VCE Vault

VCE Australian History past exams 2023–2025

Every question from the last three VCE Australian History exams, matched to the lesson that teaches it, with class averages from the examiners' reports and worked solutions. VCE Australian History (Year 12) lessons.

2025 Exam

  • A1a (2 marks, class average 95%): Two features of a picture of early Melbourne that show changes brought by colonisation. Lesson: Colonisation, Frontier Conflict and Dispossession, Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890
  • A1b (10 marks): How far Aboriginal land management and custodianship changed Australia's environment before colonisation. Lesson: Custodianship — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Societies, Historiography — Interpreting Australia's Past
  • A1c (3 marks, class average 83%): Three reasons from a source that humans have pushed Earth into a new geological age. Lesson: Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity
  • A1d (4 marks, class average 48%): Describe how atomic tests in the Pacific fuelled Australia's anti-nuclear movement. Lesson: Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s, Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity
  • A1e (6 marks, class average 47%): Using a source on Clean Up Sydney Harbour, explain how people and groups challenged environmental harm, 1989 to 2010. Lesson: Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity, Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s
  • A2a (2 marks, class average 100%): Two groups at the Ballarat goldfields, shown in a picture of a goldfields restaurant. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890
  • A2b (10 marks, class average 46%): Evaluate how far the White Australia policies shaped Australia's population between 1901 and 1913. Lesson: Federation and the Making of the Nation, 1890–1901
  • A2c (3 marks, class average 83%): Three reasons from a source for creating the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Lesson: Post-War Migration and a Changing Nation, Aboriginal Rights — From Protection to Land Rights
  • A2d (4 marks, class average 48%): How the 1997 Bringing Them Home report shaped arguments over reconciliation. Lesson: Aboriginal Rights — From Protection to Land Rights, Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity
  • A2e (6 marks, class average 50%): Using a source on asylum seekers, explain competing views on immigration and border security, 1992 to 2008. Lesson: Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity, Post-War Migration and a Changing Nation
  • A3a (2 marks, class average 85%): Two features of a federation poster suggesting Western Australians would gain by voting yes. Lesson: Federation and the Making of the Nation, 1890–1901
  • A3b (10 marks, class average 53%): Evaluate how far life improved for Australian workers between 1890 and 1913. Lesson: Federation and the Making of the Nation, 1890–1901, Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890
  • A3c (3 marks, class average 87%): Three ways, from a source, that Aboriginal nationalism advanced the 1970s campaign for rights. Lesson: Aboriginal Rights — From Protection to Land Rights
  • A3d (4 marks, class average 55%): Describe how the 1969 equal pay protests brought change for Australian women. Lesson: Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s
  • A3e (6 marks, class average 57%): Using a source on gay life, explain how anti-gay attitudes provoked challenges to power, 1957 to 1998. Lesson: Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s, Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity
  • A4a (2 marks, class average 95%): Two features of a wartime image that show Australia's changing alliances after 1941. Lesson: Depression and War — Australia 1929–1945
  • A4b (10 marks, class average 50%): Evaluate how far support for sending conscripts overseas changed between 1909 and 1943. Lesson: World War I — Nation, Sacrifice and Division, Depression and War — Australia 1929–1945
  • A4c (3 marks, class average 83%): Three ideas, from a source, behind Australia's involvement in the 1950s Indo-Malayan conflict. Lesson: Post-War Migration and a Changing Nation, Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s
  • A4d (4 marks, class average 55%): Describe the reasons Australia joined the Korean War. Lesson: Post-War Migration and a Changing Nation, Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s
  • A4e (6 marks, class average 48%): Using an Aboriginal serviceman's account, explain changing views on women's and Indigenous service, 1950 to 1992. Lesson: Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s, Aboriginal Rights — From Protection to Land Rights
  • B1 (20 marks): Essay: has Australia's natural environment mainly been seen as a resource to exploit for profit?. Lesson: Custodianship — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Societies, Colonisation, Frontier Conflict and Dispossession, Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890, Australian History Exam — Essays, Sources and Timing
  • B2 (20 marks): Essay: did immigration benefit Australian society more than it benefited migrants?. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890, Post-War Migration and a Changing Nation, Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity, Australian History Exam — Essays, Sources and Timing
  • B3 (20 marks): Essay: have Indigenous gains and losses in power mostly come through courts and legislation?. Lesson: Colonisation, Frontier Conflict and Dispossession, Aboriginal Rights — From Protection to Land Rights, Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity, Australian History Exam — Essays, Sources and Timing
  • B4 (20 marks): Essay: have returned soldiers' experiences and commemoration been largely positive?. Lesson: World War I — Nation, Sacrifice and Division, Depression and War — Australia 1929–1945, Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s, Australian History Exam — Essays, Sources and Timing

