The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) provides a range of educational products and services for Queensland schools, including developing and managing senior syllabuses and producing teaching, learning and assessment resources to support the implementation of these syllabuses.
Information about current syllabus development and management activities will be provided here.
If you wish to propose a new senior subject, please contact the Senior Curriculum Unit for more information at scu@qcaa.qld.edu.au.
Understanding senior syllabuses
Syllabus design
Syllabuses are based on design principles developed from independent international research about how excellence and equity are promoted in the documents teachers use to develop and enliven the curriculum.
All senior syllabuses in Queensland contain three elements:
- a statement of content — what is required to be taught, which is expressed as knowledge, understanding and skill
- standards of achievement — fixed reference points that describe how well students have achieved, and the expected qualities of student work
- assessment processes — the mandatory aspects of assessment appropriate to the subject.
The form that each of these three elements take in a syllabus can change over time to reflect policy priorities, system structures and the division of governance in an educational setting at any given time.
Types of syllabuses
There are several types of senior syllabuses in Queensland. They are:
- General
- General (Extension)
- Applied (Essential)
- Applied
- Short Course
- General (Senior External Examination)
For information about General, General (Extension), Applied (Essential), Applied and Short Course syllabuses, see Section 4 of the QCE and QCIA policy and procedures handbook.
For more information about General (Senior External Examination (SEE)) subjects, see the Senior External Examination pages on the QCAA website.
Alternative sequences
For more information about alternative sequences, including access to the 2025 v1.0 alternative sequences, please contact scu@qcaa.qld.edu.au.
- Last updated:
- 24 October 2024
