Nationally consistent registration for all teachers

In this section:

• Transition to full registration
• Registration
• Support
• Evidence
• Assessment
• Quality assurance
• Period/renewal

Transition to full registration

To achieve full registration, evidence of performance is required at the Proficient career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

Registration decisions should be based on a recommendation at the school* / workplace level about the teacher** meeting all of the Standards at the Proficient career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

The process for achieving full teacher registration should be flexible to accommodate different contexts and experience.

The recommendation for full registration should be based on multiple sources of evidence against the Standards. A single piece of evidence can address multiple descriptors.

The evidence of a sample of teachers who achieve full registration will undergo a quality assurance process carried out by the teacher regulatory authority.

The maximum period for meeting the requirements for full registration is 5 years, with provision for extension on a case by case basis.

Regulatory authorities will specify a minimum time period (of no less than 80 days of teaching and not exceeding the equivalent of one year full-time teaching) in an Australian or New Zealand school setting in which the teacher demonstrates they have met the standards to the satisfaction of the regulator before an applicant may apply for full registration. These arrangements will provide capacity for flexibility in appropriate circumstances.

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Registration

Registration is granted and managed by teacher regulatory authorities in each state and territory. It provides a person with a ‘statutory licence’ to perform the duties of a school teacher as defined in the particular jurisdiction.

There are two forms of registration as a teacher - provisional registration and full registration. Usually, a teacher is initially granted provisional registration. This indicates that they meet the Graduate career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

Full registration is achieved when a teacher has met the Proficient career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and all other requirements for teacher registration.

Requirements

To be granted full registration teachers are required to demonstrate that:

• their teaching meets the Proficient career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
• they have fulfilled the minimum requirement for professional practice in an Australian or New Zealand school setting
• they continue to meet the elements of suitability for registration
• they have met any additional conditions which might apply to their provisional registration.

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Support

The provisionally registered teacher will be appropriately supported throughout the period of provisional registration. This will include support to help the provisionally registered teacher achieve and demonstrate the knowledge and skills required for meeting the Proficient career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. This support will vary according to the teacher’s context and circumstances.

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Evidence

The evidence presented by a teacher seeking full registration should cover a broad scope of the teacher’s knowledge, practice and engagement. It should demonstrate achievement of each of the seven Standards and take account of each of the descriptors. A piece of evidence can address multiple descriptors, within and across the Standards.

Evidence will:

• be drawn directly from the teacher’s work
• be derived from a range of sources and must include:
  • evidence of student learning
  • observation of the teacher’s teaching
• be annotated to reflect achievement of the Standards by taking account of each of the descriptors.

It is the teacher’s responsibility to retain all evidence submitted for a period of at least one year, for potential auditing by the teacher regulatory authority.

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Assessment

The evidence presented by a teacher seeking full registration will be assessed by a nominated person or persons recognised by the regulatory authority (this will usually include the principal and/or people holding leadership positions within the school or other education setting). Where the assessment is made by a single person, arrangements should be made to ensure that the perspective of other registered teachers with the knowledge of the teacher’s teaching will be taken into account.

The teacher regulatory authority will prescribe the format for submission of evidence by a provisionally registered teacher and for the reporting of the assessment. The prescribed format will accommodate the requirements for evidence as listed above.

The principal (or equivalent in the educational setting) will make the final recommendation to the regulatory authority, based on the assessment of evidence provided against each of the Standards.

The provisionally registered teacher will be provided with a copy of the assessment against the Standards.

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Quality assurance

Teacher regulatory authorities will specify and undertake a quality assurance process to ensure consistency in judgements. This may take the form of an audit of the evidence of a sample of teachers who have been granted full registration.

For the purpose of this process all relevant documentation will be made available on request.

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Period/renewal

In general there will be a maximum period of 5 years for meeting the requirements for full registration. There will be provision for an extension of a further period on a case by case basis. In this instance conditions may be applied to the provisional registration.

Reapplication
A teacher whose registration has lapsed because they did not fulfil the requirements for full registration, or who anticipates that they will not meet the requirements in the specified time period may reapply for provisional registration. The teacher regulatory authority will assess such applications on a case by case basis.

