Published 17 Jul 2024
Permission to teach – a school’s guide to applications
The VIT have been working directly with schools to reduce the pressure where possible, including by granting permission to teach (PTT) to individuals who have not yet met the requirements to be a registered teacher. Schools may apply for PTT if they are unable to recruit a qualified teacher for a specific position, and they have an alternative candidate with teaching and subject matter expertise.
The VIT has relaxed its PTT requirements to support - in limited circumstances - pre-service teachers who are not yet in their final year of study to fill roles where there are critical workforce shortages. Those not in their final year of study may be eligible for PTT at a reduced workload (maximum 0.6FTE). Once the applicant is in their final year, they may be eligible for a further grant at a higher FTE.
In 2019-20, PTT holders accounted for 0.2 per cent of all registered teachers, however in 2023-24, PTT holders accounted for 2.4 per cent (i.e. 3,614 PTT holders out of 153,298 teachers on the register). On average, these grants are for a period of 13 months, during which time the PTT holders must actively progress towards gaining teacher registration.
Common issues that cause delays in assessment
Applications can take between 4-6 weeks to assess from the time a complete application is received. The length of time taken to assess an application depends on the type of application and each applicant’s circumstances.
Explore common issues that can delay a PTT application assessment and understand what to avoid.
Additional resources
Our PTT fact sheet has all the information on the different categories of PTT and how they can be used.
It's important to remember that PTT holders are not qualified teachers. Explore guidance for supporting PTT holders to ensure they can be properly inducted into your school and can manage work and study loads.
PTT holders are expected to progress towards teacher registration by completing their initial teacher education program while working under the grant. Understand the expectations of progression for PTT holders.