Design, Make, and Innovate: Provides the common body of technological knowledge and practice that underpins all other strands. Students develop knowledge of the relationship between people, place, and technology, understanding how technological interventions both shape – and are shaped by – their contexts. They consider ethical and responsible decision-making by asking, ‘We can do this, but should we?’ The strand develops understanding of how ideas are generated, modelled, tested, evaluated, and refined using specifications, constraints, evidence, and stakeholder input to produce fit-for-purpose outcomes.

Each student in both Years 9 and 10 must be taught the Design, Make, and Innovate strand through at least two of the discipline-specific strands as set out in this learning area. The discipline-specific strands can be different in Year 9 and Year 10.