Standards and Procedures

The Accreditation Standards and Procedures set out the requirements that an initial teacher education (ITE) program must meet to be nationally accredited. They were initially developed in 2011 and revised in 2015, with further updates made in 2018, 2019 and 2023. The 2023 update has been developed as an addendum to be read alongside the Standards and Procedures. The Accreditation Standards and Procedures, including the addendum, draw on the expertise and vision of the key experts in the sector and embody a commitment to driving improvement in ITE.

Accreditation Standards and Procedures Guidelines for the accreditation of initial teacher education programs

Addendum to the Accreditation of initial teacher education programs in Australia: Standards and Procedures Guidelines for the Addendum to the Accreditation of Initial teacher education programs in Australia

National Program Standards

Application of the Program Standards

The Program Standards are contained in the Accreditation Standards and Procedures and identify what is required of high-quality ITE programs.

There are two stages to accreditation. Accreditation stage one applies to new programs entering the accreditation system for the first time and focuses on a provider’s plan for demonstrating impact. The focus of accreditation stage two is on the provider’s interpretation of the evidence they have collected on program impact.

The following Program Standards apply to both accreditation stage one and stage two, although the evidence that is available will differ between the stages.

Program design and assessment processes identify where each Graduate Teacher Standard is taught, practised and assessed and require that pre-service teachers have demonstrated successful performance against all of the Graduate Teacher Standards prior to graduation.
Program design and assessment processes require pre-service teachers to have successfully completed a final-year teaching performance assessment prior to graduation that is shown to:
1. be a reflection of classroom teaching practice including the elements of planning, teaching, assessing and reflecting
2. be a valid assessment that clearly assesses the content of the Graduate Teacher Standards
3. have clear, measurable and justifiable achievement criteria that discriminate between meeting and not meeting the Graduate Teacher Standards
4. be a reliable assessment in which there are appropriate processes in place for ensuring consistent scoring between assessors
5. include moderation processes that support consistent decision-making against the achievement criteria.
Providers identify how their pre-service teachers demonstrate a positive impact on student learning in relation to the assessment requirements in Program Standards 1.1 and 1.2.
Providers describe and evaluate the intended outcomes of their programs, after students have graduated, by using available data and specifically designed research that provide information on the effectiveness of the graduates as teachers, the achievement of specific program objectives and to inform its continuous improvement. Graduate impact on student learning is included in this evidence where available data allow. Graduate outcomes data are to be drawn from multiple sources that may include:
1. employment data
2. registration data
3. survey data including graduate and principal satisfaction surveys
4. studies designed to assess the impact of graduates on student learning including case studies and surveys
5. any other type of outcomes data that can be tenably linked to information on program improvement, graduate outcomes and/or positive impact on student learning.
Program design and assessment processes must require that pre-service teachers have successfully demonstrated knowledge and met the Learning Outcomes of the core content as outlined in Schedule 2.

Program development, design and delivery are based on:
1. a documented evidence-based rationale of how the program will develop effective teachers who:
  1. meet the Graduate Teacher Standards; and
  2. successfully demonstrate knowledge of and meet the Learning Outcomes of the core content in Schedule 2
2. a coherent and sequenced delivery of program content including professional experience that facilitates achievement of the Graduate Teacher Standards.
Program development, design and delivery take account of:
1. contemporary and emerging developments in education, curriculum requirements¹, community expectations and local, employer and national system needs, including workforce demands for teaching specialisations
2. the perspectives of stakeholders such as employers, professional teacher bodies, practising teachers, educational researchers and relevant cultural and community experts.
The resourcing for the program and its teaching and assessment strategies is consistent with the program’s rationale and expected outcomes and:
1. prepares pre-service teachers for contemporary school environments and early childhood education environments where relevant
2. takes into account the learning and professional experience needs of pre-service teachers across all offered modes of delivery
3. includes staff who have ongoing or recent school-based experience and early childhood experience where relevant.

¹ Curriculum refers to the Foundation to Year 12 Australian Curriculum, alternative curriculum frameworks that have been assessed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) as meeting the requirements of the Australian Curriculum, any curriculum authorised by jurisdictional authorities, and the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.

