For evidence of how children and young people’s rights are refracted in Australian curricula, document analysis was conducted on the Australian Early Years Learning Framework (for children 0-5 years) and the Australian Curriculum (learning areas for foundation to year ten currently available) . Both explicit and implicit reference to ‘rights’ was searched for and surrounding content read for relevance and implications. Findings identified how children and young people are positioned as rights holders in formal education in Australia, along with which rights are prioritised thus reflecting national values. Significant discrepancies were found between the Australian Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum conveying incongruent messages to children as to how, when and where they can be rights holders, along with signalling wide gaps in rights education. Questions are raised as to how young Australians are to learn and enact human rights.