In Year 9, the Humanities consists of Civics and Citizenship, Economics and Business, Geography and History. Each subject is taught on a rotational basis of approximately seven weeks. The Civics course highlights the role of political parties and independent representatives in Australia’s system of government, including the formation of governments and how citizens’ choices are shaped at election time. The Economics course investigates the key participants in the Australian economy, such as consumers, producers, workers and the government, and the links they have with the global economy. Global food security is the focus of the Geography course, specifically the modification of natural biomes to accommodate food production and rising population growth. The shaping of the modern world is theme of the History course with a detailed study of the causes and consequences of World War One.

Students develop increasing independence in critical thinking and skill application, which includes questioning, researching, analysing, evaluating, communicating and reflecting. They apply these skills to investigate events, developments, issues and phenomena, both historical and contemporary. The following skills will be explicitly taught through the programme:

1.  Use appropriate forms of communication for different purposes
2.  Identify trends and forecast possibilities
3.  Use appropriate strategies for organising complex information
4.  Gather and organise relevant information to formulate an argument

The major investigation draws upon many of these skills.