Australia does not have one single curriculum — it has a national framework that most states adapt to their own version, and two states (Victoria and New South Wales) run curricula distinct enough that resources built for “the Australian Curriculum” do not line up cleanly. If you have ever downloaded a worksheet and found the year levels or codes did not match what your school expects, this is why. Here is a plain-English map of which curriculum applies where, so you can plan and choose resources against the right one.
The national framework and its three flavours
Everything starts with the Australian Curriculum (currently version 9, or AC9), written by ACARA. Every state and territory teaches something built on it, but they fall into three practical groups:
- States that use the Australian Curriculum directly. Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT teach the national curriculum essentially as published, with their own implementation guidance. If you are in one of these, “the Australian Curriculum” is your curriculum.
- Victoria. The Victorian Curriculum F–10 (v2.0), set by the VCAA, is based on the national curriculum but restructured — it uses “Levels” rather than year levels, places some subjects on two-year bands, gives the Capabilities their own content, and uses its own VCAA codes.
- New South Wales. The NSW syllabuses (K–10), set by NESA, organise learning into Stages (Early Stage 1 through Stage 5) and are built around outcomes with their own NESA codes.
Western Australia is a slight special case: it teaches the Western Australian Curriculum, which the SCSA adapts closely from the national one. If you are in WA, the Australian Curriculum option is the nearest fit for most planning, with a light check against the WA version.
Quick reference: which curriculum for which state
- Victoria (VIC) → Victorian Curriculum F–10 (v2.0), VCAA
- New South Wales (NSW) → NSW syllabuses (K–10), NESA
- Queensland (QLD) → Australian Curriculum v9
- South Australia (SA) → Australian Curriculum v9
- Tasmania (TAS) → Australian Curriculum v9
- Australian Capital Territory (ACT) → Australian Curriculum v9
- Northern Territory (NT) → Australian Curriculum v9
- Western Australia (WA) → Western Australian Curriculum (closely based on the national one)
Why the difference matters when you choose resources
The three frameworks cover broadly the same knowledge, so it is tempting to treat them as interchangeable. The problem is in the details that resources hinge on: the year-level or Stage a topic sits in, the code you record as evidence, and the exact wording of the achievement standard or outcome. A resource built for the wrong framework almost fits, and “almost” is where the hidden work lives — the same trap we describe in the case against generic worksheets. It gets worse with imported material: a large share of free resources online are US-built, with American spelling, grade levels and standards that match none of the Australian frameworks.
For homeschooling families the stakes are concrete, because your registration is tied to a specific body — the VRQA in Victoria, NESA in NSW, and the relevant authority in each other state — and your learning plan is judged against that framework. We walk through the practical side in how to start homeschooling in Australia.
Pick your curriculum once, then let the lesson follow it
Rather than reconcile every resource by hand, generate lessons against your framework from the start. Sprout Lessons now supports all three: choose the Australian Curriculum v9, the Victorian Curriculum F–10, or the NSW syllabuses (K–10), set your year level or Stage and learning area, and every lesson is grounded in the matching outcomes — with the right codes recorded in the footer for your records. Teachers in the states that use the national curriculum are covered by the Australian Curriculum option.
And because Sprout builds each lesson around what the student actually cares about, you get the correct framework and genuine engagement in one step — the interest-led approach we explain in why personalised lessons help students learn faster.
The bottom line: most of Australia teaches the national Australian Curriculum, but Victoria and NSW run their own frameworks with different structures and codes, and Western Australia adapts the national one. Work out which applies to you, check that any resource genuinely matches it rather than merely looking Australian, and let a tool that supports your framework do the alignment. To see a lesson built to your state’s curriculum around your student’s interests, try Sprout free — new accounts start with free lessons.
FAQ
Does every Australian state use the same curriculum?
No. There is a national Australian Curriculum (currently v9, written by ACARA), but states fall into three groups. Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT teach the national curriculum essentially as published. Victoria and New South Wales run their own frameworks - the Victorian Curriculum F–10 (VCAA) and the NSW syllabuses (NESA) - that are based on the national one but restructured. Western Australia teaches the Western Australian Curriculum, adapted closely from the national one.
What curriculum does Victoria use?
Victoria uses the Victorian Curriculum F–10 (version 2.0), set by the VCAA. It is based on the national Australian Curriculum but restructured: it uses “Levels” rather than year levels, places some subjects on two-year bands, gives the Capabilities their own assessed content, and uses its own VCAA codes.
What curriculum does NSW use?
NSW uses the NSW syllabuses (K–10), set by NESA. They organise learning into Stages (Early Stage 1 through Stage 5) and are built around outcomes with their own NESA codes, grouped into Key Learning Areas. NESA has been rolling out new syllabuses under the NSW Curriculum Reform.
Why does it matter which curriculum my state uses?
Because the details that resources hinge on differ: the year level or Stage a topic sits in, the code you record as evidence, and the exact wording of the achievement standard or outcome. A resource built for the wrong framework almost fits - and “almost” is where the hidden work lives. For homeschooling families it also matters because registration is tied to a specific body (the VRQA in Victoria, NESA in NSW) and your learning plan is judged against that framework. Sprout Lessons supports all three, so you can pick your curriculum once and have every lesson follow it.