Public school students must sing the national anthem at all assemblies and special events to help restore pride in Australia, a territory's government has ruled.
Northern Territory Education Minister Jo Hersey announced the Country Liberal Party government's policy mandating public school anthem singing on Tuesday.
"We are Australian, and in the Northern Territory students will be taught what it means to be an Australian and to be proud of their country," she said in a statement.
National anthem protocols make no mention of Advance Australia Fair being sung in schools.
Under the NT policy, students would learn about national symbols such as the anthem through the civics and citizenship section of the Australian curriculum, with singing Advance Australia Fair taught through the arts section.
Singing the anthem was mandatory in public schools while Welcome to Country practices remained at the discretion of individual schools, Ms Hersey said.
Under the policy both verses of the anthem are to be used, sung in English with alternative words not allowed and students expected to stand while singing.
NT Country Liberal Party senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price backed the policy, saying it was about "building a shared national identity".
Federal Education Minister Jason Clare said the anthem was already often sung at schools.
"This is the best country in the world ... so if kids are singing that in the NT and other parts of the country, I reckon that's a good thing," he told Seven's Sunrise.
School students in some states already sing the anthem at assemblies and special events. (Lukas Coch/AAP PHOTOS)
In Victoria, schools must not compel students to recite a pledge or declaration or take part in a patriotic ceremony if the student or parents or carers object on religious, cultural or other grounds.
A Tasmanian education department spokesperson told AAP while some schools may not have a rigid daily requirement, the anthem was widely sung at assemblies.
A Queensland education department spokesperson said there was no formal policy dictating when the national anthem was played in public schools.
The national anthem protocols state Advance Australia Fair is an important symbol of the nation and should be treated with respect and dignity, with all Australians encouraged to sing it.
It should be sung in English, the tune or tempo should not be modified, alternative words should not be used and it is customary to stand when singing the anthem, the protocols say.
The second line of the anthem was changed in January 2021 from "For we are young and free" to "For we are one and free", in recognition of the legacy of Indigenous Australians.
