Abstract The situation of health educators in Australia is described and credentialing issues discussed in this context. The dynamic growth of health promotion as a specific field of practice has meant that there is an unresolved and continuing debate about the pros and cons of credentialing. The climate created by the rhetoric of health promotion in Australia, including the emphasis on reducing unjust inequalities in health status, is such that credentialing a specialist health promotion workforce at this time may be premature and requires further research and debate. Ultimately, credentialing may be necessary for the long-term interests of the health promotion movement in Australia. In Australia and internationally, there has been growing recognition that positive gains in health status within countries have not been shared equally among their populations. Having identified unjust inequalities in health status, increasing numbers of countries have begun to plan to reduce these. Developing understanding ...