2. Initial Accreditation

This section applies to any person applying for teacher accreditation in NSW for the first time.¹

When an applicant applies for teacher accreditation, NESA may:

• provisionally accredit the person (see Section 2.1); or
• conditionally accredit the person (see Section 2.2); or
• accredit the person at a comparable accreditation level if they are a currently registered teacher from interstate or New Zealand (see Section 2.4); or
• refuse to accredit the person (see Section 2.5).

Additional qualification and English language proficiency requirements may apply to applicants with qualifications gained in overseas countries (see Section 2.3). 

2.1 Provisional accreditation

To be accredited at Provisional, an applicant must:

• complete an application for accreditation in their NESA online account (eTAMS)
• meet the requirements specified in the professional teaching standards; and
• have been awarded a qualification or qualification package that is:
  • approved by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) to qualify early childhood teachers for the purposes of the Education and Care Services National Law and Education and Care Services National Law Regulations (as published on the ACECQA website); or
  • approved or accredited by NESA (as published on the Accredited teaching degrees page of the NESA website); or
  • accredited by another Australian teacher regulatory authority (as published on the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) website) or by the Teaching Council of New Zealand; or 
  • from an overseas country assessed and confirmed by NESA as being comparable to an Australian four-year teaching degree or four-year qualification package (see Section 2.3.1); or
  • an historical teaching qualification² assessed and confirmed by NESA as being comparable to a currently accredited Australian teaching degree or qualification package. 

Applicants must also meet the conditions of accreditation in Section 1 to be accredited at Provisional. 

Teachers with Provisional accreditation must gain Proficient Teacher accreditation within their maximum timeframe to remain accredited and eligible for employment as a teacher (see Section 4.7). Teachers who are not accredited at Proficient Teacher within their maximum timeframe (or extended timeframe, where applicable) will cease to be accredited and may apply to NESA for re-accreditation at Provisional (see Sections 4.7.2 and 12.2). 

2.1.1 Subject content information

In addition to confirming accreditation, information on the teaching subjects or stage a teacher is trained to teach is included on the Statement of Accreditation that NESA issues to provisionally accredited teachers. This information may be of use to employers and is aligned to NESA’s Supplementary Documentation: Subject Content Knowledge Requirements and any requirements specifically applying to overseas qualified applicants.

2.2 Conditional accreditation  

Applicants who are not eligible for Provisional accreditation under Section 2.1 may be eligible for Conditional accreditation and must complete their qualification before they can be accredited at either Provisional or Proficient Teacher. 

To be accredited at Conditional,³ an applicant must:

• complete an application for accreditation in their NESA online account (eTAMS)
• meet the requirements specified in the professional teaching standards; and either
• have been awarded at least a three-year bachelor degree covering discipline knowledge in the area in which the person will be employed to teach; and
• provide evidence of an offer of employment as a teacher or
• have completed a substantial part of a relevant program (i.e. at least three quarters of an approved/accredited undergraduate teaching degree, or one half of an approved/accredited graduate entry teaching degree). 

Applicants must also meet the conditions of accreditation in Section 1 to be accredited at Conditional.

Teachers with Conditional accreditation must complete (and have been awarded) their qualification and gain Proficient Teacher accreditation within their maximum timeframe to remain accredited and eligible for employment as a teacher (see Section 4.7). Teachers who are not accredited at Proficient Teacher within their maximum timeframe (or extended timeframe, where applicable) will cease to be accredited and may apply to NESA for re-accreditation at Provisional (see Sections 4.7.2 and 12.2). 

2.2.1 Changing from Conditional to Provisional accreditation

Teachers can change their accreditation from Conditional to Provisional once they have completed and been awarded an approved/accredited teaching degree.⁴

To change from Conditional to Provisional, teachers must provide NESA with a certified copy of their graduation certificate or testamur confirming the award of an approved/accredited teaching degree. Where a teacher changes from Conditional to Provisional accreditation, their original maximum timeframe for gaining Proficient Teacher accreditation does not change. 

2.3. Applicants with overseas qualifications

2.3.1 Qualification requirements

To be eligible for Provisional accreditation, applicants with qualifications gained overseas must hold a four-year teaching degree or four-year qualification package assessed and approved by NESA as comparable to that required of graduate teachers with an Australian teaching qualification. This assessment is in line with advice provided in the Australian Government’s Country Education Profiles. A workplace-based licence or teacher certification does not equate to an approved/accredited teaching qualification.

Applicants with workplace-based licences or non-approved qualifications may be eligible for Conditional accreditation.

To be eligible for employment as a teacher in an early childhood service, overseas-qualified teachers must hold a qualification approved or recognised by ACECQA. 

