Federal, State and school-based professional development has become a multi-million dollar educational enterprise in Australia. Yet there are no published models for the making of systems-level professional development policy. Reviewing the literature on the characteristics of effective professional development programs, this paper proposes a six-phase model using research and theory for the selection, framing and evaluation of professional development programs in State educational systems. Using categories from Shulman, the model focuses on an effective analysis of teacher knowledge and due consideration of contexts for teacher learning. It argues for a research-based approach to professional development policy and implementation that balances "informed prescription" with "informed professionalism". (Contains 14 notes.)