Creating case studies

As a starting point for developing case studies, it can be useful to consider sources that are:

• trusted, current and appropriate for curriculum areas
• suitable for diverse classrooms with varied comprehension needs
• inclusive of a variety of viewpoints
• appropriate for the curriculum needs, for example sources that illustrate:
  • active citizenship
  • different stages of the legislative process
  • different stages of a social movement
  • a particular problem or solution 

All resources mentioned below are free and publicly available. Given the nature of the sources, they are also frequently updated—for example, with new reports, policies, research papers—and therefore tend to reflect current issues and events.

Hansard

Hansard is the official record of parliament and are the transcripts of parliamentary proceedings. The Hansard website:

• contains records of parliamentary debate, question time, member’s statements, constituency questions—any official parliamentary activity
• can be searched by key words, house (Legislative Assembly or Legislative Council), member of parliament, and year
•  can be filtered by house, member of parliament, year, and activity. Activity selection includes:
  • Second reading debates—documents the debate of a bill before the house
  • Question time—documents the question from the opposition / minor party / independents and the appropriate minister’s response. Question time is one of the opportunities for government to be held to account.
  • Constituency questions—questions based on a matter that has been brought to an MPs attention by a member of their electorate

Given the amount of information available in Hansard, it may be useful to:

• curate excerpts, search results can be downloaded as a PDF
• conduct the search and provide students the link
  • search results provide a stable link which students can then use to refine their search further

Useful links

Hansard second reading debates

Parliamentary Library research papers

The Parliamentary Library publishes research papers on matters of importance to members of parliament, current or emerging issues and trends, and historical information. The research is:

• apolitical, providing a wide spectrum of perspectives, evidence and arguments
• supported by references to source material
• useful for a comprehensive understanding of an issue
• useful as a primary source for students with strong literacy skills who may need extension tasks

Useful links

Library research papers

Parliamentary committee inquiries

The committee inquiry process includes input from organisations, experts, desktop research (including site visits where appropriate) and public submissions and hearings. Reports from an inquiry include the findings of the research and any recommendations.

The committee inquiries have the benefit of:

• demonstrating democratic processes (one that students can be involved in regardless of whether they are old enough to vote)
• reflecting current issues and topics
• providing multiple perspectives on issues and topics

Useful links

Committee inquiries 

Case studies for the classroom

Law reform case study: Medically supervised injecting centres

Explore the passage of the Pilot Medically Supervised Injecting Centre Bill 2017. A resource for VCE Legal Studies teachers and students.

Spent convictions

This case study explores the inquiry into a legislated spent convictions scheme conducted by the Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee in 2019. It has been produced to accompany our ‘How to host a committee inquiry’ guide, which provides a framework for running an inquiry process with your class.

Oscars law

Oscar’s Law is the common name given to the Domestic Animals Amendment (Puppy Farms and Pet Shops Bill 2016). The passage of this bill was complex and included a committee inquiry process. Both the second reading debates and committee inquiry documentation can provide some good source material for younger students, that can be used to build on for students’ understanding of how bills pass through parliament and the committee inquiry process.

Animal rights activism and its impact on Victorian agriculture

This case study explores the Inquiry into the Impact of Animal Rights Activism on Victorian Agriculture conducted by the Legislative Council Economy and Infrastructure Committee from 2019-2020.