This position paper examines the changing focus of citizenship education in Australia over the past 40 years. Citizenship education has not achieved as high a profile in Australia as in the United States and this situation has become a growing concern for many educators and community leaders. An examination is made on how questioning traditional values and changing the international scene have impacted the way Australians and Australian governments have come to see themselves. The changing nature of Australian society in recent years through a series of events, processes, and initiatives is recognized. A call for consensus is made in order to develop a citizenship education program for the Australian students to function in the new era of change. The paper includes the following divisions: (1) "Introduction"; (2) "Conflicting Images of Citizenship Education in Australia"; (3) "Issues for Citizenship and the School Curriculum"; (4) "Levels of Student Understanding"; (5) "Student Attitudes"; (6) "Opportunity to Learn"; (7) "Teacher Attitudes"; (8) "Student Participation"; (9) "National Curriculum"; (10 "Curriculum Options"; and (11) "Conclusions." In summary, the level of student understanding of political concepts and processes is an important component of being an effective citizen. The development of citizen education involves not only a reconceptualization of citizenship education, but also a rethinking of how citizenship education might best become a major component of the school curriculum. Contains 28 references. (EH)