The Professional Conduct Branch (PCB) assesses and investigates concerns about registered teachers who may pose a risk of harm. This work supports the Victorian Institute of Teaching's role in protecting children and young people through the regulation of the teaching profession. 

PCB Reform Program

Following last year’s independent review and the findings from the ABC Report, we’ve launched the PCB Reform Program to strengthen how professional conduct matters are managed and provide greater consistency and transparency in our decision-making.

Based on recommendations outlined in the report, the program focuses on the successful delivery of the following key reform areas

• risk-based assessment and decision-making
• faster prioritisation of higher-risk matters
• improved timeliness and efficiency
• enhanced guidance, tools and staff capability
• greater focus on child safety and public confidence
• formal hearing reform
• backlog reduction.

Risk-based assessment and decision-making

We’re improving how we assess and respond to professional conduct matters through a more consistent, risk-based approach. This will help us make sure matters that pose the greatest risk to children and the community are prioritised, while supporting fair, timely and transparent decision-making. We've made significant progress, including developing an enhanced risk-based decision-making framework, assessment tools and operational guidance to support greater consistency, transparency and proportionality across PCB.

Faster prioritisation of higher-risk matters

We’ve developed new risk criteria and assessment thresholds to support the consistent prioritisation of matters based on risk and potential regulatory impact. This will help us identify and respond to higher-risk matters sooner and support more consistent decision-making.

Improved timeliness and efficiency

We’ve reviewed current processes and identified opportunities to improve how matters are managed from initial assessment through to finalisation. These findings are informing targeted improvements to support greater efficiency, consistency and effectiveness across the end-to-end management of matters.

Enhanced guidance, tools and staff capability

We’re developing new guidance materials, decision-support tools and operational resources to support consistent practice across PCB. We’ll continue to build staff capability through training and support as reforms are implemented and new resources are introduced.

Greater focus on child safety and public confidence

Child safety remains at the centre of our reform work. It’s guiding the development of risk criteria, prioritisation approaches and decision-making frameworks to help ensure we focus our regulatory action where it matters most.

Formal hearing reform

To support fair, timely and transparent outcomes, we’ve completed a comprehensive review of formal hearing matters and processes. The review identified opportunities to strengthen referral practices, decision-making, governance, case management, participant engagement and hearing administration. We’re using these findings to design improvements and inform implementation planning for a more consistent and effective formal hearing process.

Backlog reduction

Since the Backlog Reduction Project began, we’ve finalised 729 backlog matters, reducing the number of open backlog matters from 1,048 to 319 (as at 30 September 2026).

Next steps

Since the PCB Reform Program began, we’ve improved how matters are managed by resolving lower-risk matters more quickly, strengthening oversight and reducing aged conduct matters. This is helping create capacity to focus on more serious and complex cases.

The next phase of the reform program will focus on developing and testing a future operating model for professional conduct matters. Drawing on the risk-based assessment and decision-making work, formal hearing review and process improvement initiatives, this work will support more timely, consistent and proportionate decision-making, with a stronger focus on higher-risk matters.

Ultimately, this work is about ensuring we can deliver faster, fairer and more risk-focused outcomes that better protect children and young people while maintaining confidence in the teaching profession.

More information 

Learn more about our professional conduct reform

• Regulatory Impact Statement - Q2 2026 (Professional conduct trends: pages 8 – 10)
• Building a Safer Future for Children and a Stronger Profession: VIT's Reform Agenda for Professional Conduct.
• Reforming our professional conduct branch.