Taking the lead: national certification of Australia’s best teachers

The purpose of this paper is to present a vision and strategies for strengthening national teacher certification.

To date, more than 350 Australian classroom teachers have achieved national certification at the Highly Accomplished and Lead career stages of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

AITSL consulted with certifying authorities and key stakeholders to develop the four strategies outlined in this paper.

The national policy Certification of Highly Accomplished and Lead Teachers in Australia was endorsed by all Education Ministers in 2012 and implemented in late 2013. 

Taking the lead, provides a vision for national teacher certification and strategies to achieve this. Launched on March 17 2017 at the second Highly Accomplished and Lead Teacher Summit in Sydney by the Minister for Education and Training, Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham, Taking the lead outlines how building expertise through national teacher certification can help to improve quality teaching and student outcomes across Australia.