Events in the development of competency standards for the teaching profession in Australia are documented, including publishing articles and reports, conducting conferences, commissioning sets of standards, validating support for the competency framework, and promoting of standards by government and professional organizations. Competency-based approaches are also being promoted in Australia's vocational education and training sector as the way to increase the quality and quantity of workplace skills which in turn will lead to higher productivity and profitability. Issues that are being raised in the out-of-school vocational training sector, which may be relevant to colleagues associated with teacher education in the school sector, are discussed. These include definitions of competency; the relationship between competency standards and the curriculum; how competency is assessed; where assessment should take place and who should be the assessors; the need to recognize expertise and excellence; how assessment should be recorded and who should keep the records of competencies and qualifications; and the implications of this for industrial relations. (Contains 60 references.) (JDD)