2024 Exam

  • A1a (2 marks, class average 90%): Two features that made a proposed site suitable for a national park, from a 19th-century source. Lesson: Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity
  • A1b (4 marks, class average 50%): Using an irrigation advertisement, describe two significant events that changed Australia's environment. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890, Colonisation, Frontier Conflict and Dispossession
  • A1c (5 marks, class average 56%): Using a source on British views of land, explain how those attitudes contributed to colonisation. Lesson: Colonisation, Frontier Conflict and Dispossession, Custodianship — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Societies
  • A1d (6 marks): Using a source on population and resources, explain two perspectives on the environment, 1950 to 2010. Lesson: Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity, Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s
  • A1e (8 marks): Analyse how far protest changed government environmental policy, 1950 to 2010. Lesson: Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s, Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity
  • A2a (2 marks, class average 90%): Two reasons migration to the colonies was promoted as desirable, from a 19th-century source. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890
  • A2b (4 marks, class average 60%): Using an 1843 cartoon, describe two aspects of British life that pushed people to migrate after 1834. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890
  • A2c (5 marks, class average 54%): Using a source on protection laws, explain the consequences of Victoria's Aboriginal Protection Act 1869 to 1913. Lesson: Colonisation, Frontier Conflict and Dispossession, Aboriginal Rights — From Protection to Land Rights
  • A2d (6 marks, class average 47%): Using a 1975 news report on Vietnamese refugees, explain two events that changed immigration and citizenship. Lesson: Post-War Migration and a Changing Nation, Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity
  • A2e (8 marks, class average 43%): Analyse the main ideas that shaped Australians' attitudes towards immigrants after 1945. Lesson: Post-War Migration and a Changing Nation, Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity
  • A3a (2 marks, class average 90%): Two grievances behind the Eureka Stockade, from a miners' reform statement. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890
  • A3b (4 marks, class average 60%): Using a 1903 suffragist cartoon, describe two perspectives on women's right to vote up to 1908. Lesson: Federation and the Making of the Nation, 1890–1901, Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890
  • A3c (5 marks, class average 58%): Using a historian's account of new unionism, explain the ideas shaping attitudes to workers' rights to 1913. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890, Federation and the Making of the Nation, 1890–1901
  • A3d (6 marks, class average 62%): Using a 1967 Gurindji petition, explain two key events that changed life for First Nations peoples. Lesson: Aboriginal Rights — From Protection to Land Rights, Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity
  • A3e (8 marks, class average 51%): How feminist ideas and ideas about sexuality challenged those in power, 1957 to 1998. Lesson: Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s, Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity
  • A4a (2 marks, class average 100%): Two ways Australians reacted to news of war in 1914, from a contemporary source. Lesson: World War I — Nation, Sacrifice and Division
  • A4b (4 marks, class average 70%): Using a pro-conscription cartoon, describe two perspectives on conscription in World War I. Lesson: World War I — Nation, Sacrifice and Division
  • A4c (5 marks, class average 58%): Using a historian's account, explain how more government control changed Australian life in World War II. Lesson: Depression and War — Australia 1929–1945
  • A4d (6 marks, class average 62%): Using Menzies' 1965 statement, explain two key ideas behind the decision to fight in Vietnam. Lesson: Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s, Post-War Migration and a Changing Nation
  • A4e (8 marks, class average 44%): Analyse how far Save Our Sons and the Moratoriums changed attitudes to fighting in Vietnam. Lesson: Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s
  • B1 (20 marks): Essay: did colonisation to 1901 change the landscape more than it changed Aboriginal custodianship and culture?. Lesson: Colonisation, Frontier Conflict and Dispossession, Custodianship — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Societies, Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890, Australian History Exam — Essays, Sources and Timing
  • B2 (20 marks): Essay: was imperialism the most influential idea shaping attitudes to migration, 1834 to 1913?. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890, Federation and the Making of the Nation, 1890–1901, Australian History Exam — Essays, Sources and Timing
  • B3 (20 marks): Essay: up to 1913, was broadening rights for all Australians the biggest change to how power was exercised?. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890, Federation and the Making of the Nation, 1890–1901, Colonisation, Frontier Conflict and Dispossession, Australian History Exam — Essays, Sources and Timing
  • B4 (20 marks): Essay: did fighting in both world wars show Australians stayed loyal to Britain and the Empire's security?. Lesson: World War I — Nation, Sacrifice and Division, Depression and War — Australia 1929–1945, Australian History Exam — Essays, Sources and Timing