Providers describe and publish the rationale for their approach to program entry, the selection mechanisms used, threshold entry scores applied and any exemptions used.
Providers apply selection criteria for all entrants, which incorporate both academic and non-academic components that are consistent with engagement with a rigorous higher education program, the requirements of the particular program and subsequent success in professional teaching practice.
All information necessary to ensure transparent and justifiable selection processes for entry into initial teacher education programs, including student cohort data, is publicly available.
The program is designed to address the learning needs of all pre-service teachers admitted, including through provision of additional support to any cohort or individual who may be at risk of not being able to participate fully in the program or achieve its expected outcomes.
Initial teacher education graduates will possess levels of personal English language literacy and numeracy broadly equivalent to the top 30% of the population and/or possess high levels of Australian First Nations language proficiency.
1. The Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE) is the means of demonstrating that students have met the required standard of English language literacy and numeracy. In the case of First Nations language speakers, recognition of First Nations language proficiency by the relevant cultural authority is an acceptable alternative standard.
2. Students who are required to undertake the LANTITE are expected to attempt it before the end of the first year of their initial teacher education qualification.
3. Providers must support students’ access to the LANTITE and provide targeted assistance to those who need support to achieve the required standard before graduation. Providers must have an established process to confirm recognition of First Language proficiency.
4. Providers are also required to support those students who meet the First Nations language proficiency to develop their English literacy and numeracy skills.
Program entrants must meet English language proficiency requirements for teacher registration in Australia², either on entry to or on graduation from the program.
Entrants to graduate entry programs have a discipline-specific bachelor or equivalent qualification relevant to the Australian Curriculum or other recognised areas of schooling provision including:
1. for secondary teaching, at least a major study in one teaching area and, preferably, a second teaching area comprising at least a minor study, or
2. for primary teaching, at least one year of full-time equivalent study relevant to one or more learning areas of the primary school curriculum.³

² Teacher registration is the responsibility of jurisdictional Authorities and the specifications for English Language requirements are set out under the relevant regulatory schemes. View the nationally agreed requirements for English language proficiency.

³ This entry requirement also applies to combined primary/early childhood programs.

Programs comprise at least two years of full-time equivalent professional studies⁴ in education and are structured so that a graduate has undertaken a four-year or longer full-time equivalent program(s) that leads to a higher education qualification(s) in one of the following configurations:
1. a three-year undergraduate degree providing the required discipline knowledge, plus a two-year graduate entry professional qualification
2. an integrated degree of at least four years comprising discipline studies and professional studies
3. combined degrees of at least four years comprising discipline studies and professional studies
4. other combinations of qualifications proposed by the provider and approved by the Authority in consultation with AITSL as equivalent to the above that enable alternative or flexible pathways into the teaching profession.
Initial teacher education programs prepare pre-service teachers for the school curriculum⁵ and learning areas of their chosen discipline and/or stage of schooling in accordance with Schedule 1.⁶ Discipline-specific curriculum and pedagogical studies must be consistent with the core content outlined in Schedule 2.
Combined programs: Some programs prepare graduates for teaching across multiple educational settings, for example early childhood/primary school and primary school/secondary school (‘middle school’):
1. Programs that prepare graduates to teach in both early childhood settings and primary schools prepare teachers for teaching the curriculum across both contexts.
2. Programs that prepare graduates for primary and secondary school teaching must fully address the requirements for primary teaching and for secondary teaching in at least one major study or two minor studies in secondary teaching areas. However, programs may have a stronger emphasis on teaching particular year levels (e.g. Years 5 to 9).
3. Programs that prepare graduates for teaching in other specialised teaching roles in schools and other educational settings must address the specific content and pedagogy of the specialisation.
In addition to study in each of the learning areas of the primary school curriculum sufficient to equip teachers to teach across the years of primary schooling, programs provide all primary graduates with a subject specialisation through:
1. clearly defined pathways into and/or within a program that lead to specialisations, that are in demand, with a focus on subject/curriculum areas
2. assessment within the program requiring graduates to demonstrate expert content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge and highly effective classroom teaching in their area of specialisation
3. publishing the specialisations available, and numbers of graduates per specialisation through their annual reports.

⁴ Professional studies in education covers discipline-specific curriculum and pedagogical studies, general education studies and professional experience.

