Safety Requirements in the Australian Curriculum for Science
The Australian Curriculum for Science Version 9 [1] has been released for Years F to 10 and for each of the Senior Secondary Science subjects [2] for Years 11 and 12. The curriculum requires students to take an increasingly active role in considering safety and assessing risk in investigations as they progress from Year 1 to Year 12: suggesting and following safe procedures from Year 1, considering the safe use of materials and equipment from Year 3, describing potential risks from Year 5, recognising and managing risks from Year 7, developing and following risk assessments from Year 9 and conducting risk assessments in Years 11 and 12.
| Year 1 | "Suggest and follow safe procedures to investigate questions and test predictions" (AC9S1I02) |
|---|---|
| Year 2 | "Suggest and follow safe procedures to investigate questions and test predictions" (AC9S2I02) |
| Year 3 | "Use provided scaffolds to plan and conduct investigations to answer questions or test predictions, including identifying the elements of fair tests, and considering the safe use of materials and equipment" (AC9S3I02) |
| Year 4 | "Use provided scaffolds to plan and conduct investigations to answer questions or test predictions, including identifying the elements of fair tests, and considering the safe use of materials and equipment" (AC9S4I02) |
| Year 5 | "Plan and conduct repeatable investigations to answer questions, including, as appropriate, deciding the variables to be changed, measured and controlled in fair tests; describing potential risks; planning for the safe use of equipment and materials; and identifying required permissions to conduct investigations on Country/Place" (AC9S5I02) |
| Year 6 | "Plan and conduct repeatable investigations to answer questions, including, as appropriate, deciding the variables to be changed, measured and controlled in fair tests; describing potential risks; planning for the safe use of equipment and materials; and identifying required permissions to conduct investigations on Country/Place" (AC9S6I02) |
| Year 7 | "Plan and conduct reproducible investigations to answer questions and test hypotheses, including identifying variables and assumptions and, as appropriate, recognising and managing risks, considering ethical issues and recognising key considerations regarding heritage sites and artefacts on Country/Place" (AC9S7I02) |
| Year 8 | "Plan and conduct reproducible investigations to answer questions and test hypotheses, including identifying variables and assumptions and, as appropriate, recognising and managing risks, considering ethical issues and recognising key considerations regarding heritage sites and artefacts on Country/Place" (AC9S8I02) |
| Year 9 | "Plan and conduct valid, reproducible investigations to answer questions and test hypotheses, including identifying and controlling for possible sources of error and, as appropriate, developing and following risk assessments, considering ethical issues, and addressing key considerations regarding heritage sites and artefacts on Country/Place" (AC9S9I02) |
| Year 10 | "Plan and conduct valid, reproducible investigations to answer questions and test hypotheses, including identifying and controlling for possible sources of error and, as appropriate, developing and following risk assessments, considering ethical issues, and addressing key considerations regarding heritage sites and artefacts on Country/Place" (AC9S10I02) |
| Year 11 Year 12 |
"Conduct risk assessments" is one of the Science Inquiry skills, and is mentioned in the content descriptions [2] in Biology Units 1-4, Chemistry Units 1-4, Earth and Environmental Science Units 1-4 and Physics Units 1-4.
"Science learning experiences may involve the use of potentially hazardous substances and/or hazardous equipment. It is the responsibility of the school to ensure that duty of care is exercised in relation to the health and safety of all students and that school practices meet the requirements of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, in addition to relevant state or territory health and safety guidelines. When state and territory curriculum authorities integrate the Australian Curriculum into local courses, they will include more specific advice on safety." [3] |
Footnotes
[2]
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/senior-secondary-curriculum/science/biology/?unit=Unit+1&unit=Unit+2&unit=Unit+3&unit=Unit+4
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/senior-secondary-curriculum/science/chemistry/?unit=Unit+1&unit=Unit+2&unit=Unit+3&unit=Unit+4
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/senior-secondary-curriculum/science/earth-and-environmental-science/?unit=Unit+1&unit=Unit+2&unit=Unit+3&unit=Unit+4
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/senior-secondary-curriculum/science/physics/?unit=Unit+1&unit=Unit+2&unit=Unit+3&unit=Unit+4
[3]
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/senior-secondary-curriculum/science/safety