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Registration Helper logo Registration Helper What registration do I need?

To provide for the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, VIT is responsible for ensuring only suitable persons are registered to teach in a Victorian school or early childhood service. To become registered with VIT, all new applicants are assessed for their suitability to teach. Once registered, teachers must continue to be suitable to teach in order to maintain their registration.

Suitability and fitness to teach

The VIT is responsible for assessing whether those who apply for registration and those who currently hold registration are suitable to teach. A teacher is suitable to teach if their

  • character, reputation and conduct are such that they should be allowed to teach in a school or early childhood service, and
  • physical or mental impairment (if any) does not seriously detrimentally affect, or is unlikely to seriously detrimentally affect, their ability to practise as a teacher.

Visit the Suitability and fitness to teach page to find out more.

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Visit the Complaints about a teacher page to find out how the complaints process works.

Immediate action

There may be some circumstances in which VIT will suspend the registration of a teacher on an interim basis. This occurs where VIT has formed a reasonable belief that

  • the teacher poses an unacceptable risk of harm to children, and
  • the suspension of the teacher’s registration is necessary to protect children.

There are also some circumstances where VIT must suspend a teacher’s registration on an ongoing basis.

Visit the Immediate action page to find out more.

Preliminary assessments

The VIT must conduct a preliminary assessment of all notifications and complaints that it receives. This process may include requesting information from the teacher, their current or former employer and other sources.

Visit the Preliminary assessment page to find out more.

Investigations

The VIT must conduct an investigation when it has completed a preliminary assessment of a notification or complaint, and has decided to conduct an investigation. The VIT must also conduct an investigation when it has decided to suspend the registration of a teacher on an interim basis.

The VIT may conduct an investigation in any circumstances where it reasonably believes the registered teacher

  • has engaged in misconduct or serious misconduct
  • is unfit to be a registered teacher
  • is seriously incompetent
  • has an impairment that seriously detrimentally affects their ability to practise as a teacher, or is likely to seriously detrimentally affect their ability to practise
  • has failed to comply with a condition, limitation or restriction imposed on their registration, or
  • has contravened the Act.

The investigations process differs depending on the matter. Visit the Investigations page to find out more.

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Visit the What if I have a suitability matter? page to find out about what a teacher can do if they are the subject of an investigation.

Outcomes

It is important to remember that not all conduct matters or impairments will impact a teacher’s registration. The outcome of an application for registration or investigation will depend on the individual facts of each case.

The outcome of an investigation can take the form of

  • decision in relation to an application for registration
  • suspension or cancellation of registration
  • agreement between VIT and the teacher regarding conditions on registration, suspension of registration or both of these things
  • agreement between VIT and the teacher regarding the cancellation of the teacher’s registration
  • referral to an informal or formal hearing, or
  • referral to a medical panel hearing.

Outcomes can occur via a decision made by VIT, or by an agreement with the teacher.

Visit the Outcomes page to find out more.

Last updated: 21 Feb 2023

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