How Do Bills Become Laws in Australia?

When a bill (a suggestion for a new law) reaches the Australian Federal Parliament, it goes through a process of debate and scrutiny. This is where Members of Parliament discuss the bill in detail, express their opinions, and raise concerns or questions. Debating and scrutinising bills is an important part of the legislative process.

This reading comprehension activity enables students to build their comprehension skills while learning about how bills are debated and scrutinised in the Australian Federal Parliament. The resource includes:

• 2 x differentiated reading passages
• 2 x differentiated question pages including:
  • Multiple choice questions
  • Short response questions
  • Extended response question
• Answers for both sets of questions

To make it easier for teachers to identify the two differentiated versions (but not so obvious to the students!), a star system has been used. The harder version of the worksheet has two stars in the top right corner of the worksheet. The easier version has one star in this same position. 

Multiple Applications for This Australian Government Comprehension

In addition to independent student work time, why not use this worksheet as a:

• Whole-class activity (via smartboard)
• Collaborative group task
• Homework activity
• Summative assessment

Download the File Format That Suits You!

Use the dropdown menu to access the editable Google Slides or quick-print PDF version of this resource.

As this resource contains an answer sheet, we recommend printing one copy of the entire file, then removing the student pages for photocopying. 

Please consider printing this worksheet double-sided for sustainability purposes.

This resource was created by Caitlyn Phillips, a Teach Starter collaborator.

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