Background
The Teacher Standards and the Principal Standard, endorsed by Education Ministers in 2010 and 2011 respectively, have been in place without change for over 15 years and have served the profession well. While grounded in international research and validated by the profession at the time, neither set of Standards has been comprehensively reviewed since endorsement.
The Teacher Standards were the first national framework to be agreed by Education Ministers and underpin most of the other national frameworks maintained by AITSL. The Standards (particularly the Teacher Standards) have been robust and are embedded in many processes, including Initial Teacher Education program accreditation, teacher registration and certification, performance and development cycles and industrial agreements.
Context
September 2025: The Australian Government convened an education workforce roundtable, which surfaced a broad range of issues, questions and possible solutions to explore, with a consistent theme around modernising the Teacher Standards and Principal Standard emerging.
October 2025: Education Ministers agreed to ask AITSL to scope a review of the Teacher Standards and the Principal Standard, and to come back with a detailed proposal, costing, and a teacher consultation plan.
November and December 2025: AITSL completed consultations with 30 different stakeholder groups, testing an initial set of principles and areas of focus to help scope the elements for a review.
April 2026: AITSL commissioned to conduct a phased approach to review the Teacher Standards (May 2026 – February 2027) and the Principal Standard (September 2026 – May 2027).
Key themes from initial consultation
The themes raised from the initial consultation to inform the scope for a review of both Standards have been summarised into 2 categories.
Process considerations
- Stakeholders would benefit from early, visible and ongoing involvement in shaping the direction of the review.
- Ensuring that the review to identify areas for improvement will be informed by comprehensive stakeholder and practitioner feedback, while being underpinned by a systematic comparison of evidence, in particular, the published evidence on effective teaching.
- Communication about the review is simple, clear and transparent to maintain trust and harness teacher and leader engagement.
- A transparent and credible governance structure to support the review is required, ensuring there is comprehensive representation from all stakeholders and participation by practising teachers and leaders.
- A phased approach to the review is required to reduce confusion and enable quality reviews of both sets of Standards.
Content considerations
- Supporting the need for coherence and continuity to form a developmental continuum across sets of Standards, noting that the continuum needs to address development in teaching expertise and leadership. Preference to refinement, simplification and clearer guidance over a potential structural redesign.
- Using the evidence to review the relative weight of the Standard descriptors in the Teacher Standards in terms of their impact on teaching effectiveness, to identify those which are most important to optimising student rates of learning progress and levels of achievement. This action recognises that some descriptors are more important than others for improving instruction, and that those related to instruction should be a clear focus of development and reflection throughout a teacher’s career lifecycle. This information would guide teacher energy and effort in applying the Teacher Standards to develop their practice.
- Using the evidence to identify key renewal priorities, including optimising teacher effectiveness; maximising the progress and achievement of learners; articulating the inclusivity of learners with disability; strengthening the safe, effective and ethical use of digital tools and technologies; strengthening child safety requirements; and strengthening cultural responsiveness and social cohesion.
- Exploring how to best include early childhood teachers across the sets of Standards, recognising the different structural and organisational contexts across early childhood education and care settings when compared with the primary and secondary school contexts for which the existing standards were written.
- Recognising the critical importance of teacher and leader wellbeing in sustaining the profession and student wellbeing having a crucial role in their successful learning.
What does the review of the Teacher Standards include?
AITSL will be fully accountable for the 6 elements in the review of the Teacher Standards:
- Governance
- Expert advisors
- Evidence inputs: literature review, environmental scan and consultation
- Discussion paper and consultation with written submissions
- Impact assessment
- Report with final recommendations
Governance
The governance structure combines representation with expertise.
Project Reference Group (PRG)
The PRG reviews progress and provides advice on project risks and issues. Membership includes representatives from a range of key stakeholder bodies.
Professional panels (approx 8–10 members each)
The purpose of the professional panels is to share practitioner advice on teaching and leadership, relevant to their experiences with the Teacher Standards. There are 4 professional panels, with up to 10 representatives from a range of education settings:
- Early childhood
- School teacher
- Middle leaders
- Senior leaders (including Assistant Principals, Deputy Principals, and Principals).
AITSL's existing advisory groups and steering committees
AITSL will leverage its existing consultative groups comprising teachers, leaders, systems, sectors, regulatory bodies, initial teacher education providers, education experts, and principal and other professional associations to help guide the review of the Teacher Standards.
Expert advisors
AITSL will engage national and international research experts to improve the quality of the reviews.
Evidence inputs
The review will be underpinned by high-quality evidence, with the following to be collected:
- An environmental scan.
- A review of the relevant literature.
- Advice from educational measurement experts.
- Application of the analysis of the consultation undertaken to prepare the discussion paper.
Discussion paper and consultation
A discussion paper will be developed following the completion of the Evidence Inputs. The purpose of the discussion paper is to serve as a catalyst for discussion with the profession and key stakeholders about the Teacher Standards. The discussion paper will include aspects such as:
- key points from the evidence
- gaps identified in the Teacher Standards from a comparison against the evidence
- a set of proposals to address the gaps with accompanying questions to guide consultation.
There will be options for the profession and key stakeholders to submit their feedback via an online survey or via written submissions.
Impact assessment
The purpose of the impact assessment is to identify the extent of implementation consequences stemming from any revisions to the Teacher Standards.
Final report with recommendations
A final report with recommendations will be developed for consideration by Education Ministers.
FAQs
Why is the review happening?
The Teacher Standards have been in place for nearly 15 years and have not been formally reviewed during that time. As the roles of teachers and leaders continue to evolve, it is timely to revisit the Teacher Standards to ensure they remain relevant to practice and are informed by current evidence.
Will the review affect my day-to-day practice?
No. The Standards remain in use as they are during the review.
Will the review affect my teacher registration?
No. Existing registration processes remain unchanged during the review.
Will the review impact my HALT accreditation?
No. Existing HALT accreditation processes remain unchanged during the review.
I believe there is nothing wrong with the Teacher Standards. Do they need to be reviewed?
Many teachers and leaders can find the Teachers Standards useful in supporting their practice, and this review acknowledges that.
The purpose of the review is not to assume change is needed, but to examine how the Teacher Standards are working in practice and whether they remain current and align with the evidence. A review also provides an opportunity to consider how the Teacher Standards are being used across different contexts and to ensure they continue to reflect the profession over time. Input from teachers and leaders – including those who value the Teacher Standards as they are – is an important part of this process.
Why should I get involved in the consultations?
Your perspective as a teacher or leader is central to understanding how the Teacher Standards are working in practice. Contributing to the consultations helps ensure the review reflects the expertise of the profession and the realities of different educational contexts.
What are the benefits of participating in the consultations?
- You will help shape the future direction of the Teacher Standards by contributing your professional experience and insights.
- It recognises your voice and your context, including your education setting, role and career stage.
- You will be contributing to an evidence-informed review that draws on real-world practice across Australia.
Related standards documents
