In July 1996 funding was provided under the Projects of National Significance Program of the Schools Division of the Commonwealth Department of Employment, Education Training and Youth Affairs, for the Australian Council of Deans of Education to manage a collaborative project aimed at the development of national standards and guidelines for initial school teacher education. The project was also required to consider the roles of such guidelines in underpinning high standards of teacher education and entry into teaching across Australia, and the identification of appropriate means of fostering partnerships to enhance initial teacher education. This report represents the outcome of the wide-ranging discussions that have been conducted across Australia in accordance with the project brief. The full text of the National Standards and Guidelines for Initial Teacher Education, which was developed through the project in response to the first of the terms of reference, is included in this report. A consideration of the possible uses of the document in the external review of initial teacher education programs includes a discussion of six principles which the Advisory Committee believes should inform such use, followed by an outline of the nature, strengths and weaknesses of three options for external review. This meets the second of the terms of reference. The third term of reference is incorporated in the substance of the National Standards and Guidelines for Initial Teacher Education, and in the discussion of the uses of the document. Fostering partnerships is a complex and wide-ranging issue, concerning which much practical and theoretical work is being done by many individuals and stakeholders in initial teacher education. Within the resources of this project, and mindful of our primary focus on the National Standards and Guidelines for Initial Teacher Education, we could only deal with certain aspects of the topic.