2023 Exam

  • A1a (3 marks, class average 87%): Three ways colonisation changed how land was used, from a pastoralist's 1840s letter. Lesson: Colonisation, Frontier Conflict and Dispossession, Custodianship — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Societies
  • A1b (10 marks, class average 45%): How far the gold rushes were the biggest cause of environmental change in Australia up to 1901. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890, Colonisation, Frontier Conflict and Dispossession, Custodianship — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Societies
  • A1c (6 marks, class average 55%): Using a 1970s campaign photo, explain how environmental campaigns raised public awareness, 1950 to 2010. Lesson: Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s, Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity
  • A1d (6 marks, class average 47%): Using a historian's view, analyse how links between green groups and parties shaped environmental policy. Lesson: Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity, Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s
  • A2a (3 marks, class average 87%): Three experiences of migrants to the colonies, from an Irish migrant's 1858 letter home. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890
  • A2b (10 marks, class average 43%): How far migration patterns changed colonial and early federated Australia, 1834 to 1913. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890, Federation and the Making of the Nation, 1890–1901, Colonisation, Frontier Conflict and Dispossession
  • A2c (6 marks, class average 50%): Using a 1967 'Yes' leaflet, explain the referendum's contribution to debates about Indigenous status. Lesson: Aboriginal Rights — From Protection to Land Rights
  • A2d (6 marks, class average 50%): Using a historian's comment on the Redfern speech, analyse competing 1990s views on Indigenous Australians. Lesson: Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity, Aboriginal Rights — From Protection to Land Rights, Historiography — Interpreting Australia's Past
  • A3a (3 marks): Three resolutions from an 1856 newspaper notice about the eight-hour day movement. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890
  • A3b (10 marks, class average 44%): How far the 'social laboratory' vision was achieved for all Australians by 1913. Lesson: Federation and the Making of the Nation, 1890–1901, Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890
  • A3c (6 marks, class average 60%): Using a photo of a protest march, explain the significance of Sydney's first Mardi Gras in 1978. Lesson: Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s
  • A3d (6 marks, class average 52%): Using a commentator's view, analyse how the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 changed social experience by 1998. Lesson: Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity, Aboriginal Rights — From Protection to Land Rights, Post-War Migration and a Changing Nation
  • A4a (3 marks, class average 97%): Three exemptions from compulsory military training in the Defence Act 1909. Lesson: World War I — Nation, Sacrifice and Division, Federation and the Making of the Nation, 1890–1901
  • A4b (10 marks, class average 45%): How far government laws and intervention changed women's home front experience in World War II. Lesson: Depression and War — Australia 1929–1945
  • A4c (6 marks, class average 57%): Using a c.1950 poster backing the United Nations, explain changing reasons for Australia's 1950s wars. Lesson: Post-War Migration and a Changing Nation, Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s
  • A4d (6 marks, class average 60%): Using two historians' interpretation, analyse the reasons Australia withdrew from the Vietnam War. Lesson: Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s
  • B1 (20 marks): Essay: have Indigenous ideas of custodianship never influenced non-Indigenous thinking on the environment?. Lesson: Custodianship — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Societies, Colonisation, Frontier Conflict and Dispossession, Australia Since 1975 — Reconciliation, Republic and Identity, Australian History Exam — Essays, Sources and Timing
  • B2 (20 marks): Essay: have Australian attitudes towards immigration always been discriminatory?. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890, Federation and the Making of the Nation, 1890–1901, Post-War Migration and a Changing Nation, Australian History Exam — Essays, Sources and Timing
  • B3 (20 marks): Essay: how successfully did Australian women overcome opposition to the changes they demanded?. Lesson: Gold, Democracy and Colonial Society, 1851–1890, Federation and the Making of the Nation, 1890–1901, Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s, Australian History Exam — Essays, Sources and Timing
  • B4 (20 marks): Essay: was fear of invasion the chief reason Australia joined its major wars?. Lesson: World War I — Nation, Sacrifice and Division, Depression and War — Australia 1929–1945, Voices for Change — Women, Workers and Protest, 1960s–1970s, Australian History Exam — Essays, Sources and Timing