Year 5

Round 1: That cats are better than dogs.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 2: That children should be paid for household tasks.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 3: That homework should be banned in Primary school.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 4: Topic To Be Advised.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 5: Topic To Be Advised.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Year 6

Round 1: That there should be a pledge of allegiance for Australian school children.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 2: That schools should have a dog to reduce stress in the classroom. (see link)

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 3: That councils should use robots to keep animals and people safe in public places. (see link)

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 4: Topic To Be Advised.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 5: Topic To Be Advised.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Year 7

Round 1: That the South Australia Police should reinstate mandatory spelling and numeracy tests for recruits.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 2: That the re-instatement of corporal punishment by the school is a good idea. (see link)

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 3: That Blake should drink the elixir. (See link)

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 4: Topic To Be Advised.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Round 5: Topic To Be Advised.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 3 minutes; warning bell at 2 minutes.

Year 8

Round 1: That there should be a law to protect the Australian flag from desecration.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Round 2: That the Iditarod Trail Sled dog race should be permanently cancelled.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Round 3: That Australia should implement an opt-out system for organ donation.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Round 4: Topic To Be Advised.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Round 5: Topic To Be Advised.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 4 minutes; warning bell at 3 minutes.

Year 9

Round 1: That South Australia's 'no jab, no play' policy should be abolished.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Round 2: That the Prime Minister should make a 'State of the Union' speech. (see link)

Prepared Debate Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Round 3: That hostile architecture is a reasonable part of urban design.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Round 4: Topic To Be Advised.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Round 5: Topic To Be Advised.

Prepared Debate Speeches of 5 minutes; warning bell at 4 minutes.

Year 10

Round 1: That Banksy is the Da Vinci of his time.

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

Round 2: That Australia should introduce compulsory military service for school leavers.

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

Round 3: That Australia should stay out of the Iran war.

Speeches of 6 minutes; warning bell at 5 minutes.

Round 4: Topic To Be Advised.

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

Round 5: Topic To Be Advised.

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.

Senior

Round 1: That censorship has a place in protecting democracy.

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

Round 2: That Australia should establish a specialised war crimes tribunal to handle cases like Ben Roberts-Smith.

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

Round 3: That the public backlash to the Tickle v Giggle case is warranted.

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

Round 4: Topic To Be Advised.

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.

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 2025 topics here.