For further information on how this may affect teachers in your state or territory, please refer to our frequently asked questions

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* School is used inclusively to refer to Australian primary and secondary schools, and other educational settings where teacher registration applies.
** Teacher refers to a person eligible for registration under the legislation of the relevant jurisdiction.

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Fixed period of registration – After a fixed period of registration, teachers will be required to demonstrate their ongoing proficiency and suitability to teach in order to renew their registration

In this section:

• Requirements for renewal of registration
• Registration
• Requirements
• Evidence

Requirements for renewal of registration

The minimum requirements for granting the renewal or continuation of a teacher’s registration, after a defined period of time, are that:

• suitability has been maintained, assessed on the basis of a national criminal history records check that is no older than 5 years
• recency of professional practice requirements have been met on the basis of 100 days of professional practice in the previous 5 years, with capacity for flexibility in appropriate circumstances. Where relevant, there will be flexibility to provide for arrangements such as annualised renewal.
• proficiency against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers has been maintained
• professional learning is demonstrated on the basis of at least 100 hours of professional development activities referenced to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, undertaken in the previous 5 years. Where relevant, there will be flexibility to provide for arrangements such as annualised renewal.

In jurisdictions where the registration period is less than 5 years the requirements for professional practice and professional development may be reduced proportionately.

The professional practice requirements should not preclude teachers who are school based but not in a direct classroom teaching role, e.g. principals, school counsellors who are registered teachers, etc, from maintaining their registration.

The required Standards referenced professional development must be recorded by the teacher.

Jurisdictions may implement procedures for approving particular professional development activities as meeting the requirements for renewal of registration. Where this occurs the amount of approved Standards referenced professional development required, within the overall requirement of 100 hours over 5 years, is at the discretion of the teacher regulatory authority.

All jurisdictions will recognise the Standards referenced professional development approved, accepted or endorsed in other jurisdictions where this occurs.

NB. Teacher refers to a person eligible for registration under the legislation of the relevant jurisdiction.

Requirements for renewal for teachers not meeting professional practice requirements

Where the professional practice requirements for renewal of registration are not met there will be a form of registration where the minimum requirement to continue to hold and renew registration is a recent national criminal history records check and continuing to meet other suitability requirements.

Jurisdictions may impose conditions that apply to teachers in this category upon returning to teaching to ensure up to date knowledge on emerging educational reforms and current acceptable classroom practice. These conditions may include requirements for specific professional learning and professional practice which will be undertaken within a specified period of time.

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Registration

The maximum period of registration is 5 years. To continue to hold full registration, teachers undergo a periodic process of renewal.

Renewal demonstrates the maintenance of currency of professional knowledge, practice and engagement, and continued suitability to be registered as a teacher.

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Requirements

The minimum requirements for granting the renewal of a teacher’s registration after a defined period of time (up to 5 years) are that:

• suitability has been maintained, assessed on the basis of a national criminal history records check that is no older than 5 years
• recency of professional practice requirements have been met on the basis of 100 days of professional practice in the previous 5 years, with capacity for flexibility in appropriate circumstances. Where relevant, there will be flexibility to provide for arrangements such as annualised renewal.
• proficiency against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers has been maintained
• professional learning is demonstrated on the basis of at least 100 hours of professional development activities referenced to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, undertaken in the previous 5 years. Where relevant, there will be flexibility to provide for arrangements such as annualised renewal.

In jurisdictions where the registration period is less than 5 years the requirements for professional practice and professional development may be reduced proportionately.

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Evidence

The evidence for renewal provided by the teacher at a minimum must include a declaration by the teacher that the requirement for:

• suitability has been maintained
• recency of professional practice has been met
• professional development referenced to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers is demonstrated, and
• proficiency has been maintained against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

Supporting documentation should be kept by the teacher and available for audit by the regulatory authority if required.

The professional development referenced to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers that a teacher undertakes will be documented by that teacher, identifying which Standards the professional development addresses.

Jurisdictions may implement procedures for approving particular professional development activities as meeting the requirements for renewal of registration. Where this occurs the amount of approved Standards referenced professional development required is at the discretion of the teacher regulatory authority.