2.3.2 English language proficiency  

Applicants with overseas qualifications must demonstrate the required level of English language proficiency by either:

• having undertaken all of the qualifications assessed for Provisional or Conditional accreditation in the English language in New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada or the Republic of Ireland;⁵ or
• achieving the minimum results specified in one of the following approved tests no more than two years before the date of submitting an application for accreditation to NESA:
  • International English Language Testing System (IELTS): Average band score of 7.5 across all four skill areas (reading, writing, listening and speaking) with scores of no less than 7.0 in reading and writing and no less than 8.0 in speaking and listening; or
  • International Second Language Proficiency Ratings (ISLPR): Level 4 in all four skill areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing, undertaken at approved testing sites where assessment is teacher focused; or
  • another test approved by NESA.⁶ 

Applicants with overseas qualifications may be exempt from demonstrating English language proficiency through the above means or by submitting a claim for exemption, based on at least two of the following: 

• evidence of at least three years’ teaching experience in the English language in a school or education institution in a country where English is the main, official language. This employment needs to be verified by the employer or school authority and attest to the applicant’s English language proficiency
• evidence of at least three years’ employment in an occupation, other than teaching in schools, requiring effective English written and oral communication. This employment needs to be verified by an employer and attest to the applicant’s English language proficiency
• evidence of undertaking all secondary schooling in Australia or another country where English is the main, official language
• evidence of teacher registration or licencing in a country where English is the main, official language and where English language proficiency was a condition of that registration/licencing
• transcripts confirming the successful completion of further tertiary study undertaken in Australia or another country where English is the main, official language
• demonstration of the required level of English language proficiency through a structured interview, if required by NESA. 

2.4 Teachers with interstate or New Zealand registration

Teachers registered in Australia or New Zealand are eligible for accreditation at the comparable level in NSW under the Mutual Recognition Act⁷ (the MR Act) or the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act (TTMR Act) respectively. 

To gain accreditation under mutual recognition arrangements, a teacher must:

• complete an application for accreditation with NESA in their NESA online account (eTAMS); and
• provide evidence of their current registration with a teacher registration authority in an Australian jurisdiction or New Zealand. 

A teacher is deemed accredited with a condition (Division 3 MR Act) in NSW from the date the completed application is processed by NESA. After this initial advice is provided to the teacher, NESA has one month to decide whether to grant (with or without any conditions), postpone (for up to six months) or refuse a teacher’s accreditation in NSW. The teacher is notified of the decision in writing.

NESA may apply any conditions attached to the teacher’s registration from their originating jurisdiction to their accreditation in NSW.

Teachers who hold national certification as a Highly Accomplished or Lead Teacher in another state or territory are eligible for accreditation at the same level in NSW (see Section 6.5). 

2.5 Refusal to grant Provisional or Conditional accreditation

NESA may refuse to accredit a teacher who does not meet the conditions of Provisional or Conditional accreditation. The notice of the refusal will specify which conditions they do not meet.

A person may apply to NESA for an internal review of a decision to refuse their Provisional or Conditional accreditation within 28 days of being notified.⁸ Information on how to apply to NESA for an internal review is published on the NESA website.

After the internal review is finalised, the teacher may apply to have the decision reviewed by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal.  

_{1. Teachers who taught in a NSW school before 1 October 2004 and teachers who taught in an early childhood service before 16 July 2016, and have never been accredited in NSW should refer to Section 12.6.}

_{2. A teaching qualification completed in NSW before the introduction of the TA Act in 2004, or in another Australian state or territory before the introduction of national accreditation in 2011.}

_{3. An applicant undertaking an ACECQA approved early childhood qualification may be accredited at Conditional and eligible for employment in a NSW school. Teachers in these cases are not eligible for employment as a teacher in an early childhood service until they have completed their ACECQA approved early childhood qualification.}

_{4. Conditionally accredited teachers are not required to change from Conditional to Provisional before gaining accreditation at Proficient Teacher, but must have completed and been awarded an approved/accredited teaching degree before they can be accredited at Proficient Teacher.}

_{5. This is consistent with the Australian Government’s skilled migration policy.} 

_{6. The Professional English Assessment for Teachers (PEAT) Test is an approved test last offered in 2016. The two-year expiry does not apply to PEAT. A Band A result in each of the four skills areas (listening, speaking, reading and writing) is required in PEAT.}

_{7. The introduction of the Automatic Mutual Recognition of Occupational Registrations (AMR) scheme for teachers with interstate teacher registration seeking accreditation in NSW has been postponed by the NSW Government until 1 July 2027.} 

_{8. Under the Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997, S53.}