Year 5

Round 1: That cats are better than dogs.

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 2: That there should be a 'Grandma and Grandpa' Day.

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 3: That Australian students should clean their classrooms. (see link for example)

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 4: That hot cross buns should be sold all year round.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 5: That teachers should wear a uniform at school.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Year 6/7

Round 1: That bicycles should be registered.

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 2: That trampolines are a good exercise for children.

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 3: That Adelaide’s Giant Scotsman should be saved.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 4: That Earth Hour is a waste of time.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 5: That we should be able to keep native animals as pets. (see link)

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Quarter Final: That the horses should stay. (see link)

Question time format. See guidelines here. Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Semi Final: That see-through bins are a good idea. (see link)

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Grand Final: That swooping magpies should be culled.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Year 8

Round 1: That cheese and meat should be taxed.

Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Round 2: That Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview undermines the British Monarchy.

Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Round 3: That vaccine passports in Australia are a good idea.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Round 4: That in the age of the keyboard, cursive writing is redundant.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Round 5: That there should be a mandatory retirement age for politicians.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Quarter Final: That the New Grading Policy is detrimental to students. (see link)

Question time format. See guidelines here. Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Semi Final: That driverless cars are a "wheely" good idea.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Grand Final: That students at South Australian schools who hate PE should be able to help people do “yard work” instead (see link).

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Year 9

Round 1: That the Prime Minister should make a 'State of the Union' speech. (see link)

Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Round 2: That the NYPD should get Spot back. (see link)

Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Round 3: That the school name should remain. (see link)

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Round 4: That a nuclear waste storage facility in regional South Australia should go ahead.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Round 5: That the Julie Bishop Barbie Doll sends the wrong message. (see link)

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Quarter Final: That space is no place for civilians.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Semi Final: That Julian Assange should be freed.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Grand Final: That Christos’ Installation art is pretentious (see link).

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Year 10

Round 1: That the Elgin Marbles should be returned to Greece.

Prepared Debate. Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Round 2: That Qantas’ rule of COVID vaccination to travel is wrong.

Prepared Debate. Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Round 3: That Big Tech looks more like Big Brother. (not the TV show)

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Round 4: That the Murugappans should be allowed to stay in Australia.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Round 5: Short Preparation Debate

The Short Preparation Topic will be released 90 minutes before the scheduled debate. View guidelines here
Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Quarter Final: That the cost of the COVID-19 pandemic is worse than the virus.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Semi Final: That politics has no place in sport.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Grand Final: That we should allow advertising for prescription medication in Australia.

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Senior

Round 1: That Australia should boycott China's Winter Olympics.

Prepared Debate. Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.

Round 2: That Facebook should rethink its ban on Donald Trump.

Prepared Debate. Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.

Round 3: That avatar robots are a cause for concern.

Prepared Debate with Question Time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.

Round 4: Short Preparation Debate

The Short Preparation Topic will be released 90 minutes before the scheduled debate. View guidelines here
Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Quarter Final: That we should not bother to prosecute alleged war criminals for historic war crimes. (See link: The article is an example that can be debated and used as a springboard for further discussion.)

Prepared Debate with Question Time format. See guidelines here. Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.

Semi Final: That vaccine passports should be opposed.

Prepared Debate with Question Time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.

Grand Final: That the Australia versus Afghanistan men’s cricket match in Hobart should go ahead.

Prepared Debate with Question Time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.

Special Formats of Prepared Debates

Quodlibetical Topic

There are a number of issues that can’t be easily expressed in a one-line topic. Therefore you have been given a fictitious scenario, outlined by a few paragraphs, and a topic that is based on this scenario. The following should be noted:

1. The first speaker should not attempt to define the topic word for word, but rather should define the issue(s) or dilemma(s) that the topic presents.

2. It is this issue or dilemma that should be debated in an attempt to prove whichever side of the topic, i.e. feel free to debate the particular issue generally, but be sure to link it back to the topic as this is what you want to argue for or against.

3. There is no need for the first speaker to read out the initial paragraphs as the Chairman will do this before announcing the topic, however, any speaker may refer to these paragraphs as part of his/her argument.

4. Debaters are welcome and are encouraged to conduct further research on the issues presented but note that the scenario itself is often fictitious.

View the 2024 topics here.