The study presented here is part of the results of postdoctoral research that aimed to investigate the approved curriculum reform in 2012 and implemented in Australia since then. In addition to seeking to know the organization and functioning of the Australian education system, this article intends, specifically, to explain the process of building the country’s national curriculum and identify the dynamics and foundations of the current reform. The methodology used for this research was based on a qualitative, descriptive and analytical approach, based on bibliographic and documentary analysis. From this analysis, it can be concluded, among other things, that the Australian curriculum reform is the result of a long process of debates and ideological political disputes that lasted two decades. In spite of the arguments regarding social equity and justice, the principles and foundations that support this reform are strongly marked by neoliberal ideas. Regarding the consequences of this process, in this text, the obstacles to the implementation of the current national curriculum stand out.