FAQs - digital VIT registration cards

The new digital VIT registration card is a digital version of the current physical VIT registration card. It’s accessed via the Service Victoria app and displays the same registration details as a physical card.

Those who have already accessed their Victorian digital driver licence will be familiar with the Service Victoria app. 

The new digital cards will, in time, replace the current physical cards.

Any teacher who holds current registration with VIT is eligible for a digital VIT registration card.

Digital cards will be gradually rolled out to all registered teachers and early childhood teachers over 12 months and will be issued alongside physical cards to allow for a smooth transition period.

From November 2024, ITE graduates who are granted teacher registration or permission to teach (PTT) will be issued with both a physical and digital card. The transition to a digital-only solution is expected to be complete in late 2025. 

Once your application for teacher registration or PTT has been approved, you will receive a confirmation email from VIT with instructions on how to set up your new digital card via Service Victoria.

If you haven’t got one already, you’ll need to create a Service Victoria account and provide your family name, VIT registration number and date of birth.

Once Service Victoria finds your registration details and does a security check, they’ll add your digital VIT registration card to your digital wallet.

Service Victoria will email you a reference number and confirmation when the digital VIT registration card is in your digital wallet and ready to use.

To find your VIT registration details, log in to your MyVIT account or search your name on the register of teachers.

Once you have successfully completed the set-up process, your digital card will be available within 5 minutes. Service Victoria will email you when it’s on its way.

It’s free for all VIT registered teachers.

Once you’ve logged into the Service Victoria app

• click on the ‘Wallet’ section and tap on your ‘VIT registration card’
• pull down to refresh or click the ‘Tap here to refresh’ button
• show your employer your registration details
• scan the QR code using the Service Victoria app scanner on your employer's smart phone or tablet device (not required to be logged in)
• confirm your registration status via the register of teachers.

A green tick identifies a ‘current’ status and a red exclamation mark identifies a ‘non-practising’ status and

• if you’re fully or provisionally registered, you are permitted to teach and undertake the duties of a teacher
• if you hold permission to teach (PTT), you are permitted to teach and undertake the duties of a teacher in line with your PTT grant
• if you’re non-practising, you are not permitted to teach or undertake the duties of a teacher until you successfully apply to return to teach.

You can share the QR code from the digital VIT registration card with your employer so they can verify your registration status. It’s the same as your employer searching your name on the register of teachers or the Employer portal.

The person verifying your status needs the Service Victoria app to do this. If they scan your QR code with any other scanning tool (iPhone camera), they’ll arrive at a page asking them to download the Service Victoria app.

The Service Victoria mobile app allows you to store digital versions of cards, licenses and permits.

Your digital VIT registration card replaces your existing physical registration card and lives inside your digital wallet within the Service Victoria app.

Digital VIT registration cards provide convenient, accurate and environmentally friendly proof of your teacher registration status.

Service Victoria will request your information (full name, date of birth and VIT registration number) to link your registration details to your digital VIT registration card.

Service Victoria will not keep your information during this transaction. Registration details on your digital VIT registration card will be securely transferred from VIT and stored on your local device. Your information won’t be used for any other purpose unless permitted by law.

You will not be able to display your digital VIT registration card in your Service Victoria digital wallet unless you provide the above information.

The VIT maintains teacher registrations under the Education and Training Reform Act (2006). If you want to access your teacher registration information, log into your MyVIT account or contact VIT. To access information Service Victoria holds, contact Service Victoria.

To learn more about how your information is handled, you can read

• Service Victoria privacy and security policy
• VIT privacy statement.

​​​​​​The VIT is transitioning from physical registration cards to a digital solution for a safer and more convenient way to verify teacher registration in Victoria.

A digital VIT registration card provides teachers and employers with convenient access to real-time proof of registration.

Currently, registered teachers and early childhood teachers in Victoria can prove their registration via the register of teachers and Employer portal, or by showing their employer a physical registration card. 

A teacher's registration can change at any time (e.g. become expired, placed on interim suspension or cancelled), therefore physical cards are point-in-time verification and only valid on the day they are printed. 

Employers and teachers who rely solely on physical cards to verify teacher registration are at serious risk of contributing to a range of regulatory issues, including child safety concerns and instances of unregistered teaching practice. 

The register of teachers, Employer portal and digital registration card are all updated immediately upon a change in registration and are therefore the only real-time methods to prove a teacher's registration status.

To make the transition easier, digital VIT registration cards display the same registration details as physical cards.

Using the Service Victoria app, teachers can easily retrieve and show their registration status in real-time via their smart phone. Employers scan the QR code in the digital card to confirm the teacher's registration status via the register of teachers to complete the verification process.

To verify a teacher’s registration status, the teacher must

• log into the Service Victoria app
• click on the ‘Wallet’ section and tap on the ‘VIT registration card’
• pull down to refresh or click the ‘Tap here to refresh’ button
• show their employer their registration details
• scan the QR code using the Service Victoria app scanner on the employer's smart phone or tablet device (not required to be logged in)
• confirm the registration status via the register of teachers.

