Introducing our flagship Leadership Development Program

Once you open your application, our recruitment team will be in touch to guide and support you. The application process takes six to eight weeks, and you’ll be asked to submit your academic transcripts and location preferences.

At this stage, we ask you several long-answer questions aligned with our six competencies, where you’ll share your motivations for joining the program and your unique experiences. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible because we progressively close learning areas when we have enough candidates to meet school demand, and you may need extra time to gather the appropriate documentation.

This test has been designed to give you an idea of what life is like as a teacher in the LDP – think of it as a ‘try before you buy’. It presents you with scenarios that all teachers encounter during their careers and asks you how you might respond. No prior teaching experience is needed.

If your application is successful, you’ll be invited to a virtual day of assessment activities. This includes a sample teaching lesson, mock parent-teacher interview, and group activity. Assessments happen on a rolling basis, and within one week of your assessment, you’ll receive a phone call with feedback and an outcome.

If successful, Australian Catholic University (ACU) will confirm your learning areas, and you’ll receive a conditional offer to join the program. Once you sign the offer, you’ll be allocated to a state or territory and invited to share your placement needs and wants.

Once your placement is confirmed, we’ll support you with the required relocation, onboarding and registration processes to prepare you to start teaching in your new school in January. This process typically starts in June.

From mid-to-late October, you’ll be required to complete 25-30 hours of mandatory self-directed coursework to prepare you for the National Initial Intensive. This includes readings, asynchronous lectures, and reflections.

Before you step into the classroom, you’ll complete 20% of your Master’s coursework through the National Initial Intensive (NII). NII involves a combination of 2-weeks pre-work, online learning sessions (live), assignments and a 2-week in-school practicum to help you build foundational teaching skills.

You can choose either the full-time or flexible option. The flexible program begins on the 30th September, and the full-time option on the 28th October. Both conclude on 20th December. The flexible program is ideal for those who need to work during this period and/or have other commitments. Speak to your recruitment officer about the best option for you.

You’ll continue your coursework in January through a combination of online learning and a four-day face-to-face Regional Intensive held in your placement state or territory.

You’ll begin teaching in Term 1 and develop your skills throughout the two-year program, where you’ll gain a nationally accredited and internationally recognised Master of Teaching (Secondary) (Leading Learning), delivered in partnership with Australian Catholic University (ACU). You’ll also receive one-on-one coaching and mentoring during this time.

You have a clear sense of why our program is the right fit for you. You understand educational inequity in Australia and are motivated to contribute to systemic change through our innovative pathway. You are also committed to social justice and have a clear commitment to Reconciliation, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

You have a genuine belief in your capacity to grow and change as a teacher and a leader. You can identify your strengths as well as the skills and knowledge you need to learn. You’re able to demonstrate your ability to ask for help and to develop your skills with actionable feedback.

Our Associates join diverse communities in their classroom, their school, and their cohort. You will need to understand your students’ values, experiences, and perspectives to create a welcoming and constructive learning environment. You’ll show us how you build strong relationships with a wide range of individuals, with collaboration, respect, and an open mind.

You have excellent written and verbal communication. You will demonstrate how you clearly and accurately explain your ideas and make space for others to contribute to conversations – and listen deeply to what they say. As a leader in the classroom, you need confidence and presence to motivate your students – so we want to know how you successfully motivate others to achieve desired results.

It is important that our Associates can balance their teaching and study load, and look after their wellbeing. Navigating these priorities requires you to be organised and prepared. It also requires you to process new information quickly and thoughtfully respond in the moment – often changing the initial plan while still achieving the initial goal. You’ll show us how you prepare successfully to meet deadlines while being able to adjust plans in response to new information.

To successfully change education in Australia, you must first understand the systemic factors involved – and believe that meaningful change is possible. Our Associates need curiosity to look both inside and outside the classroom for possible factors, openness to listen to their communities, and an ability to analyse and understand complex problems. You will demonstrate how you approach and analyse complex issues and ideas, and how you set and achieve realistic goals.

Associates will teach 0.8 full-time equivalent (FTE), allowing the remaining 0.2 FTE for study.

Depending on your school’s needs, this could be teaching eight days each fortnight and having two days off for study, or teaching six full days, four half days and study four half days.

While the Master’s requires more hours of study than 0.2 FTE each week, this time is allocated to reduce the amount of study Associates need to complete outside of work hours.

Incoming Associates have the option to extend their Master’s to 3 years, allowing more time for study (and therefore reducing academic workload).

Of course. You can register your interest here and we will keep in touch.

During the application process, we ask you for your placement preferences. We work hard to set you up for success, with a strong emphasis on making sure that, where possible, you are placed with or near other Associates.

Keep in mind that the greatest need for our work is often in regional and remote communities, so ‘near’ can sometimes be a few hours away.

While we make every effort to find a suitable placement for you, we can’t guarantee a placement – it depends on the workforce needs of our partner schools and the flexibility of your location preferences.

In the unlikely event that we can’t find you a placement, we will work with you to identify the next steps, which may involve a deferral to a subsequent cohort of the LDP.

To be eligible for the Leadership Development Program, you must be qualified at a Bachelor degree level in a discipline other than teaching and able to enrol in at least two learning areas – which are the subjects you’re qualified to teach.

We are not able to take experience into account when determining learning areas.

We place Associates exclusively in schools serving low socioeconomic communities, working in the areas that need the most support. We currently operate in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, and South Australia. If you receive an offer to join the program, you’ll be invited to share your location preferences with us. The more flexible you are, the more likely you are to be placed.

The TechFit Test is designed to give you a preview of what life is like as a teacher in the LDP. It presents you with scenarios that all teachers encounter during their careers and asks you how you might respond. No prior teaching experience is needed.

Please email apply@teachforaustralia.org or register for one of our upcoming events.