Schools already support students to develop the Australian Curriculum General Capabilities through learning across the curriculum. The SACE Capabilities build on this foundation and are specifically designed for senior secondary students. 

Developed by the SACE Board in partnership with schools, educators, industry representatives, and further education providers, the capabilities reflect what stakeholders value most for young people as they prepare for life beyond school. They are designed to be practical for schools to implement, meaningful for students to demonstrate, and relevant to a wide range of post-school pathways. 

The SACE Capabilities are: 

• SACE-specific  
• shaped by what stakeholders value 
• not a theoretical framework or an imported model. 
• complementary to the Australian Curriculum General Capabilities. 
• what schools and teachers can realistically implement 
• what students can authentically demonstrate. 

The SACE Board is currently piloting these capabilities and continuing to explore their impact through the Feasibility Program. To further support capability development, the SACE has also introduced two new subjects, Stage 1 Exploring Identities and Futures and Stage 2 Activating Identities and Futures, which create additional opportunities for students to develop capabilities alongside their subject learning. 

Capabilities help students navigate an ever-changing world. They are more than discrete skills; they describe what students can do with what they know. Capabilities bring together knowledge, skills and behaviours that enable students to take effective action. 

Capabilities in the SACE are made up of elements. An element is a distinct part of a capability that students can develop and demonstrate. It describes a skill, behaviour or way of working that helps show what the capability looks like in action. The elements provide a shared language for schools and students to recognise capability development over time. 

The Thrive 5 Capabilities are: 

1. Collective Engagement 

I can work with others in meaningful ways, sharing ideas and solving problems together to reach a common goal. 

2. Personal Enterprise 

I can demonstrate initiative, pursue opportunities, produce outcomes of value, and ‘get things done’.  

3. Principled Action 

I can be responsible for my actions and consider the impact I have. I can learn from my own experiences and the experiences of others and ‘do the right thing’. 

4. Quality Thinking 

I am curious about the world around me and use a range of thinking strategies to shape my understanding.

5. Self-motivated Learning 

I can embrace challenges as opportunities, and persevere, and be active in my own learning. 

The elements of the Thrive 5 Capabilities include: 

• Adapting  
• Being considerate and caring  
• Being creative  
• Being curious  
• Being organised  
• Being reflective  
• Being responsible  
• Comprehending  
• Demonstrating initiative  
• Demonstrating perseverance  
• Demonstrating respect  
• Developing informed opinions  
• Embracing diversity  
• Engaging in dialogue  
• Engaging with feedback  
• Forming relationships  
• Inquiring  
• Making contributions  
• Reasoning  
• Taking opportunities  
• Using tools