This document presents a framework for teaching language, literacy, and numeracy as the central elements of competence for work and social activity in Australia. The framework contains guidelines that set the overall agenda for curriculum and assessment, with which the needs of workplaces, educational institutions, and community groups can be considered in designing a local curriculum. The first four sections give background information, introduce and describe the framework, and explain how to use it for curriculum development and assessment. The framework itself is first illustrated in six charts giving an overview of the following: six aspects (procedural communication for performing tasks, technical communication for using technology, personal communication for expressing identity, cooperative communication for interacting in groups, systems communication for interacting in organizations, and public communication for interacting with the wider community); three stages of each aspect (assisted, independent, and collaborative competence); competence statements for each stage; and more detailed competence statements for the four phases of each stage (reflecting on experience, engaging in activities, broadening applications, and critically reviewing). The charts are followed by a full-page listing of each stage with specific examples given for the competence statements. The final section contains six charts giving an overview of the related social activity competence framework. (KC)