The Victorian Curriculum 2.0, explained for parents.

If your child goes to a government or Catholic school in Victoria, what they learn each year is set out in one document: the Victorian Curriculum F–10. Its current version, Version 2.0 (often called Vic Curriculum 2.0 or VC2), has been rolling out since 2024. You don't need to read all of it. But knowing how it works makes school reports, parent-teacher interviews and NAPLAN results a lot easier to make sense of.

What it is

The VCAA (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority) describes the curriculum as setting out "what every student should learn during their first 11 years of schooling".^[1] That's Foundation (Prep) through to Year 10.

It's built on the national Australian Curriculum, Version 9.0. Victoria adapts it to keep what the VCAA calls "Victorian priorities and standards".^[2] So the content is broadly the same as in other states, with some differences in order and detail.

Government and Catholic schools must use it. Independent schools can use it as their model for the Australian Curriculum, and many do.^[1]

When Version 2.0 started

That's the VCAA's timeline.^[3] So if your child is in primary school now, their maths and English have been taught from Version 2.0 since 2025. Each school sector sets its own exact dates.^[3]

What changed from Version 1.0

Version 2.0 brought Victoria into line with the Australian Curriculum Version 9.0, which ACARA published in 2022.^[2] For parents, three changes are the ones you'll notice:

• Maths has six strands instead of three. Version 1.0 grouped maths into Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability. Version 2.0 splits them into Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, Statistics and Probability.^[5]
• New codes. Every content description has a new code in the VC2 format, like VC2M6N01. Older worksheets and apps may still show Version 1.0 codes, which start with VCM or VCE and don't line up one to one.
• Content moved between levels. Some topics now sit a level earlier or later than before, so a worksheet written for Version 1.0 may not match what your child's class is doing this year.

How it's organised

There are four layers. You'll mostly care about the last two.

1. Learning areas

Eight subjects: The Arts, English, Health and Physical Education, Humanities, Languages, Mathematics, Science, and Technologies.^[4]

2. Capabilities

Four broader skills that run through every subject: Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Capability, Intercultural Capability, and Personal and Social Capability.^[4]

3. Levels

The curriculum is written in levels, not year levels: Foundation, then Levels 1 to 10, plus an extension Level 10A in maths.^[5] For most children, the level they're working on matches their year at school. But the VCAA describes the curriculum as a "continuum of learning",^[1] so a Year 5 child might be working at Level 4 in fractions and Level 6 in measurement. That's normal, and it's exactly what good teaching should respond to.

4. Achievement standards and content descriptions

This is where the detail lives.

• Achievement standards describe what a student should know and be able to do by the end of each level. For example: "By the end of Level 6, students use integers to represent points on a number line and on the Cartesian plane."^[5] Teachers use them to plan, assess and report on learning.^[1]
• Content descriptions are the specific things to be taught at each level. Each one has a code.
• Elaborations are examples that show teachers what a content description could look like in a lesson. They're suggestions, not requirements.

Maths and English, a closer look

Mathematics: six strands

Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, Statistics, and Probability.^[5] Foundation has no probability.

English: three strands

Language (how English works: grammar, sentences, text structure), Literature (reading, responding to and creating stories, poems and other literary texts), and Literacy (reading, writing, speaking and listening for everyday purposes).^[6] Phonics and word knowledge sit inside Literacy, with a sub-strand on fluency that runs to Level 6.^[6]

Maths 2.0 scope and sequence, level by level

The scope and sequence is simply the full list of what's taught at each level, in order. The VCAA publishes it on its curriculum website.^[5] We've put every maths content description for two year levels into plain English, grouped by strand: Year 5 maths (Level 5) and Year 6 maths (Level 6).

How to read a curriculum code

Codes look cryptic but they're simple once you know the pattern. Take VC2M6N01:^[5]

So VC2M6N01 is the first Level 6 number topic, which is about integers: using negative numbers in real situations, including money, and placing them on a number line.^[5] If you see a code on a worksheet or a learning platform, you can look it up on the VCAA's curriculum website and read exactly what it covers.

What this means for your child

• Gaps compound. The content descriptions build on each other. Fractions in Level 4 feed into decimals and percentages in Levels 5 and 6, which feed into ratio and algebra later. A small gap in Year 4 can show up as a big problem in Year 7.
• Ask about levels, not just grades. At a parent-teacher interview, "What level is she working at in number?" often gets a more useful answer than "How is she going in maths?"
• NAPLAN is tied to it. NAPLAN tests skills from the curriculum, so solid curriculum learning is the best NAPLAN preparation there is. See NAPLAN explained.
• Selective entry stays within Year 8. ACER says the selective exam won't go beyond the Year 8 curriculum, so a strong grip on Levels 7 and 8 maths is the foundation. More in our selective entry guide.

Common questions

When did the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 start?

Maths and English Version 2.0 were published in 2023 and in full use in schools from 2025. The other learning areas followed, with full use in government schools from 2026.

Is the Victorian Curriculum 2.0 the same as the Australian Curriculum?

It's built on the Australian Curriculum Version 9.0, adapted by the VCAA for Victorian priorities and standards. The content is broadly the same, with some differences in order and detail.

What does a code like VC2M6N01 mean?

VC is Victorian Curriculum, 2 is Version 2.0, M is Mathematics, 6 is Level 6, N is the Number strand, and 01 is the first content description in that strand at that level.

What are the six maths strands in Version 2.0?

Number, Algebra, Measurement, Space, Statistics and Probability.