New teachers will have to pass a national literacy and numeracy test before they can be registered in Victoria.
Under changes this month, aspiring teachers will no longer have two years to pass the test, the Victorian government said on Tuesday.
"This is a test that applies across the nation, but the change we're making here in Victoria is that we're ensuring people must pass that literacy and numeracy test before they're registered to teach," Education Minister James Merlino told ABC radio.
For the past few years, teachers could be provisionally registered to teach and sit the test within two years.
About five per cent, or 350 teachers, needed to pass the test in that time frame, Mr Merlino noted.
"Outside of a child's immediate family, it's the teacher that has a greatest impact on a student's outcome and development," he said.
"Passing that test indicates you're in the top 30 per cent of literacy and numeracy standards.
"Improve the quality of teaching, you improve student outcomes."
The move is in line with the state government increasing the university ATAR score for teaching to 70.
Australian Education Union Victorian branch president Meredith Peace said the union supported lifting standards, but intervention needed to happen earlier in a potential teacher's career.
"Victoria and NSW, in the absence of any changes by the federal government, has introduced higher entry standards for teacher education (at university)," she told AAP.
"Certainly from the AEU's perspective, we'd like to see that entry standard set at the top 30 per cent of applicants."
