Published 01 Feb 2023
Supporting casual relief teachers (CRTs)
Casual relief teachers (CRTs) are teachers who work in a casual, relief or emergency basis.
The CRT workforce plays an important role within the teaching profession by covering staff illness, personal leave, professional development, and extracurricular programs for full-time and part-time teachers and early childhood teachers.
It's important that CRTs remain supported throughout their career to provide continuity and stability of learning for Victorian children and young people.
Teaching positions available for CRTs
As Victoria continues to experience the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools are experiencing workforce pressures.
The VIT is supporting the Victorian Government’s Support Your School initiative to supply a pool of available registered teachers for schools to access in order to cover any COVID-19 related workforce shortages.
If you are interested in short-term casual teaching roles in Victorian government schools, please visit the Support Your School website for more information and to add yourself to the pool, or contact the Department of Education’s DE Schools Recruitment Unit on 1800 641 943 (select option 2) or at schools.recruitment@education.vic.gov.au.
Those interested in teaching in Catholic schools should contact the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) at permissiontoteach@macs.vic.edu.au.
Independent schools should be contacted individually.
Resources for CRTs
Registration requirements are the same for all teachers regardless of their employment status, however there is specific information and support available to CRTs.
The CRT FAQs cover a range of topics including how to connect with a mentor and what constitutes a teaching day for renewal of registration. These should be read in conjunction with other information regarding registration.
CRT networks provide a great opportunity for teachers working in a casual relief, relief or emergency capacity to connect with a supportive and like-minded group of colleagues. These networks were originally established with the support of VIT and continue to operate on a voluntary basis around metropolitan and regional Victoria.
Professional development for CRTs
The Teacher Learning Network will continue to provide CRT PD in 2023 with funding provided by the Department of Education.
You can access free professional learning, designed specifically for CRTs, through www.crtpd.com. All professional learning provided by CRT PD is referenced to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and can be used to meet your renewal of registration requirements.
Tips for provisionally registered CRTs
While the provisional to full registration process is the same for all teachers, we understand CRTs may need additional resources to support their unique context.
To help CRTs understand how they can move to full registration in their context, we’ve developed a CRT PRT Guide to accompany the PRT Guide.
We've also produced a CRT Evidence Guide which maps examples of CRT practice against each descriptor of the APST and may help you to understand how your practice can meet the standards.
Each year, VIT delivers free seminars to provide provisionally registered CRTs with information on moving from provisional to full registration, including
- requirements for gaining full VIT registration
- evidence-based processes using the Inquiry process
- professional obligations, including the Codes of Conduct and Ethics
- access to information and resources.
You are encouraged to attend a seminar dedicated to CRTs – book today to secure your spot.
