Provisional registration

Your provisional registration will expire two years after the date of your initial registration. The 30 September date is the annual fee date for all teachers and the renewal date for fully registered teachers. If you are unsure of your expiry date you can search the register.

To meet your responsibilities as a registered teacher, before the end of your second year of provisional registration you should apply for full registration. If you are unable to apply for full registration or if you are not in a position to demonstrate you have achieved the proficient teacher standards before your registration expires, you may need to apply for a further grant of provisional registration.

An application for a further grant of provisional registration is assessed on its individual merits and is not guaranteed approval. You will be required to submit detailed information outlining

1. why you have not been able to complete VIT’s Inquiry process and apply for full registration
2. how you intend to do this in the next period of provisional registration (if granted)
3. any other exceptional circumstances.

To apply for a further grant of provisional registration, log into your MyVIT account and select the ‘apply for provisional registration’ tile. (Please note – this will only become available in your account three months prior to your registration expiry date.)

The 20 hours of professional learning is a renewal of registration requirement for fully registered teachers. PRTs are not obligated to undertake set hours of professional learning to maintain provisional registration. It is expected that PRTs will continue their professional learning through their inquiry in the full registration process.

If you have been unable to undertake VIT’s Inquiry process within the first two years, you will need to apply for a further grant of provisional registration if you wish to remain registered.

An application for a further grant of provisional registration is assessed on its individual merits and is not guaranteed approval. You will be required to submit detailed information outlining

1. why you have not been able to complete VIT’s Inquiry process and apply for full registration
2. how you intend to do this in the next period of provisional registration (if granted)
3. any other exceptional circumstances.

Recent amendments to the Education and Training Reform Act (2006) specifies a six-year limit in which a teacher can remain provisionally registered. In special circumstances, VIT may grant further periods of provisional registration beyond the legislated limit.

The VIT’s Inquiry process is used to provide a consistent means to evidence the standards that has comparability across schools and teaching contexts. It’s recognised as an effective vehicle for professional learning for teachers of any experience, so has value even if a teacher has taught extensively.

As an experienced teacher, you will understand our need to ensure all newly registered teachers meet the required professional practice standards. All teachers who are registered with VIT are required to do this, whether they have previous teaching experience or not. This is also consistent with the national agreements that apply to all Australian teacher regulators.

You can undertake the 80 days of practice in more than one workplace setting. As long as you can provide evidence that you have taught for 80 days in Australian or New Zealand schools or services over the past five years, these can be in more than one school or service. The evidence can be in the form of statement of service, pay slips or letter/email from the workplace.

It is recommended that before a workplace recommendation panel endorses an application for full registration, the workplace needs to have observed the teacher’s practice over an extended period and sight the evidence of teaching days.

The workplace recommendation panel will make their recommendation for full registration based on a consistent representation of practice over time. The principal, panel chair or their delegate must be satisfied that the teacher has undertaken VIT’s Inquiry process and provided sufficient evidence that the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) at the proficient teacher level have been met.

Make sure that if you have completed your 80 days of teaching in more than one school/service that you can provide evidence of your teaching days to the workplace recommendation panel.

The 80 days can be a mixture of paid employment and non-paid employment. If you are engaged in non-paid teaching work, you need to

• deliver an approved curriculum 
• individually assess student learning against the approved curriculum
• plan for learning against the approved curriculum
• provide feedback on learning to students both formally and informally
• report this progress (informally and formally) to parents / carers
• demonstrate clear understanding of the legal obligations pertaining to registered teachers and strategies to ensure a safe and inclusive learning environment
• be able to demonstrate all 37 descriptors of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) at the proficient standard.

You can start VIT’s Inquiry process and gather evidence before you have completed 80 days of teaching. You will need to have completed at least 80 days of teaching before you present to your workplace recommendation panel.

Remember, the 80 days is a minimum requirement and is designed to be a time where you move your practice from the graduate level of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) to the proficient teacher level.

