ACEL

Empowering
Educational Leaders

We're a community of educators on a mission to connect, support, and inspire current and future leaders in education across Australia and beyond. Join us in strengthening educational leadership.

Who We Are

The Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) is a not-for-profit company that actively supports the development of educational leadership capabilities across Australia through conferences and workshops, leadership programs, in-house publications, online resources, and a bookshop. Access to these leadership-focused opportunities is available for classroom teachers through to system leaders.

ACEL is the largest professional association in the education sector in Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region. It has a growing network of more than 7,000 members and over 45,000 educators, with branches in each state and territory.

ACEL also partners with like-minded organisations to further enhance the richness of its portfolio of programs and resources to ensure that educational leaders get access to the most current research and best practice in their field.

Our Purpose, Vision & Strategic Pillars

To shape the practice and contribute to the growth of educational leadership through:

Providing resonant, authoritative and innovative professional learning opportunities, resources and materials
Participating in educational leadership policy development and dissemination
Commissioning and conducting research and development that supports and promotes contemporary views of educational leadership at all levels
Sharing distinctive, forward-thinking, relevant, responsive and world-class services so as to inspire the profession of educational leaders
Providing a platform for educational leaders and individuals who have an interest in the profession to share discourse and research
Responding to contemporary issues and public interests through the provision of a wide range of expert publications and research
Building the leadership knowledge, skills, understanding and capability of current and future educational leaders

Our Pillars

ACEL is an association which embodies professional excellence and models it with integrity

Inspire and develop educators and educational leaders to lead learning outcomes for all

Illuminate the professional voice and its contribution to educational leadership agenda in order to optimise its impact

Create and enable strong networks for educators to collaborate across sectors and geographies

Recognise and celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion in educational leadership

Our Story

Explore ACEL's History

ACEL's history spans five decades of growth and evolution in educational leadership.

From its modest beginning—a small gathering in a Sydney hotel—ACEL has grown into a nationally and globally diverse organisation, developing approaches to professional learning that serve educational leaders across varied contexts and needs.

For those interested in exploring this journey in depth, the ACEL Celebrating 50 Years Monograph (No. 63) provides a comprehensive chronicle. Written by ACEL Patron Frank Crowther, with a special contribution by Brian Caldwell, "Fifty Years of Leadership and Dedicated Service: The Inspirational Story of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders" offers insight into why leadership matters in education, where it begins, and how it develops over time.

Read Our History

Our Strategic Goals

We cultivate a collaborative learning community of educational leaders by:

Enhancing leadership capacity through delivery of high quality programs, events and publications

Elevating the standing of educational leadership by recognising excellence

Representing, supporting and advocating for the education profession

Sustaining strong state, national and international ACEL networks