The paper explores the relationship between the regulatory requirements to be registered to teach and the provisions to meet these requirements in the initial teacher education programs in Australia. This is part of a broader study of the regulatory requirements for music and art teachers in primary and secondary schools in Australia, and only the music component will be reported in the paper. The statutory regulatory authorities (often referred to as teaching institutes) in each educational jurisdiction mandate the professional and academic requirements for registration to teach. These authorities outline the amount of study required to be registered to teach in primary and secondary schools across Australia. The actual requirements differ between the various States and Territories. To teach in primary schools a graduate is required to demonstrate an ability to cover the eight key learning areas (including the Arts) and specifically in literacy and numeracy. For teaching in secondary schools a graduate must evidence of successful study in two designated teaching areas (often across two learning areas). Across Australia, over the last decade there have been moves from undergraduate degrees in Education (with specialist/major studies) to undergraduate degrees followed by two-year Master of Teaching degrees. The registration authorities recognise both initial teacher education pathways into the profession. The universities have been regularly criticised for their reduced provision (and delivery) of specific discipline content in the initial teacher education programs, and continue to respond that they are delivering what is required by the registration requirements of the regulators. This ongoing response has resulted in significantly reduced time for areas such as Music, which is included in the broader Arts key learning area, with an expectation that a student will be exposed to a range of the disciplines in the Arts and not focus on one discipline. This continues to have a significant impact on teaching and learning in Music as well as the ability, confidence and preparation of future music educators.