Immediate accreditation at Proficient Teacher
Eligible returning teachers accredited at Provisional can apply for immediate accreditation at Proficient Teacher with their principal's support. Discover how to apply, the eligibility requirements, and what to do if your principal or Teacher Accreditation Delegate does not recommend immediate accreditation.
Retired teachers
If you taught in a NSW school before 1 October 2004, or in a NSW service before 18 July 2016, and have never been accredited in NSW, contact NESA directly at retiredteachers@nesa.nsw.edu.au to apply for immediate accreditation at Proficient Teacher.
Early childhood teachers: What ‘Teacher Accreditation Delegate’ means
A Teacher Accreditation Delegate (TA Delegate) is a teacher assigned by an early childhood employer to perform teacher accreditation functions as set out in E2.3 of the TA Manual. They:
- must be accredited at Proficient Teacher or above
- have some seniority over the teachers for whom they make an accreditation recommendation or verification
- are not necessarily the ‘Service Director’ of an early childhood service
- can be working in the same service as the teacher(s) or working elsewhere for the same employer.
Contact your employer to identify who the TA Delegate is for your service. If there is no eligible teacher to carry out the function of the TA Delegate at the employer, contact the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) at ECTaccreditation@nesa.nsw.edu.au.
When you can apply
There is no minimum number of teaching days required before you can apply. However, you need to apply before the end of your maximum accreditation timeframe.
Check your eligibility requirements
Before you can apply for immediate accreditation at Proficient Teacher, you must be a returning teacher accredited at Provisional with us.
Eligible returning teachers
You are eligible to apply for immediate accreditation at Proficient Teacher if you meet the requirements outlined in the table below.
| Status | Requirements |
|---|---|
| Previously cancelled by NESA and now provisionally re-accredited |
|
| Previously voluntarily cancelled Proficient Teacher and now provisionally re-accredited |
|
| You taught in a NSW school before 1 October 2004 or in a NSW service before 18 July 2016, and you have never been accredited in NSW. |
|
Ineligible returning teachers
You are ineligible for immediate accreditation at Proficient Teacher if:
- you have conditions on your re-accreditation, for example being ineligible for immediate accreditation
- we cancelled your accreditation for failing to maintain the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (the Standards)
- you voluntarily cancelled your accreditation after the end of your maintenance of accreditation timeframe.
Prepare your application
If you have been accredited previously:
- download and review the Application for immediate accreditation at Proficient Teacher for returning teachers (PDF 260.27KB).
- discuss your intention to apply and eligibility with your current principal/TA Delegate.
Your principal/TA Delegate will make a recommendation about your immediate accreditation.
Before they can make a recommendation they need to consider:
- if your current practice meets the Standards for Proficient Teacher as observed through a range of professional activities
- your previous level of accreditation
- your length of time away from teaching
- your length of employment as a teacher before your absence
- the nature of your employment during your absence from teaching in NSW, including employment as a teacher
- any relevant further tertiary study you completed during your absence
- other appropriate professional or personal circumstances.
You may need to provide the following to your principal to support your application:
- a statement of service
- evidence of further study
- evidence of recent professional development.
Documentary evidence of teaching practice is not required.
Submit your application
Refer to your employer’s internal procedures about immediate accreditation for returning teachers, if relevant.
Submit your application to your principal/TA Delegate and include:
- your statements of service
- any other supporting documents.
Your principal/TA Delegate will make their recommendation about your immediate accreditation and submit it to us by email to qualityassurance@nesa.nsw.edu.au.
We only process applications sent from your principal/TA Delegate's email address.
Await NESA's accreditation decision
You will receive confirmation of your principal/TA Delegate’s recommendation to immediately accredit you within 28 days of them submitting your application to us.
We make decisions based on their recommendation and supporting documents.
If you are immediately accredited, we issue you a Proficient Teacher certificate.
You begin your first maintenance of accreditation period on the day we make the decision.
Issues that may affect your accreditation
There may be some situations where your principal/TA Delegate cannot recommend immediate accreditation.
If your principal/TA Delegate intends not to recommend your immediate accreditation, they must provide you with 28 days' written notice of that decision.
The notice will include:
- their reasons for the intended recommendation
- the Standard Descriptors that you failed to demonstrate.
You have 28 days to respond to this notice in writing. Discuss the recommendation with your principal/TA Delegate to determine if more supporting documents or evidence is required.
At the end of the 28-day notice period, if your principal/TA Delegate does not recommend your immediate accreditation, they must record this decision, with reasons, on your application form and email it to us.
If your principal/TA Delegate is unable to make a recommendation, they will record this on your application form, include their reasons, and email it to us.
They can only record that they are unable to make a recommendation if:
- you have not worked long enough in the school/service for them to confidently judge your practice
- the information provided by your previous schools/services (subject to your consent) has not helped them make a valid and reliable judgement.
If you do not give consent for your principal/TA Delegate to contact your previous principal, they are likely to state that they ‘are unable to make a recommendation’.
You can discuss the recommendation with your principal/TA Delegate to determine if more supporting documents or evidence is required.
We make accreditation decisions based on the principal/TA Delegate’s recommendation and within 28 days of receiving it.
Continue to develop your teaching practice through:
- teaching experience
- reflection
- guidance and feedback from colleagues
- observations of practice
- other professional activities.
You can submit another application for immediate accreditation later, or you can follow the process to achieve Proficient Teacher accreditation
What you can do if you are not accredited
You can apply for an internal review if we decided not to immediately accredit you.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you can apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a review of the decision.