The Prices and Incomes AccordActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning works for this topic because the Accord was fundamentally a negotiation between real stakeholders. Students grasp its complexity by participating in simulations, collaborative analysis, and debates that mirror the historical bargaining process, making abstract economic concepts tangible and memorable.
Learning Objectives
- 1Analyze the stated goals of the Prices and Incomes Accord regarding inflation control and industrial dispute reduction.
- 2Evaluate the Accord's success in achieving its stated economic objectives, using quantitative data on inflation and unemployment.
- 3Compare the centralized bargaining approach of the Accord with the decentralized enterprise bargaining model of the 1990s.
- 4Critique the impact of the Accord on real wages and the distribution of economic gains among different social groups.
- 5Explain the mechanisms by which the Accord sought to achieve wage moderation in exchange for non-wage benefits.
Want a complete lesson plan with these objectives? Generate a Mission →
Role-Play: Accord Negotiations
Assign students roles as ACTU leaders, employer reps, or government officials. Provide historical briefs for preparation, then hold 20-minute negotiations to draft a mock accord. Conclude with a whole-class debrief comparing to the real Accord.
Prepare & details
Analyze how the Prices and Incomes Accord aimed to manage inflation and industrial disputes.
Facilitation Tip: For the Role-Play, assign students clear roles with specific objectives to ensure they stay grounded in historical constraints and interests.
Setup: Flexible space for group stations
Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker
Jigsaw: Accord Phases
Divide class into expert groups, each studying one Accord phase (I-IV) using provided sources. Experts then mix to teach home groups key changes and impacts. Groups summarize findings on shared charts.
Prepare & details
Evaluate the effectiveness of the Accord in achieving its economic and social goals.
Facilitation Tip: In the Jigsaw, create mixed groups that include one student from each phase to prevent siloed knowledge and encourage peer teaching.
Setup: Flexible seating for regrouping
Materials: Expert group reading packets, Note-taking template, Summary graphic organizer
Formal Debate: Accord's Legacy
Split class into affirm/negate teams on 'The Accord achieved its goals.' Teams prepare with data on inflation, wages, and disputes. Hold structured debate with rebuttals and class vote.
Prepare & details
Compare the Accord's approach to industrial relations with previous and subsequent models.
Facilitation Tip: During the Debate, provide a one-page briefing sheet with key statistics and arguments to level the playing field for all students.
Setup: Two teams facing each other, audience seating for the rest
Materials: Debate proposition card, Research brief for each side, Judging rubric for audience, Timer
Source Carousel: Impacts
Set up stations with cartoons, speeches, and stats on economic/social effects. Small groups rotate, analyze one source per station, and note evidence for/against effectiveness. Regroup to share insights.
Prepare & details
Analyze how the Prices and Incomes Accord aimed to manage inflation and industrial disputes.
Facilitation Tip: Set a strict 3-minute timer for the Source Carousel rotations to maintain energy and focus on focused source analysis.
Setup: Flexible space for group stations
Materials: Role cards with goals/resources, Game currency or tokens, Round tracker
Teaching This Topic
Experienced teachers approach this topic by anchoring lessons in primary sources and economic data from the 1980s, avoiding oversimplified narratives about the Accord’s success or failure. They emphasize the iterative nature of policy-making by tracking the Accord’s phases through real-world evidence, which helps students see how economic policies evolve over time. Avoid presenting the Accord as a static agreement; instead, highlight the compromises, tensions, and unintended consequences that emerged as conditions changed.
What to Expect
Students will demonstrate understanding by explaining how the Accord stabilized the economy while balancing competing interests. They should analyze trade-offs between wages, social benefits, and inflation, and articulate how this policy reshaped industrial relations through evidence-based arguments rather than rote memorization.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring Role-Play: Accord Negotiations, watch for students assuming the Accord was imposed by the government.
What to Teach Instead
Use the role-play’s predetermined negotiation scripts that require ACTU delegates to propose counteroffers and Hawke’s team to respond with concessions, forcing students to experience the give-and-take that made the Accord a cooperative effort.
Common MisconceptionDuring Jigsaw: Accord Phases, watch for students claiming the Accord permanently solved inflation and strikes.
What to Teach Instead
Have groups present their phase’s data on a shared timeline, then facilitate a class discussion where students identify fluctuations and persistent issues, using the visual evidence to correct oversimplification.
Common MisconceptionDuring Debate: Accord's Legacy, watch for students asserting the Accord only benefited employers by suppressing wages.
What to Teach Instead
Require debaters to cite specific 'social wage' gains from their source packets, such as Medicare or superannuation, during rebuttals to redirect the narrative toward balanced outcomes.
Assessment Ideas
After Role-Play: Accord Negotiations, pose the discussion prompt to the class: 'Imagine you are a union delegate in 1984. Would you vote to accept the terms of the Accord? Justify your decision by referencing at least two specific benefits and two potential drawbacks for your members.' Assess student responses by noting whether they reference historical evidence from the role-play (e.g., wage restraint, social benefits) and acknowledge trade-offs.
During Jigsaw: Accord Phases, provide students with a short data set showing inflation rates and strike frequency from 1980-1990. Ask them to write two sentences explaining the trend in industrial disputes and one sentence explaining how the Accord might have influenced this trend. Collect responses to assess their ability to interpret data within the historical context of the Accord’s implementation.
After Source Carousel: Impacts, ask students to define 'real wages' in their own words on an index card and list one way the Prices and Incomes Accord aimed to increase or protect them. Use these exit tickets to gauge whether students can connect the Accord’s wage moderation to broader social outcomes like Medicare or superannuation.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge early finishers to research a modern-day policy comparison (e.g., minimum wage debates) and present a 2-minute argument linking it to the Accord’s legacy.
- Scaffolding: Provide a graphic organizer for the Debate activity with sentence stems like 'One benefit was...' and 'A drawback was...' to support students in constructing coherent arguments.
- Deeper exploration: Assign students to interview a local union representative or business owner about collective bargaining today and compare their insights to the Accord’s historical context.
Key Vocabulary
| Prices and Incomes Accord | A formal agreement established in 1983 between the Australian government, the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), and employer organizations to manage wages, prices, and economic policy. |
| Stagflation | A period of high inflation combined with stagnant economic growth and high unemployment, a condition the Accord aimed to address. |
| Real Wages | The purchasing power of wages, adjusted for inflation. The Accord's impact on real wages is a key area of analysis. |
| Centralised Bargaining | A system of industrial relations where wages and conditions are negotiated at a national or industry level, as was characteristic of the Accord. |
| Enterprise Bargaining | A system where wages and conditions are negotiated at the individual workplace or company level, which largely replaced the Accord's model. |
Suggested Methodologies
More in Australia's Transformation Since 1945
Post-War Immigration: Populate or Perish
Examine the Australian government's post-WWII immigration policy and the shift from British-only migrants.
2 methodologies
Experiences of 'New Australians'
Investigate the experiences of post-war migrants, including life in reception camps and challenges of assimilation.
2 methodologies
The Petrov Affair and Cold War Paranoia
Study the Petrov Affair, its impact on Australian politics, and the broader 'Red Scare' at home.
2 methodologies
The Whitlam Government: Reforms and Dismissal
Examine the radical social and political reforms of the Whitlam government and the controversial 1975 dismissal.
2 methodologies
Dismantling the White Australia Policy
Investigate the gradual abolition of the White Australia Policy under various governments.
2 methodologies
Ready to teach The Prices and Incomes Accord?
Generate a full mission with everything you need
Generate a Mission