A few things for you to check at the start of every term

• all your teachers must hold registration and their name must appear in the Employer portal and on the register of teachers – this includes those teaching VET subjects
• provisionally registered teachers and those who hold permission to teach (PTT) may have registration expiry dates earlier than 30 September this year – keep track of teachers’ expiry dates in your Employer portal 
• PTT is only valid for the school(s) and subject(s) listed in the Employer portal and on the teacher’s registration card.

Do you have mid-year graduates due to start next term?

Appointing pre-service teachers (PSTs) within Victorian schools is important to the profession. Many PSTs who are due to graduate mid-year have already applied for teacher registration. However, until VIT obtains evidence of course completion from the ITE providers, their registration cannot be finalised.

To ensure your PSTs are ready to teach in term 3 2023, the VIT will prioritise the pre-assessment of these applications while waiting for the evidence of course completion (EOC). The VIT expects to receive most EOCs from providers by 31 July 2023, and will finalise application assessments as soon as possible after that.

PSTs with pending VIT registration cannot undertake the duties of a teacher or early childhood teacher – even under supervision.

You can check in your Employer portal whether the PST has a pending app by adding them to your teacher list.

The responsibility for gaining and maintaining teacher registration lies with the PST. If the PST has not yet applied for registration, please encourage them to do so as soon as possible. You can help them by providing this information pack and the following advice.

Advice for employers of PSTs with pending VIT registration 

You should

• provide your applicant all paperwork necessary to process their appointment 
• inform your applicant that if they are unable to secure their registration prior to the starting date, they will not be able to take up their position until their registration has been granted
• add your applicant to the teacher list in your Employer portal (and confirm that their name appears on the public register once their registration is approved)
• not allow an applicant to teach even under supervision without confirmed VIT registration or permission to teach.

Frequently asked questions

• How do I check a teacher’s registration status?
• Can an unregistered teacher work in a classroom under the supervision of a registered teacher?
• Can education support staff undertake certain teaching duties under the supervision of a registered teacher?
• Can early childhood teachers teach in a school? / Can teachers teach in an early childhood service?
• Can a person with non-practising registration undertake the duties of a teacher?

Employer pack: a guide to teacher registration

The Employer Pack covers a range of topics about VIT and teacher registration including

• who we are, what we do and misconceptions about our role
• why teacher registration is important to the profession
• employer obligations
• teacher obligations
• employing new teachers
• initial registration and annual registration processes
• conduct and suitability
• employer resources.

Using the Employer portal

The Employer portal allows schools to monitor the registration of teachers, recommend provisionally registered teachers for full registration and support applications for permission to teach. 
 

Periodic registration checks

It is good practice to include periodic checks of the Employer portal to ensure teachers remain registered and are not approaching an expiry date. 

1. Update your teacher list by adding new teachers and removing teachers who have left.
2. Check for upcoming provisional expiry dates. Provisionally registered teachers can apply for a further grant of provisional registration within 3 months of their registration expiry if they have not completed the provisional to full Inquiry process. Please note that provisionally registered teachers also have a 3 month grace period – this means that if they appear on the register and in the Employer portal, they are registered and able to teach – even if their expiry date is in the past.
3. Check the expiry date and permitted subjects for permission to teach (PTT) holders. PTT holders can only teach at the school and in the subjects listed in the teacher list (scroll to the right to see this information) in the Employer portal. PTT holders do not have a grace period and their PTT will expire on the day after their approval expiry date unless another application is approved.
4. If any of your teachers have conditions, they may supply you with a letter outlining these conditions.