Teachers will be given more opportunities to enhance their teaching and grow as expert educators, through meaningful changes to professional development requirements.

The changes aim to make professional development more valuable and ensure teachers are undertaking relevant, high-quality professional learning that benefits students in the classroom.

The restrictive requirements that have limited what teachers could count towards their 100-hours of mandated professional development will be removed. In doing so, it will bring NSW into line with the rest of the country and remove unnecessary red tape that was adding to teachers’ administrative workloads.

The move was a central recommendation to the NSW Government by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), which oversees accreditation for public, independent and Catholic education sectors.

The professional development undertaken by teachers will still need to be aligned to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

For all public school teachers, the NSW Department of Education will ensure that its professional development aligns with the Australian Professional Standards alongside the Plan for Public Education providing a focus the new curriculum and expert teaching and learning.

This also includes professional development to address student wellbeing and equity cohorts, particularly those called out in the Disability Royal Commission.

To ensure the quality of professional development, a framework will be developed to support teachers in identifying effective learning, as well as a list of providers recognised by the NESA.

An expert advisory panel will be established to oversee the professional development process and, to ensure accountability, NESA will undertake random audits.

The changes mean that NSW teachers maintaining their accreditation will:

• No longer be forced to undertake 50 of their 100 hours of accredited professional development in previously mandated areas.
• No longer need to write time-consuming evaluations for the professional development they complete.
• Be able to identify the professional development that is relevant to their teaching and the education of their students.
• Be supported by NESA to identify effective professional development with the introduction of a new framework and a list of Recognised Providers.
• Be able to include compliance training towards their 100 hours, provided it aligns with The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

Teachers will still be required to complete 100 hours of professional development every five years (or seven years for part-time or casual teachers) to maintain their accreditation.

These changes followed a review of accreditation requirements by NESA into whether they were limiting opportunities for teachers to strengthen their practice.

Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Early Learning Prue Car said:

“These changes will ensure that every hour of professional learning that our teachers undertake is valuable to their classroom and their students.

“To improve student outcomes we need provide high-quality, evidence-based professional learning for teachers, not tie them up in red tape and restrictive requirements that do not add value to their teaching.

“Professional development shouldn’t be about box ticking, it should be supporting our expert educators to enhance their practice.”

Deputy President of the NSW Teachers Federation Amber Flohm said:

“Federation welcomes this significant reduction to the administrative workload of teachers and a rightful return to professional respect and trust.”