Teachers who apply for the new standards will be assessed by independent inspectors who will observe them in the classroom and interview their colleagues and parents.

As part of their assessment, teachers will be required to prove they are successful in student behaviour management and effective in their communication with parents and the school community in student reports.

They will be required to present examples of their teaching programs and pupils' work to demonstrate they are making a difference to student learning. Their principal, a colleague and someone they have mentored will be asked to act as referees.

It will be the first time teachers have faced outside professional scrutiny since the Education Department disbanded its school inspectors' unit 18 years ago.

A survey commissioned by the Australian Education Union earlier this month suggested that more than half the public school teachers in Australia would qualify as "outstanding".

The NSW Institute of Teachers developed the new standards in consultation with teachers over a three-year-period and will place the applications online today.

The standards are likely to influence the Federal Government's approach to rewarding quality teachers because the model is based on a broad series of measures that are not directly linked to student results, as had been proposed under the Howard government's controversial performance pay model.

The Business Council of Australia recently called on governments to spend an extra $4 billion on salaries to lift the pay of top teacher to at least $100,000.

NSW teachers will be asked to pay a preliminary application fee of $60 and a total of $550 to qualify for the status of "professional accomplishment" and $650 for "professional leadership".

Until now, those seeking promotion have been forced to leave the classroom and move into administration positions to increase their salary above the current cap of $75,352.

The acting Education Minister, John Hatzistergos, said the new standards represented the first step in establishing a "rigorous and credible process for identifying the state's most excellent teachers".

"If teachers want to link higher level skills and professional recognition to higher pay then we would readily examine that as part of our wages negotiations," he said.

"The Rudd Government has also indicated it is interested in developing proposals to reward higher level teaching and we'd welcome input by the Commonwealth in this debate."

Tom Alegounarias, who heads the NSW Institute of Teachers, the professional body which accredits teachers and teacher training courses, said the standards had been developed independent of employers and industrial matters.

"It is agreed that some teachers are simply outstanding," he said. "We are simply concerned that the best teachers be recognised.

"The key to this system is that we actually identify the best teachers. Our emphasis is that the process is credible to both teachers and the community."

The president of the NSW Primary Principals Association, Geoff Scott, said his association supported the new standards, particularly because they did not link teacher performance directly to student results.

"We would like to be involved in investigating and discussing the idea of higher levels of accreditation as something that could be recognised by additional pay," he said.

"It is critical for the Government to put new money in for this, because if there is no new money, some teachers will be paid extra at the expense of others."

Irene Gargoulo, a teacher at Wiley Park Public School with 11 years experience, said the new standards were a great opportunity for teachers who wanted to remain in the classroom and be acknowledged for their hard work and dedication.

Her colleague Anne Barnett, who has been teaching since 1976, said she was not put off by the application fee for the new accreditation. "It is like being in any kind of professional organisation," she said.

However, the president of the NSW Teachers Federation, Maree O'Halloran, said the State Government was insulting teachers by requiring them to pay a fee to gain official recognition.

The federation is preparing to negotiate a new salary agreement with the Government and has as its first priority guaranteed pay increases for all teachers.

Ms O'Halloran said the NSW standards would cause confusion among teachers because national standards were also being developed by the Federal Government.

The president of the Australian Education Union, Angelo Gavrielatos, said the union's proposal for seeking further recognition for quality teaching was dependent on additional funding.

"We have clearly stated that it is contingent on funding and the funding is not there," he said.

"Where's the money?"