⁵ Curriculum refers to the Foundation to Year 12 Australian Curriculum or alternative curriculum frameworks that have been assessed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) as meeting the requirements of the Australian Curriculum, any curriculum authorised by jurisdictional authorities, and the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.

⁶ This Standard applies equally to those entrants admitted under recognition of prior learning or credit transfer arrangements.

Formal partnerships, agreed in writing, are developed and used by providers and schools/sites/systems to facilitate the delivery of programs, particularly professional experience for pre-service teachers. Formal partnerships exist for every professional experience school/site and clearly specify components of placements and planned experiences, identified roles and responsibilities for both parties and responsible contacts for day-to-day administration of the arrangement.
The professional experience components of programs are relevant to a classroom environment, and:
1. include no fewer than 80 days in undergraduate and double-degree teacher education programs and no fewer than 60 days in graduate-entry programs
2. consist of supervised and assessed teaching practice undertaken over a substantial and sustained period that is mostly in Australia and mostly in a recognised school setting
3. are as diverse as practicable
4. provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to observe and participate purposefully in a school/site as early as practicable in a program.
For every professional experience placement, regardless of delivery mode, there are clear mechanisms to communicate between the initial teacher education provider and the school the knowledge, skills and experiences pre-service teachers have already developed in a program and the expected learning outcomes of that placement.
Providers work with their placement school(s)/systems to achieve a rigorous approach to the assessment of pre-service teachers’ achievements against the Graduate Teacher Standards including:
1. identification of the Standards to be assessed
2. provision of assessment tools, protocols, practices and guidelines
3. clarification of expectations and roles in assessment, particularly designated roles for supervising teachers in practical assessment of pre-service teachers
4. timely identification of pre-service teachers at risk of not satisfactorily completing the formal teaching practice, ensuring appropriate support for improvement
5. mandating a satisfactory formal assessment of pre-service teachers against the Graduate Teacher Standards as a requirement for graduating from the program.
Providers support the delivery of professional experience in partner schools/sites, including by identification and provision of professional learning opportunities for supervising teachers and communication from, and access to, designated initial teacher education provider staff who, preferably, have current or recent experience in teaching.

Providers have processes in place for the ongoing collection, analysis and evaluation of data to inform program improvements and periodic formal evaluation of the program, including participation in national and jurisdictional data collections⁷ to support local and national teacher workforce supply reporting, program and provider benchmarking, and to build a cumulative database of evidence relating to the quality of teacher education in Australia.
At the beginning of each accreditation period, providers develop and then implement a plan for demonstrating program outcomes in relation to pre-service teacher performance and graduate outcomes, including program impact. The plan will identify how providers will select, use and analyse evidence that is relevant to assessing the delivery of the program, including the mandatory evidence required by Program Standard 6.3.
Evidence of outcomes, including impact, is provided⁸, evaluated and interpreted for the program at the end of each accreditation period. The interpretation of evidence encompasses identified strengths, program changes and planned improvements. The evidence requirements include at a minimum:
1. aggregated assessment data from the teaching performance assessment for all pre-service teachers (Program Standards 1.2 and 1.3)
2. aggregated assessment data from any other assessments identified in a plan for impact as contributing to evidence in relation to pre-service teacher performance and impact (Program Standards 1.1 and 1.3)
3. aggregated assessment and outcomes data linked to individuals and/or cohorts of interest, including selection cohorts (Program Standard 3.3)
4. data and evidence from participation in national and jurisdictional data collections (Program Standard 6.1)
5. evidence of the outcomes of graduates and/or graduate cohorts (Program Standard 1.4).
Providers report annually to the Authority including reporting on:
1. data as identified in the plan for impact (Program Standard 6.2)
2. changes to the program
3. nationally required data to contribute to national and/or jurisdictional collections and for compliance and accountability purposes
4. additional data/information requested by the Authority.

⁷ Such as the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching survey (QILT).

⁸ Evidence will be reported annually as part of the annual reporting requirements in Program Standard 6.4.

Accreditation Standards and Procedures Guidelines for the accreditation of initial teacher education programs

Addendum to the Accreditation of initial teacher education programs in Australia: Standards and Procedures

Accreditation Standards and Procedures

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National Program Standards

Application of the Program Standards