Education News

After a seven-year hiatus, Australia’s largest short film festival for kids is back, giving young Australians a national platform to share stories, gain filmmaking skills, and have a chance to see their work celebrated on the big screen.

Few Australian stories have captured the imagination of students and teachers as enduringly as Shaun Tan's Tales from Outer Suburbia. Now, two decades after the release of his anthology, the animated adaptation is bringing that same spirit of curiosity and wonder to a new generation.

After a seven-year hiatus, Trop Jr is back in 2026. Powered by the ACTF, Trop Jr gives young people a platform to develop their storytelling skills, share original ideas and experience the creative process behind screen production.

As NAIDOC Week celebrates 50 Years of Deadly, these ACTF-supported films and series showcase the richness and diversity of First Nations storytelling across generations. 

We’ve rounded up our five most popular resources for the first half of 2026, ready for teachers to implement into Term 3 and 4 lesson plans.

Screen content invites young students to connect with ideas through stories. These resources offer practical and flexible ways for teachers to harness the educational value of Australian content and will keep children engaged while meeting curriculum goals.

At our school, we are always looking for powerful ways to build knowledge and engage students with texts that reflect authentic Australian stories and perspectives. This term, the Barrumbi Kids television series and its accompanying resources have provided exactly that.

Inspired by Shaun Tan’s extraordinary storytelling worlds, the ACTF's resource - centred around the new television series - gives teachers flexible, curriculum-aligned ways to explore visual storytelling, critical thinking, creativity and emotional literacy.

Civics and citizenship education helps young people understand how our democracy works, what it means to participate in community life, and how everyday actions connect to fairness, rights and responsibilities. Children’s television is full of moments that capture the essence of civic life and help students see civics as something they live every day.

The ACTF has launched a major new online education resource based on the animated television series Tales from Outer Suburbia, providing Australian teachers and students with a rich, creative learning experience grounded in local storytelling.