Physical registration cards are point-in-time verification and only valid on the day they are printed, therefore not an accurate proof of registration.

The digital registration card solution will improve the registration experience, provide for the safety and wellbeing of children and young people, and deliver a range of benefits for teachers, employers and the wider teaching profession.

Digital VIT registration cards will help to

• reduce the risk of fraud or stolen identity
• provide real time registration status
• provide easy access to registration details via a smart phone
• reduce the risk of unregistered teaching practice
• reinforce the public register as the source of truth
• eliminate the wait on cards arriving in the post
• reduce future print and postage costs
• eliminate physical card issues
• enable teachers with an extension or interim registration to hold a registration card
• provide a sustainable solution for VIT’s stakeholders.

Read more about the benefits of digital registration cards.

The VIT will continue to issue registered teachers with a physical registration card during the transition to digital registration cards.

From September 2024, the majority of registered teachers will receive a physical registration card that will expire on 30 September 2025.

It is expected that VIT will stop producing physical registration cards in 2025, and all registered teachers will transition to digital registration cards only during the 2025-26 annual registration period.

There is a common misunderstanding among employers and teachers that physical registration cards are required to verify teacher registration. And it’s ok if you don’t own a smart phone to access your new digital VIT registration card either.

Registered teachers don't need a physical or digital card to prove their registration. Employers are regularly reminded that if a teacher’s name appears on the register of teachers and can be searched for in the Employer portal, then the teacher holds valid VIT registration.

Currently, registered teachers and early childhood teachers in Victoria can prove their registration via the register of teachers and Employer portal, or by showing their employer a physical registration card. 

A teacher's registration can change at any time (e.g. become expired, placed on interim suspension or cancelled), therefore physical cards are point-in-time verification and only valid on the day they are printed. Employers and teachers who rely solely on physical cards to verify teacher registration are at serious risk of contributing to a range of regulatory issues, including child safety concerns and instances of unregistered teaching practice. 

The register of teachers, Employer portal and digital registration card are all updated immediately upon a change in registration and are therefore the only real-time methods to prove a teacher's registration status.

Please note: those who do not have smart phones will be able to rely on the register of teachers or Employer portal for proof of registration.

Teacher registration fees contribute to the operation of VIT’s wide range of statutory functions that are mandated by legislation.

These functions extend well beyond registering teachers to ensure only qualified and suitable persons are eligible to work in Victorian schools and early childhood services and the production of registration cards.

The VIT approves and accredits initial teacher education programs that prepare early career teachers for working in Victoria, and supports beginner teachers to enter the profession and develop their practice through professional standards.  
 
The VIT also investigates instances of misconduct, incompetence or lack of fitness to teach. This work is critical and provides for the safety and wellbeing of children.

All of this work is completed on a cost recovery basis, with VIT’s operational costs funded through revenue from teacher registration fees.  

Although VIT reports to the Minister for Education, it is not part of the Department of Education (DE) and does not receive any direct government funding.

The purpose of verifying teacher registration is to ensure only qualified and suitable persons are registered to teach in a Victorian school or early childhood service.

While registered teachers don't need a physical or digital card to prove their registration, they may wish to use their digital card to seek discounted rates for various activities and products related to their teaching role e.g. Melbourne Museum, Zoos Victoria.

Please note: arrangements for teacher discounts are not affiliated with VIT and sit outside of our legislated functions. Any discount provided to a registered teacher is at the discretion of the provider.

Employers or individuals seeking proof of teacher registration are advised not to accept any physical or soft copy of a digital registration card i.e. image or PDF. If a teacher attempts to provide this, the employer or individual will be required to manually search for the teacher’s name on the register of teachers or Employer portal.

The Service Victoria app restricts users from taking a screenshot of a digital registration card. The screenshot restriction was introduced during the digital drivers licence state-wide rollout as an extra security control and restricts users from sharing their registration details outside of the Service Victoria app or editing a screenshot to falsify their registration details.

Due to the complexity of the implementation on iOS, the screenshot restriction is currently only available on Android devices. Service Victoria is planning a restriction solution for iOS in the near future.

In July 2024, the digital VIT registration card pilot program trialled the implementation of digital cards among a sample of schools and early childhood services across Victoria.

To plan for the digital transition, the pilot program ran for six weeks to understand the range of challenges employers may face when implementing digital cards in their workplaces.

The pilot program included two Victorian schools and one early childhood organisation to gauge the breadth of potential barriers experienced across different workplaces.

The findings of the pilot program will be used to inform VIT’s implementation and communications strategies for the state-wide rollout.

​​​​​​The digital registration card pilot program concluded in August 2024. If you are a registered teacher or early childhood teacher and your school or early childhood service was not selected to participate in the pilot program, you will be issued with a digital VIT registration card following the 2025-26 annual registration period.