, sea, sky and waterways. |
| Culture | |
| OI.4 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies have many Language Groups. |
| OI.5 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ ways of life are uniquely expressed through ways of being, knowing, thinking and doing. |
| OI.6 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples live in Australia as first peoples of Country or Place and demonstrate resilience in responding to historic and contemporary impacts of colonisation. |
| People | |
| OI.7 | The broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander societies encompass a diversity of nations across Australia. |
| OI.8 | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' family and kinship structures are strong and sophisticated. |
| OI.9 | The significant contributions of Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the present and past are acknowledged locally, nationally and globally. |