AbstractDoes the Australian school system and curriculum support students to become active and informed’ members of the community, which is a key aspiration of the Australian school system set out in the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration? We address this question by drawing on the Australian National Assessment Program (NAP) civics and citizenship data. The NAP data measures Year 6 and Year 10 students’ awareness of civics and citizenship content as well as their participation in civics and citizenship-related activities at school. The data suggests that students are being informed about social, political and economic issues, but there are differences between students with respect to their active engagement in civics and citizenship related activities at school deriving from their parents’ educational level and age group. But the curriculum is also at issue here. The prescriptive Australian Curriculum framework has a heavy emphasis on academic learning particularly during the secondary years, which sidelines active participation in civics and citizenship education. Furthermore, the Australian Curriculum constrains teachers in their ability to enact a truly negotiated curriculum that is meaningful to students and may enhance their sense of being part of the community and citizens of a democratic society.