For returning fully registered teachers who have not maintained their proficiency through the annual renewal process for five years or more, a new demonstration of proficiency is required utilising VIT’s Inquiry process.

The VIT defines 7.6 hours as equivalent to a day of teaching.

If you are employed as a teacher for a full day (ongoing, contract or casual), you can consider this a day of teaching.

If you are employed for half a day as teacher, regardless of face-to-face teaching time, VIT will consider this half a day of teaching.

Teaching hours include your face-to-face teaching time, as well as the time you spend preparing the learning environment and assessing learner’s work.

For teacher registration purposes, a school setting is an early childhood education service, primary, secondary, P-12 or special education school.

With this specific teaching context, you will need to first contact VIT to verify whether you can use your practice within this setting to undertake the full registration process.

In general, the workplace should provide PRTs with the opportunity to teach learners and an experienced colleague or trained VIT mentor to work with you. The work you undertake must allow you to evidence the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) at the proficient teacher level and must also provide opportunities for PRTs to

• deliver an approved curriculum 
• individually assess student learning against the approved curriculum
• plan for learning against the approved curriculum
• provide feedback on learning to students both formally and informally
• report this progress (informally and formally) to parents / carers
• demonstrates clear understanding of the legal obligations pertaining to registered teachers and strategies to ensure a safe and inclusive learning environment
• be able to demonstrate all 37 descriptors of the APST at the proficient standard
• be able to undertake all of the compulsory requirements of VIT’s Inquiry process to demonstrate proficiency of practice.

If you are working within these frameworks and the education leader of the non-school setting (who needs to be a VIT registered teacher) can verify this, then you can use this practice as teaching practice.

Examples of non-school settings where approved curriculum is taught may include the Melbourne Zoo, Royal Children’s Hospital, TAFE institutions offering the VCAL or VET programs (if they are teaching school aged students).

You must contact VIT to verify whether you can use this practice first before commencing the process.

Approved curriculum is defined as curriculum taught to early childhood or school aged students in settings requiring registration – early childhood education, primary, secondary, special education. 

Early childhood education

• Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework
• Early Years Learning Framework.

School foundation – year 10

• Victorian Curriculum
• International Baccalaureate.

School years 11-12

• Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), including VCE Vocational Major
• Vocational Education and Training (VET)
• School Based Apprenticeships and Traineeships (SBAT)
• International Baccalaureate (IB).

An approved curriculum may also include

• any other curriculum or program approved by the Victorian Curriculum Assessment Authority (VCAA) or Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), which is to be delivered in Victorian schools
• any element, in a non-government school approved as the compulsory educational program that is not otherwise included by the above programs
• an overseas curriculum delivered at a school registered with the VRQA as a ‘Specific Purpose’ school (e.g. the Japanese School of Melbourne is an example)
• a program that is comparable to an Australian Year 12 course as recognised by an Australian legislative framework (e.g. Monash University Foundation Year).

The evidence of practice is valid for five years. This is based on national consistency on what constitutes recency of practice. You are not able to use evidence of your practice that you gathered whilst a pre-service teacher. Evidence of professional practice must be gathered whilst you were a VIT registered teacher.

The Inquiry into practice must be conducted within Victoria for full registration to be granted by VIT.

A PRT cannot undertake the VIT Inquiry process if they are teaching overseas, this includes PRTs working at an international campus of a Victorian school / early childhood service or an international school affiliated with a Victorian school / early childhood service.

PRTs working interstate or in New Zealand are encouraged to undertake their jurisdiction’s registration requirements.

The 80 days of teaching can be accumulated interstate or in New Zealand.

The process for moving to full registration is the same for a CRT as it is for any other teacher. Teachers working in as a CRT will find the following resources useful in assisting them to undertake VIT’s Inquiry process

• Supporting Provisionally Registered Teachers Guide
• CRT Companion Guide 

The VIT encourages CRTs to take the time to reflect on this process and how you may approach this within your specific context.

For more information on how you can undertake the full registration process as a CRT, please see the CRT FAQs.

No. The circumstances of working as a tutor are not the same as a registered teacher and as such, tutors usually do not require VIT registration. 

