Year 5

Round 1: That cats are better than dogs.

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 2: That CASA rules allowing pets in the cabin should be adopted by Australian airlines. (see link)

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 3: That it is better to be an only child.

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 4: That teachers should wear a school uniform.

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 5: That Adelaide Zoo should sell Golden North ice-cream. (see link)

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Year 6/7

Round 1: That swooping magpies should be culled.

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

Round 2: That the expansion of McDonalds into regional Australia should be stopped. (see link)

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

Round 3: That Australian primary school students should cook and serve lunch. (see link)

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 4: That schools should discourage best friends.

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 5: That Adelaide Zoo should push for new Giant Pandas to replace Wang Wang and Fu Ni. (see link)

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Quarter Final: That corflute posters used during elections in South Australia should be banned.

Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Semi Final: That schools should ban mullets.

Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Grand Final: That we should put Steve Irwin’s face on our currency. (see link for context)

Students are encouraged to conduct further research. Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Year 8

Round 1: That balloons and plastic confetti should be banned. (see link)

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

Round 2: That we should change our preferential voting system to 'first past the post'.

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

Round 3: That Margaret Court Arena should be renamed Ash Barty Arena.

Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Round 4: That Australia should become a Republic.

Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Round 5: That we should adopt Finland’s proportional fines for traffic infringements.

Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Quarter Final: That there should be external doors on all toilets at school.

Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Semi Final: That the laws should be changed to allow all thirteen year olds to engage in paid work. (see link)

Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Grand Final: That private schools should be abolished.

Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Year 9

Round 1: That the new grading policy is detrimental to students. (see link)

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

Round 2: That the Wimbledon ban on tennis players from Russia and Belarus is unacceptable.

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

Round 3: That de-extinction is a bad idea.

Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Round 4: That the use of facial recognition technology in a retail setting is going too far.

Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Round 5: That the Australian Government should act to free Julian Assange.

Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Quarter Final: That parents who repeatedly fail to send their children to school should be prosecuted. (see link)

Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Semi Final: That we should restrict the development of AI.

Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Grand Final: That online/virtual learning is better than traditional schooling.

Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Year 10

Round 1: That space is no place for civilians.

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

Round 2: That having a university degree is overrated.

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

Round 3: That legislation in Victoria to ban the display of the Nazi Swastika is a bad law.

Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Round 4: That nuclear energy in Australia should be an option.

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 we should be concerned by the advance in robotics.

Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Semi Final: That we should inoculate people against depression and trauma. (see link)

Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Grand Final: That Canberra’s decision to ban petrol and diesel cars from 2035 is a bad idea.

Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Senior

Round 1: 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.)

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.

Round 2: That Christos’ Installation art is pretentious (see link).

Question time format. See guidelines here. Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.

Round 3: That Australia should not sign the International Treaty on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.

Prepared Debate 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 Leunig should not have been sacked. (see link)

Arrive 30 minutes before for team photos. Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.

Semi Final: That we should change the Australian Constitution to enable an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Speeches of 8 minutes; warning bell at 7 minutes.

Grand Final: That Jay Langadinos should not pursue the psychiatrist for professional negligence.

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.