The June 2019 revision of NESA’s Interim Revocation, Suspension and Voluntary Cancellation of Accreditation Policy has provided an opportunity for AISNSW to publish new editions of the support documents for member schools seeking initial or renewal of Teacher Accreditation Authority (TAA) approval.

The revised support documents note that:

  • there is no longer a stipulated timeframe for notifying a teacher of an intention not to maintain accreditation (or of an intention to inform NESA that grounds may exist for suspension or revocation) and no stipulated timeframe for a response from the teacher prior to the TAA making its decision. (Previously a teacher would be given notice within 14 days, giving the teacher another 60 days to respond or meet requirements, prior to the TAA making its decision.)
  • procedures for notifying NESA of matters related to suspension and revocation have changed, including new email addresses for notifications and the requirement that NESA should first be phoned to establish whether the matter meets the benchmark for notifications. We also suggest that the TAA seek advice and support from the AISNSW Workplace Management team at the same time.
  • where the school authority (the employer) and the TAA are the same legal entity, there needs to be processes in place to limit the sharing of accreditation matters with school staff who do not also have roles in the TAA.
  • persons in the role of TAA Representative (which could be a Board member) do not need to be accredited teachers unless they will also be making accreditation decisions.
  • principals/early childhood education service directors are required to make attestations regarding the practice of teachers working toward or maintaining Proficient Teacher accreditation, irrespective of the accreditation status of the principal or service director.
  • accreditation decisions must not be based on matters extraneous to the relevant Standards, nor can schools impose timeframes for accreditation that are less than allowed in NESA’s policies.

Both support documents, Teacher Accreditation Authorities AISNSW Guide – Part 1 (Information and Advice) and Teacher Accreditation Authorities AISNSW Guide – Part 2 (Templates and Drafts) are available to member schools through links on the AISNSW Teacher Accreditation Authorities web page.