The VIT recommends a registered teacher who has participated in a VIT mentor training program (Effective Mentor Program or other program) act as your mentor. Where it is not possible to be supported by a VIT trained mentor, you may work with an experienced colleague who holds full registration with VIT. However, there should be a VIT trained mentor on your workplace recommendation panel. Please refer to The Workplace Recommendation Panel guidelines.

In a school setting, it is expected the workplace recommendation panel generally comprises

• your principal* (or their delegate) who assumes the role of panel chair
• a registered teacher or early childhood teacher who has participated in a VIT mentor training program (Effective Mentor Program or other)
• a registered teaching colleague you nominate and who knows your work.

*To be part of a panel, a principal must be a registered teacher.

In an early childhood setting, it is expected the panel generally comprises

• a fully registered early childhood teacher as panel chair*
• a fully registered early childhood teacher or teacher who has participated in a VIT teacher mentoring program (EMP or other)
• another fully registered early childhood teacher or teacher colleague who you nominate and who knows your work. 

*In an early childhood (EC) setting, the education leader (e.g. centre director or manager) should assume the role of panel chair if they hold full early childhood teacher (ECT) registration. If the education leader does not hold full ECT registration, any EC trained panel member can assume the role of panel chair.

If a workplace has any concerns regarding the formation of a properly constituted workplace recommendation panel, please contact the Professional Practice team for further guidance.

It is a requirement that the recommendation is provided by the workplace recommendation panel chairperson at the workplace where most of the teaching practice has been undertaken and documented.

Before endorsing an application for full registration, a workplace needs to have observed the teacher’s practice over an extended period. The recommendation must be based on a consistent representation of practice over time and the workplace recommendation panel must be satisfied that the teacher has provided sufficient evidence that the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) have been met.

The recommendation report that attests to the PRTs proficiency against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) must be completed by the panel chair.

Where the principal or educational leader is not in a position to complete the recommendation report (e.g. they do not hold VIT registration) they can delegate the responsibility to an experienced teacher, who must hold full registration.

In an early childhood panel, the panel chair will complete the recommendation report. This may be the VIT trained mentor, or educational leader in the early childhood service provided they hold full registration.

You should consider the modifications to the curriculum and / or your practice you will need to make for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners to access learning.

If you do not have an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learner in your learning environment, you can

• observe an experienced teacher’s practice and / or approach to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learner
• discuss the strategies that you would use as a teacher to support any learner who is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent

• You may find the following resource useful: Teaching learners from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds

VIT also run webinars specifically targeted to assist teachers to recognise and implement strategies for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander learners

You should consider the modifications to the curriculum and/or your practice you will need to make to support the full participation of learners with disability. It is estimated that approximately one quarter of learners in Victoria have special needs, so it is likely that you are teaching a learner with a special need. Think about what you can do to find out, and speak with your workplace leadership if you are unsure.

The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth) provides a definition of learners with disability. This is quite broad and includes

• total or partial loss of the person's bodily or mental functions
• total or partial loss of a part of the body
• the presence in the body of organisms causing disease or illness
• the presence in the body of organisms capable of causing disease or illness
• the malfunction, malformation or disfigurement of a part of the person's body
• a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction
• a disorder, illness or disease that affects a person's thought processes, perception of reality, emotions or judgement or that results in disturbed behaviour.

The definition of disability includes those learners with disability who are supported by general resources available within the school or service, as well as learners who are receiving targeted specialist education services and supports.

The impact of the learner’s disability should result in the school or service actively addressing the learner’s specific individual education and learning and development needs arising from their disability. This should be done within quality differentiated teaching practice and / or by monitoring the learner, or providing a ‘supplementary’ / higher level of support.

While this definition is broad and includes a wide range of disabilities such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, autism spectrum disorder or hearing and vision impairments, it does not include learners who speak English as a second language. While this may present some teaching or learning challenges, it is not considered a disability.

