There is considerable qualitative and quantitative data to suggest that chemistry in Australia is in a state of decline. This trend has been in evidence for the last fifteen years and is most evident from a progressive decline in demand for tertiary chemistry courses over this period despite an overall increase in demand for science courses in Australian universities. There is quantitative evidence to suggest that Australia is experiencing a 'skills shortage' of 'trained chemists' to support the development and sustainability of the chemical industry and, perhaps more significantly, the proportion of chemistry graduates entering the teaching profession is also decreasing. This thesis examines the reasons for this decline in the status of Australian chemistry by conducting a series of interviews with Heads of Departments of Chemistry in Australian universities to find out their concerns on this issue and, more specifically, to ascertain the actions that they are enacting to address the decline in demand for tertiary chemistry courses and the difficulty in retaining students in the chemistry major. This process also revealed numerous constraints, most significantly, financial constraints, that impede 'change' in the tertiary chemistry sector. A comprehensive review of the state of chemical education in Australia at both the secondary and tertiary levels has been undertaken and it transpires that the lack of a significant chemical education culture in Australian universities possibly correlates with the lack of systematic reviews of the Chemistry 1 course curriculum least the past three decades. This deficiency suggests that such a lack of a well-entrenched chemical education culture in Australia is a major contributing factor to the demise of chemistry generally. However, a comprehensive review of the state of international chemical shows that whereas a decline in the status of chemistry has been experienced in the UK, the USA and to some extent, in Europe, major steps have been taken to address this trend with integrated strategies imposed by governments, schools, universities and, most significantly, chemistry professional societies. Thus, it appears that Australia is still in the midst of a 'chemistry crisis' and that urgent strategies need to be enacted to address this. In this context and recognising that the foundation tertiary chemistry course has a major influence in attracting and retaining chemistry students and hence on the production of 'trained chemists', the major emphasis of this research is the development of a new curriculum framework for the tertiary Chemistry 1 course. This framework is based on a set of principles and is enabled by three contemporary educational theories which are integrated to form a distinctively balanced curriculum which emphasises the 'simplicity of chemistry' and includes the essential educational elements of 'learning' and also relates chemical principles and chemical phenomena to social responsibility outcomes. It is believed that this curriculum framework reveals the 'excitement' of contemporary chemistry together with its enabling features. Most significantly, it offers students a new, challenging and empowering chemistry learning experience. It is therefore concluded that this new Chemistry 1 curriculum framework has the potential to redress the decline of interest in chemistry at the tertiary level and hence contribute to addressing the increasing demand for 'trained chemists'.