Teacher Accreditation

From 1 January 2018, all teachers in NSW must be accredited to teach. Accreditation means that a teacher has met the professional teaching standards required by the Teacher Accreditation Act 2004, including the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (‘the Standards’) at one of the key stages of Graduate, Proficient Teacher, Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher.

The New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) are now the sole ‘Teacher Accreditation Authorities’ (TAA) for all accreditation levels.

From November 2023, teachers maintaining accreditation will need to declare that they meet the criteria below to roll over their accreditation into the next maintenance cycle. There will be no requisite for Principals or Service Directors to attest to a teacher’s practice. A teacher’s declaration means they:

• Met the minimum teaching requirements against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
• Have completed 100 hours of PD, including at least 50 hours of NESA Accredited Priority PD and up to 50 hours of NESA elective PD.