You may find the following resource useful: Teaching learners with learners with special needs

Teacher assistants and teacher / integration aides in a school context are not regarded as a teacher for the purposes of moving to full registration.

If you are performing the duties of a teacher’s aide or assistant, then VIT cannot consider your practice for moving from provisional to full registration.

The Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) provides the following definition of a teacher

“teacher”
a) means a person who, in a school, undertakes duties that include the delivery of an educational program or the assessment of student participation in an educational program; and
c) does not include a teacher's aide, an assistant teacher or a student teacher.

Generally, a teacher should to be teaching learners who are of compulsory school age, including up to 19 years old or preschool aged (3-6 years) in order to complete the provisional to full registration process.

For an early childhood teacher who is not teaching pre-school aged learners, they must have all of the following requirements in order to use their practice to move to full registration

• be employed as an early childhood teacher or a leader of an education program
• have appropriate qualifications
• be registered with VIT as an early childhood teacher.

The leader of the education program must be appointed in writing by the education and care service, and is responsible for the development and implementation of an educational program in the education and care service.1

Provisional registration is designed to allow the teacher to develop and move their practice from the Graduate level to the Proficient level of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) in a supported environment.

The teaching context needs to allow for the teacher to demonstrate all 37 APST standards at the required level, teach an approved curriculum and perform all the expected duties of a teacher.

The educational program must be

• based on an approved learning framework 
• delivered in a manner that accords with the approved learning framework
• based on the developmental needs, interests and experiences of each child
• designed to take into account the individual differences of each child.2

1 Education and Care Services National Regulations 2011, Reg 118
2 Education and Care Services (National Law) Act 2010, Schedule 1, s. 168

The provisional to full registration process requires you to

• observe the practice of your mentor / experienced colleague at least once
• have your practice observed by your mentor / experienced colleague at least three times
• engage in at least three professional discussions.

Any of the above requirements can be undertaken with your mentor, or with one or more experienced teaching colleagues, provided they hold full registration. In your context, it may be more appropriate, beneficial or practical to have more than one experienced colleagues supporting you to meet these requirements.

A PRT’s whose application for full registration is refused by VIT has the right to review to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

Your employer may require you to be registered for employment purposes.

Requirements for employment are different to VIT registration requirements. The VIT is bound by the Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) and works under this legislation to register teachers and early childhood teachers. Consequently, the requirements to move to full registration are grounded in demonstrating proficiency against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) in school or early childhood settings and in some non-school settings.

You should undertake VIT’s Inquiry process in the setting you are teaching. Regardless of your context, all PRTs follow the same process to apply for full registration.

Successful completion of an application for full registration in one category of registration will lead to successful completion of full registration requirements in the other category of registration.

As a provisionally registered ECT, you may find the following suggestions helpful in connecting with a mentor

• if your service is an Early Years Management (EYM) organisation, the EYM manager may be able to determine if there is a potential mentor at a nearby service
• a local school may be able to assist you with providing a mentor to support you with your Inquiry process
• if you are a member of an early childhood professional association, you should contact them for assistance. Alternatively, you may consider joining one
• use your professional network or alumni contacts
• consider networking opportunities such as conferences and professional learning (your local government may also hold network events for early childhood services)
• consider becoming a member of relevant early childhood social media pages
• if your service is coordinated by local government, the relevant officer at the local government office may be able to determine if there is a potential mentor at a nearby service
• if your employer operates multiple services, your area manager may be able to point you to an experienced teacher from another service.

The Department of Education (DE) operates a mentor map, which you can use to connect with local mentors in your area. If you have any questions relating to the mentor map, or to add your service details to the interactive mentor map, contact DE’s early childhood mentoring team at ec.mentoring@education.vic.gov.au.

The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) are the teaching standards that all Australian teachers are expected to demonstrate. This includes teachers in a range of different contexts including schools, early childhood services and non-school settings.

Six Illustrations of Practice referencing kindergarten teaching in early childhood services have been produced through a partnership between VIT and the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).

Educators are not able to use this practice for the purposes of moving to full registration.

