In the late 1980s, three steps were added to the incremental pay scale for teachers in all Australian state and territory education authorities. The original intent of this Advanced Skills Teacher (AST) concept was to provide an alternative career path for teachers wishing to remain primarily in a teaching role, a career path comparable in status to that enjoyed by administrators. This paper describes what happened to the AST reform in practice, particularly how closely implementation adhered to the original concept; identifies factors that impeded progress and conditions necessary to successfully translate the original concept into practice; and calculates whether the initiative has run its course and whether it can be incorporated within proposed new career structures. This brief survey discovered that AST is almost universally regarded as a disappointment, an opportunity lost. Among the factors that limited the success of the AST in practice are: (1) lack of rigorous standards and evaluation procedures; (2) lack of commitment to funding; (3) its use as a vehicle for achieving too many different agendas; (4) absence of guardianship of the idea or capacity to ensure its integrity; (5) persistence of old assumptions regarding career development; and (6) the concept's vulnerability to political influences. Recommendations include establishing national professional bodies responsible for developing standards and assessments, and reassing the idea of the "alternative career path." (Contains 33 references.) (MAH)