Teach for Australia is a Victorian and Federal government initiative to attract a wider range of candidates into the teaching profession, with a particular focus on teaching opportunities in disadvantaged government secondary schools.

Victoria is the first state to implement the program from 2010. The initiative is expected to be adopted by other Australian states in 2011.

The not-for-profit organisation Teach For Australia won the tender to administer the program nationally and is now working with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, to select and place the first group of applicants in government secondary schools.

Applicants need to have successfully completed a three-year undergraduate degree and must attend a selection day to assess their suitability for teaching through a range of activities, including interviews, group exercises and a short presentation.

Successful applicants will teach in schools for the equivalent of four days a week, working closely with an experienced teacher to teach and manage their own classrooms as well as a Teach for Australia mentor/coach. They will also complete a two-year part-time initial teacher education program, similar to a Graduate Diploma of Education, provided by the University of Melbourne.

This program begins in November with a six to eight week intensive phase to prepare applicants for their first classroom experiences. After two years they are expected to graduate as fully qualified teachers.

In maintaining the standards for entry to the profession, the role of the Institute is to:

• Assess the academic qualifications of applicants to ensure they meet academic standards for entry into teacher education and have the appropriate discipline studies for secondary teaching subjects.
• Assess for and grant Permission To Teach under the same requirements and standards used for any other ‘non-teaching-qualified’ teachers required by Victorian schools.
• Review and accredit the initial teacher education program applicants will undertake, to ensure the program meets the same standards as every other teacher preparation program in Victoria. Once the program is approved, it will be listed on the Institute’s website as an approved program.