In addition, as part of the renewal process the teacher regulatory authority may:

• request release of information from other registration bodies and/or overseas employers
• consider previous misconduct based on the level, nature, frequency, recency and seriousness of the offence/s.

For further information on how this may affect teachers in your state or territory, please refer to our frequently asked questions

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Element

Alternative authorisation to teach – There will be provision, in clearly defined circumstances and under specified conditions, for persons who are not eligible for registration to be employed in roles that would otherwise require registration

Alternative authorisation to teach is granted by a state or territory teacher regulatory authority. There is no obligation on other states or territories to recognise people with alternative authorisation to teach from other jurisdictions until they have met all registration requirements.

There will be two categories of alternative authorisation to teach:

• to address workforce shortages

These individuals are not eligible for registration as a teacher, but are offered employment in a school due to a specific teacher shortage.

• pathways to registration

This provides a pathway to registration for individuals who are working towards an accredited initial teacher education qualification, within a specified period of time.

Element

Sanctions including withdrawal of registration – There will be provision for a recognised authority to impose sanctions or withdraw a teacher’s registration if they fail to meet the required standards of personal and professional behaviour or professional performance

Discipline and de-registration

Where permitted, jurisdictions will share information with regard to discipline and de-registration of registrants. A jurisdiction may request from another jurisdiction where a teacher has been registered, information about unfinished investigations and any conditions that currently apply to the teacher’s registration.

Element

Suitability – There will be a requirement for an applicant to be suitable to both work with children and be a teacher, based on an assessment of character and criminal history

Elements of suitability

Criminal records checks

• A check on national criminal history will be undertaken upon application for registration as a teacher – e.g. through CrimTrac.
• All teachers are required to have an up to date national criminal history records check (completed within the past 5 years) to maintain registration. The check will be undertaken through a recognised national agency – e.g. through CrimTrac.
• Overseas criminal history checks will be required when an applicant or teacher has resided as an adult in a country other than Australia. However if an overseas check cannot be obtained due to the country in which the applicant resided not providing criminal history checks, a statutory declaration by the applicant will be provided that attests to no criminal history in that country.

Other elements of suitability

Regulatory authorities may take into account:

• information from other registration bodies and/or overseas employers
• analysis of previous misconduct based on the level, nature, frequency, recency and seriousness of the offence/s
• any other information relevant to an assessment of suitability for registration as a teacher, such as fitness to teach

Element

Qualifications – There will be a minimum qualification, including a professional qualification, for registration

Qualifications

The qualifications requirement for registration is completion of at least four years of higher education (fulltime or equivalent) study, including an initial teacher education program accredited in Australia, leading to the achievement of a recognised qualification; or an overseas qualification assessed as equivalent.

Element

English language proficiency – Registration will require achievement of a level of professional proficiency in spoken and written English

English language proficiency

The English language requirements for registration as a teacher are:

• an IELTS*  (Academic) assessment with an average band score of 7.5 across all four skill areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing – with no score below 7 in any of the four skills areas and a score of no less than 8 in speaking and listening; or
• an ISLPR**  assessment with a score of level 4 in all four areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing, such assessments to be  deemed valid only if provided by approved testing sites where the assessment is teacher focused; or
• a PEAT***  assessment of A in all four areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing.

The date of the assessment must be no more than 2 years prior to the time of application for registration.

English language proficiency assessment is not required for registration as a teacher where the full four years of required higher education study (or qualifications assessed as comparable) have been undertaken in English in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada and the Republic of Ireland. (These are the countries accepted under Australian migration policy as not requiring English language proficiency assessment.)

* International English Language Testing System
** International Second Language Proficiency Ratings
*** Professional English Assessment for Teachers

Element

Mutual recognition – A person registered to practise as a teacher in one jurisdiction is entitled to apply for registration in another jurisdiction based on that registration.

Mutual recognition

Jurisdictions will release information to other teacher regulatory authorities about registered teachers who apply for registration under Mutual Recognition Legislation Commonwealth Mutual Recognition Act 1992 and the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Act 1997. This will include any instances of deregistration or other disciplinary action taken, disciplinary procedures currently underway but not completed, investigations currently not completed and any conditions currently attached to a registrant.