NSW targeted selection criteria: the half-page rule, how panels judge you, and two worked examples

What 'targeted' and 'general' criteria mean in NSW

Teachers and many guides call them targeted selection criteria. The Department's current merit selection procedure calls them specific selection criteria. They're the same thing: the criteria written for this particular job. For classroom teacher jobs, the procedure says there should be two specific selection criteria in addition to the subject codes. Executive (assistant principal, head teacher, deputy) and principal jobs also have six general selection criteria set for the role level, plus up to four specific criteria that begin 'In addition to the general selection criteria...'.

What goes in the application

Not yet approved to teach? You'll need it before you can be appointed to a NSW public school, or registered for casual work. Start with becoming a teacher in NSW and NSW teacher registration.

How the NSW merit panel works

Panels can't ask you or your referees about your current or planned work pattern. Since 22 January 2025, permanent teacher and executive jobs advertised for a second or later time are open to part-time applicants too.

Worked example 1 (half a page)

Specific criterion: Demonstrated capacity to implement explicit teaching and evidence-based literacy strategies in K-2. EXAMPLE RESPONSE (fictional, about 230 words): I teach reading through a systematic, explicit sequence and use data to adjust it. In 2025 my Year 1 class of 24 included 9 students below the expected level on our Term 1 phonics screening. I set a daily 20-minute synthetic phonics block using a structured scope and sequence, with 'I do, we do, you do' modelling, decodable texts matched to taught code and cumulative review. Each Friday I ran a 3-minute check of the week's graphemes and regrouped students for small-group reteaching the following week. For the 9 students below level, I worked with our learning and support teacher to add a third weekly small-group session and sent home decodable readers with a one-page guide for families. By Term 3, 20 of 24 students met the expected benchmark, including 6 of the 9 who had started below it. I shared my tracking sheet and weekly check at a stage meeting; it is now used across Year 1. This work draws on Standards 2.5 (literacy strategies), 3.3 (teaching strategies) and 5.4 (interpreting student data).— Example only: a fictional, realistic response. Your criterion's wording and your evidence will differ.

Worked example 2 (half a page)

Specific criterion: Proven ability to engage and support students with diverse learning needs, including students with disability. EXAMPLE RESPONSE (fictional, about 230 words): I plan adjustments from the start rather than adding them later. In Term 2 2025 my Year 8 geography class included 4 students with disability-related adjustments, including a student with a hearing impairment and two students with ADHD. With each student's family and our learning support team, I reviewed their plans and identified three classroom barriers: verbal-only instructions, long unstructured tasks and fieldwork logistics. I gave every lesson a written agenda and visual instructions, broke the research task into four checkpoints with mini-deadlines, and used a sound-field system and seating plan agreed with the hearing support teacher. For the fieldwork excursion I wrote an adjusted risk assessment and a pre-visit social story. All 4 students completed and submitted the research task, against none completing the equivalent task the previous term. The class's average on the task rose 9 percentage points, which suggests the scaffolds helped everyone. I recorded the adjustments in the school's system for consistency in Year 9. This reflects Standards 1.5 and 1.6 (differentiation and students with disability) and 4.1 (supporting participation).— Example only: a fictional, realistic response. Never include names or details that identify a student.

Writing to the page limit

When you don't need to write criteria at all

Most NSW permanent jobs are filled through central appointment first: transfers, priority placements, scholarship holders and the approved-to-teach list. No written application is needed for these. Only jobs that go to local choice are advertised on open merit. There's also a route for long-serving temporary teachers. A principal can run a candidate assessment that asks for a one-page cover letter and a resume of no more than two pages, then an interview. See how to get a permanent teaching job.