The Education and Training Reform Act 2006 (Vic) provides the following definition of an early childhood teacher.

"early childhood teacher"
a) includes a preschool teacher and a kindergarten teacher; and 
b) does not include an educator (within the meaning of section 5 of the Education and Care Services National Law (Victoria)) or a staff member of a children's service (within the meaning of the Children's Services Act 1996 ), who does not hold an approved early childhood teaching qualification; and

In order for an early childhood teacher to use their practice to move to full registration, they must have all of the following requirements

• be employed as an early childhood teacher or a leader of an education program 
• have appropriate qualifications
• be registered with VIT as an early childhood teacher.

The following will not contribute to meeting the professional practice requirements for registration.

Being employed or engaged as an

• educator of an education and care service
• early childhood teacher assistant of an education and care service
• educator assistant of an education and care service.

Before a PRT begins the process, VIT recommends they read our guide for moving to full registration. The guide contains a template for collating your evidence and is available in a PDF or Word document in the templates and checklists below.

We recommend reading the relevant companion and evidence guides. These supplementary guides contain context specific information regarding the process of moving from provisional registration to full registration.

• PRT Guide: Moving from provisional to full registration
• Provisionally registered casual relief teachers and teachers in non-school settings: A companion guide to gaining full registration
• Evidence guide: early childhood teacher
• Evidence guide: casual relief teacher

Each year VIT delivers PRT seminars that assist PRTs move from provisional to full registration. The seminars cover:

• 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.

Register for an upcoming seminar.

It is not compulsory to use the templates. The VIT recommends PRTs use the Evidence of professional practice template to record their evidence to ensure you don’t inadvertently miss any Inquiry requirements.

This updated template also includes a blank action plan as well as a consolidated professional responsibilities report section.

Identifying the context of your learners gives you the base to work from in identifying your question. According to the Timperley model, the learner is at the heart of everything that teacher’s do, and therefore, it is their needs that will direct your question. Think about the knowledge and skill of your learners as well as relevant curriculum requirements.

• What is the most important thing to address? 
• What will the learners most need to access the learning? 
• Does the data support your thinking? 
• What change would you like to see as a result of the Inquiry process? 

If your workplace has a particular teaching and learning priority, then it is a good idea to adopt this as your area of focus. This will be data-driven, as these priorities are set using whole cohort data. There is a good chance your workplace will have a lot of resources and professional learning opportunities available to support the work in this area. You will be expected to be working on this area anyway and so this fits with the stipulation that the Inquiry should support your current work.

Once you have decided on your Inquiry question, you may wish to use the SMART tool to ensure your question is strong enough. 
 

In a school setting, it is expected the workplace recommendation panel generally comprises

• your principal* (or their delegate) who assumes the role of panel chair
• a registered teacher or early childhood teacher who has participated in a VIT mentor training program (Effective Mentor Program or other)
• a registered teaching colleague you nominate and who knows your work.

*To be part of a panel, a principal must be a registered teacher.

In an early childhood setting, it is expected the panel generally comprises

• a fully registered early childhood teacher as panel chair*
• a fully registered early childhood teacher or teacher who has participated in a VIT teacher mentoring program (EMP or other)
• another fully registered early childhood teacher or teacher colleague who you nominate and who knows your work. 

*In an early childhood (EC) setting, the education leader (e.g. centre director or manager) should assume the role of panel chair if they hold full early childhood teacher (ECT) registration. If the education leader does not hold full ECT registration, any EC trained panel member can assume the role of panel chair.

If a workplace has any concerns regarding the formation of a properly constituted workplace recommendation panel, please contact the Professional Practice team for further guidance.

A day of teaching is approximately 7.6 hours. The hours can consist of face-to-face teaching time as well as any time spent planning for the learning or assessment of learners.

A day of teaching as a casual relief teacher (CRT) in a school setting can be determined by your payslip. If you are employed for one day as a casual relief teacher CRT, this will constitute a day of teaching. Similarly, half a day of employment will constitute half a day of teaching.