Two systems, two ways of counting
| Question | NSW | Queensland |
|---|---|---|
| The Act | Teacher Accreditation Act 2004 | Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005, the version current at 29 June 2026 |
| Who sets the hours | NESA, the NSW Education Standards Authority | The College, in its CPD framework (s 30) |
| How much | 100 hours in each maintenance period | At least 20 hours a year if teaching 20 days or more; none if fewer than 20 days in a calendar year |
| Over | For a Proficient Teacher: 5 years full-time, 7 years casual or part-time | Each year, within a full registration renewed for periods of 5 years |
| What counts | Activity where the teacher learns new skills or practices related to the Standards | A balance of employer-directed and teacher-identified learning, varied, and aligned with the professional standards |
| Records | Kept for 12 months after the maintenance is submitted | The teacher’s responsibility; the College offers an online tracking tool |
NSW: the Act, then NESA’s 100 hours
The Act defines professional development as including “formal and informal learning activities designed to maintain and enhance the knowledge and skills of teachers”. It lets the professional teaching standards deal with “the conditions and criteria for continuing accreditation, including requirements in relation to professional development” (s 20(1)(b)). Accreditation matters because “a person must not teach in a school or early childhood education centre unless the person is accredited”, with a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units (s 28), in NSW penalty units.
NESA changed the requirements from 16 August 2024: it removed the Accredited and Elective PD categories, and all PD already logged counts towards the 100 hours. Any split of the 100 hours into those two categories predates that change.
A Proficient Teacher whose employment changes may be able to move from a 5-year to a 7-year timeframe, with evidence of the change given to NESA.
What NESA does not count
Roles and responsibilities that are part of a teacher’s duties are not counted as PD. NESA gives eleven examples of what cannot be recorded, all given here in plain words:
- planning and programming
- marking and moderation
- writing reports on students or children
- staff meetings of an administrative kind
- excursions and coordinating events
- planning or taking part in extra-curricular activities
- leading or coaching student or child initiatives
- creating, or collaborating on, individual learning plans
- interviews and meetings with parents or carers
- training run by a trade union
- courses that are not about teaching or curriculum.
The log and the audit
A PD log must record the date, the activity type, the activity’s name, the Standard or Standards addressed and the duration, plus the provider and priority area where they apply. NESA audits a random sample of logs every quarter, in two ways: a monitoring audit with 6 months’ notice before maintenance is due, and a compliance audit with 28 days’ notice after the maintenance decision. Attendance certificates or PD evaluations are not required. If, after support, a teacher still does not meet the requirements or does not engage with the audit, NESA may suspend their accreditation.
Queensland: renewal, and the College’s yearly minimum
Full registration lasts 5 years, shortened by the time a teacher held provisional registration before it, and “may be renewed for further periods of 5 years” (s 26(1), (2), (5)). To renew, the College must be reasonably satisfied, among other things, that the person has undertaken “the continuing professional development required for registered teachers under the CPD framework” (s 29(2)(d)). The College “must develop or recognise a framework (a CPD framework)” (s 30(1)), and the framework may state the type of CPD required and the minimum a registered teacher must undertake (s 30(5)).
The College’s CPD Policy and Framework took effect in January 2017. On the College’s current page (last updated 6 July 2026), the yearly requirement applies to fully registered teachers whether they teach full-time, part-time, supply or contract: at least 20 hours in a year of 20 or more teaching days. Supply and contract teachers are advised to keep records of their teaching days, such as payslips or service statements, as well as their CPD.
Its examples of CPD include training an employer makes mandatory, workshops, online courses and professional reading; routine teaching tasks and extracurricular activities do not count. Records should show the timeframe, the provider, the type of activity and how it relates to the professional standards.
Each year the College asks a random sample of fully registered teachers for the previous year’s records, and gives them three months to submit. The College’s policy says a shortfall may lead to a condition on registration, and that extreme cases of falling short, or of not answering the College, will normally lead to cancellation.
Victoria and the other places
This guide holds no source on teachers’ professional learning in Victoria or the other states and territories, so it states no rule for them.
The two other guides that count hours by the year are CPD for architects in NSW and training for mortgage brokers; the five rules are side by side on the home page.