Professional standards declarations

​Schools and employers play an important role in a teacher's transition to Full Registration. Applicants for Full Registration must demonstrate that they meet the Professional Standards for Teachers in Western Australia (Professional Standards) at the Proficient Career Stage.

Whether the Professional Standards at the Proficient Career Stage have been met is based on an assessment at the school/workplace level confirming that the teacher has met all of the standards. The assessment is verified through a declaration by an appropriate person at the applicant's school or educational institution confirming that the teacher has met all of the Professional Standards.

It is a matter for the appropriate person making the declaration to satisfy themselves that all seven Professional Standards have been satisfactorily met. This could include first-hand experience of the teacher's professional practice through direct observation and ongoing engagement or through a recommendation or report from another member of staff who is in a position to make such an assessment.

An appropriate person is:

A person who makes a declaration on a teacher's application for Full Registration in respect of the teacher's achievement of the Professional Standards for teacher registration.

In a school, an applicant's Principal or a person delegated by the Principal.

In an educational institution other than a school, this is the person who has day-to-day management responsibility (eg. in an education and care service, the nominated supervisor) or their delegate.

Persons delegated responsibility as the appropriate person to determine whether an applicant meets the standards may be a Deputy Principal, head of department, experienced/senior teacher, supervisor or line manager.

An appropriate person:

  • must hold or have held Full Registration as a teacher in Australia or New Zealand within the previous 5 years.
  • must be in a reasonable position to assess the applicant against the Professional Standards for Teachers in Western Australia and make a declaration to the TRBWA in relation to this.
Generally, it is expected that the appropriate person will be from the applicant's current educational institution with sufficient knowledge of the applicant's professional practice as a teacher. There may be situations, however, where an appropriate person feels unable to make a declaration about whether a teacher meets the Professional Standards, such as a staff member being new to a school or working reduced teaching hours across educational institutions. In any of these or similar situations, it may be acceptable for the 'appropriate person' to seek advice/report from the teacher's previous/other educational institution(s).

In certain limited situations, a declaration may be acceptable from an appropriate person at an applicant's previous educational institution. These situations include:

  • where there are no teachers holding Full Registration within an applicant's current school/educational institution,
  • where a teacher applying for Full Registration is not currently working in an school/educational institution
  • for child care centres.

The appropriate person will be required to provide a summary of the reasons why they consider that the applicant has met the Professional Standards at the Proficient Career Stage.

An appropriate person must be satisfied that the Professional Standards have been met. This could be through first-hand experience of the teacher's professional practice through direct observation and ongoing engagement or through a recommendation or report from another member of staff who is in a position to make an assessment.

For further information on making declarations that a teacher has met the Professional Standards at the Proficient Career Stage, please refer to the TRBWA Professional Standards Policy, Professional Standards for Teachers in WA and the Guide to Evidencing the Professional Standards at the Proficient Career Stage.