Australian Professional  
               Standards for Teachers
                                                                                                                                          Contents
             Acknowledgement of Country
             The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) 
             acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land, sea country and 
             waterways from across Australia. We honour and pay our respects to 
             their Elders past, present and future.
             Work on the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (the Standards) commenced under the 
             auspices of the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs 
             (MCEECDYA – now the Education Council) in 2009. Significant work was undertaken by the Australian 
             Standards Sub-group of the Australian Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs 
             Senior Officials Committee (AEEYSOC) during 2009-10. AITSL assumed responsibility for validating and 
             finalising the Standards in July 2010.
             The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers were endorsed by MCEECDYA in December 2010. 
             AITSL appreciates Ministers’ commitment to quality teaching and to the National Partnership on 
             Improving Teacher Quality and looks forward to continuing work with them on these important national 
             reforms.
             © 2022 Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership Limited (AITSL).
             Please cite this publication as: 
             Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership 2011, Australian Professional Standards for 
             Teachers, AITSL, Melbourne.
             ISBN 978-1-925192-64-3
             First published 2011 Revised 2018 
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             Content in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial,  
             No Derivatives 4.0 International Licence. To view a copy of this license, visit  
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             AITSL was formed to provide national leadership for the Commonwealth, state and territory governments 
             in promoting excellence in the profession of teaching and school leadership with funding provided by the 
             Australian Government. 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Contents
                      Contents
                      Preamble .......................................................................................................................... 2 
                      Organisation of the Standards ............................................................................................. 4
                            Domains of teaching ..........................................................................................................5
                            The seven Standards ..........................................................................................................6
                            Focus areas and descriptors .................................................................................................6
                            Professional capability at four career stages ...............................................................................6
                            Conclusion ......................................................................................................................8
                      Domain: Professional Knowledge .......................................................................................10
                            Standard 1: Know students and how they learn .........................................................................10
                            Standard 2: Know the content and how to teach it ......................................................................12
                      Domain: Professional Practice ...........................................................................................14 
                            Standard 3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning .................................................14
                            Standard 4: Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments ......................................16
                            Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning ..............................................18
                      Domain: Professional Engagement .....................................................................................20 
                            Standard 6: Engage in professional learning ............................................................................ 20
                            Standard 7: Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community .........................22 
                      Glossary ..........................................................................................................................23
                      Notes ..............................................................................................................................26
                      Special Thanks  ................................................................................................................27
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                                                                                                                                                                                     Contents
                Preamble
                The crucial role of the teacher                             Internationally6 and locally, education systems are        at different stages of their careers. An extensive 
                Teachers share a significant responsibility in              developing professional standards for teachers             validation process involving almost 6,000 teachers 
                preparing young people to lead successful and               to attract, develop, recognise and retain quality          ensured that each descriptor was shaped by the 
                productive lives. The Australian Professional               teachers. ‘High performing school systems,                 profession. 
                Standards for Teachers (the Standards) reflect and          though strikingly different in construct and context, 
                build on national and international evidence that           [maintain] a strong focus on improving instruction         “The greatest resource in Australian 
                a teacher’s effectiveness has a powerful impact             because of its direct impact upon student                  schools is our teachers. They account 
                                                                                          7
                             1                                              achievement’.
                on students,  with broad consensus that teacher                                                                        for the vast majority of expenditure 
                quality is the single most important in-school              Professional standards for teachers                        in school education and have the 
                factor influencing student achievement.2 Effective                                                                     greatest impact on student learning, 
                teachers can be a source of inspiration and,                Developing professional standards for teachers             far outweighing the impact of any other 
                equally importantly, provide a dependable and               that can guide professional learning, practice and 
                                                                                                                                                                               5
                consistent influence on young people as they make           engagement facilitates the improvement of teacher          education program or policy.” 
                choices about further education, work and life.             quality and contributes positively to the public 
                                                                            standing of the profession. The key elements of            The Standards support the Melbourne Declaration,8 
                As stated in the National Partnership on Improving          quality teaching are described in the Standards.           which describes aspirations for all young 
                Teacher Quality3  and the Melbourne Declaration                                                                        Australians for the next decade. This commits 
                on Educational Goals for Young Australians (the             They articulate what teachers are expected to know         Australian Education Ministers to the specific 
                Melbourne Declaration),4 improving teacher                  and be able to do at four career stages: Graduate,         educational goals that Australian schooling 
                quality is considered an essential reform as                Proficient, Highly Accomplished and Lead.                  promotes equity and excellence and that all young 
                part of Australia’s efforts to improve student              The Standards and their descriptors represent an           Australians will become successful learners, 
                attainment and ensure it has a world class system           analysis of effective, contemporary practice by            confident and creative individuals, and active and 
                of education. ‘The greatest resource in Australian                                                                                       9
                schools is our teachers. They account for the vast          teachers throughout Australia. Their development           informed citizens.   ‘All Australian governments, 
                majority of expenditure in school education and             included a synthesis of the descriptions of                universities, school sectors and individual schools 
                have the greatest impact on student learning, far           teachers’ knowledge, practice and professional             have a responsibility to work together to support 
                outweighing the impact of any other education               engagement used by teacher accreditation and               high-quality teaching and school leadership, 
                                                                            registration authorities, employers and professional       including by enhancing pre-service10 teacher 
                program or policy’.5                                                                                                   education’.11 
                                                                            associations. Each descriptor has been informed 
                                                                            by teachers’ understanding of what is required 
         2      Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, AITSL