Teacher registration in Australia

Following graduation, provisional registration is the first step towards full registration. Once you are provisionally registered, and have started teaching, you can work towards full registration, which is against the Proficient career stage of the Teacher Standards. The timeline to achieve full registration varies, so check with your teacher regulatory authority.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Teacher registration in Australia

Becoming a teacher in Australia

Are you an early childhood teacher?

How to register as a teacher in Australia

Further information

Maintaining and renewing teacher registration

Further information

Requirements for renewal of registration

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