The Department of Education and Training (DET) will centralise the recruitment of final year students for PTT (COVID-19 pre-service teacher workforce shortage across the Government and Catholic school sectors and will provide VIT with details of eligible applicants.

You must liaise directly with the DET, at which time you will be provided with information regarding application requirements. Contact DET Schools Recruitment Unit on 1800 641 943 (select option 1) or at schools.recruitment@education.vic.gov.au.

Those wishing to work in the independent sector should contact those schools directly.

Those pre-service teachers deemed eligible by DET will invited by VIT to apply for PTT (COVID-19 pre-service teacher workforce shortage). Individuals will be required to provide the below information as part of the application for permission to teach.

Proving your identity and suitability to teach 

You will be required to provide evidence that proves your identity as well as give consent so VIT can undertake a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC) on your behalf. We may carry out other criminal record checks from time to time.   

Declaring physical and / or mental health conditions 

You need to declare any condition(s) that may affect your ability to undertake the duties of a teacher. 

Overseas criminal record check (CRC) 

If you were over the age of 18 and lived continuously in any country other than Australia for 12 months within the last 10 years, you will need to provide a certified copy of a police certificate issued by the national police service in the country you lived in. Please refer to Australian Department of Home Affairs for accepted overseas CRCs. 

This initiative is for pre-service teachers in their final year of study at an accredited Victorian initial teacher education (ITE) program only.

You will be granted PTT in line with the teaching methods you are studying in your ITE program. For pre-service teachers enrolled in a Primary ITE program, you will able to teach Generalist Primary subjects.

Only those who hold VIT registration are eligible to be part of the pool of registered teachers.

Once registered with the VIT, you must liaise directly with the DET or MACS, at which time you will be provided with information regarding employment opportunities in Government or Catholic schools. 

Contact DET Schools Recruitment Unit on 1800 641 943 (select option 1) or at schools.recruitment@education.vic.gov.au.

Contact Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) at permissiontoteach@macs.vic.edu.au. 

Those wishing to work in the independent sector should contact those schools directly.

You must liaise directly with the DET, at which time you will be provided with information regarding accessing the registered teacher pool. 

You can contact DET Schools Recruitment Unit on 1800 641 943 (select option 1) or at schools.recruitment@education.vic.gov.au

Alternatively, you may wish to contact the Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) at permissiontoteach@macs.vic.edu.au.

Independent schools are encouraged to contact VIT directly to find an option that meets their needs.

PTT (COVID-19 pre-service teacher workforce shortage) is available for individuals to teach in schools only. PTT cannot be granted in early childhood services.

It is a legislative requirement for anyone undertaking the duties of a teacher in a Victorian school or early childhood setting to be registered with VIT. This includes teaching under supervision. 

In order to become registered as a teacher, a person must obtain a qualification that is appropriate for entry to teaching, or a qualification determined by VIT to be equivalent to an approved qualification.

If you can meet all the current requirements for teacher registration, you should apply for full registration or provisional registration. 

If you cannot meet all the current requirements for teacher registration, you will be unable to apply for teacher registration.

Early childhood teachers who hold dual registration can use their teacher registration to become part of the pool of registered teachers. Under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, only registered teachers or holders of permission to teach (PTT) are able to undertake the duties of a teacher in Victorian schools.

No. Education support staff are excluded from the initiative. Under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, only registered teachers or holders of permission to teach (PTT) are able to undertake the duties of a teacher in Victorian schools.

No. TAFE and university teachers are excluded from the initiative. Under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, only registered teachers or holders of permission to teach (PTT) are able to undertake the duties of a teacher in Victorian schools.

Holding PTT (COVID-19 pre-service teacher workforce shortage relief) does not guarantee a teaching position within a school.

Please note that application fees are non-refundable. 

For employment opportunities, contact

• DET Schools Recruitment Unit on 1800 641 943 (select option 1) or at schools.recruitment@education.vic.gov.au
• Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS) at permissiontoteach@macs.vic.edu.au 

Those wishing to work in the independent sector should contact those schools directly.

Most applications take between 4-6 weeks to assess once all documentation has been submitted. In some cases, applications may be assessed more quickly.

The VIT recognises the urgency in creating a pool of registered teachers and will prioritise the assessment of PTT (COVID-19 pre-service teacher workforce shortage) applications.

The VIT is required to undertake a Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC) on your behalf. This can take time to be returned to VIT, at which time, your application will be assessed for your suitability to teach. Assessment of suitability to teach includes consideration of criminal history, professional history, impairments, reportable conduct, and Working with Children (WWC) exclusions and interim exclusions (previously known as negative and interim negative notice) from Working with Children Check Victoria (WWCCV). 

If you are a final year student from an accredited Victorian ITE provider, please register your interest with DET Schools Recruitment Unit on 1800 641 943 (select option 1) or at schools.recruitment@education.vic.gov.au.

Standard application fees will apply (i.e. initial registration fee and Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC) fees).

PTT (COVID-19 pre-service teacher workforce shortage) will be available for the 2022 school year only. The grant will expire upon to PTT holder’s successful completion of their final year of study or 31 December 2022, whichever comes first.

It is a non-renewable form of registration designed to fill short-term vacancies in Victorian schools due to teacher absences caused by COVID-19 illness or isolation requirements.

Details can be found in VIT’s PTT (COVID-19 pre-service teacher workforce shortage) Policy.

You can check the status of a pre-service teacher’s registration by searching their name in your employer portal or by searching the register of teachers.

PTT COVID-19 holders are subject to suitability and criminal record checking as part of their application and cannot commence teaching (even under supervision) until their application has been approved by the VIT.

PTT COVID-19 may be available for your school, however other PTT categories might be more suitable to your needs.

You should contact us directly to discuss the requirements for PTT COVID-19 in your school.

Schools can employ a PTT COVID-19 holder to fill short term vacancies due to

• absences due to COVID-19 or COVID-19 like symptoms
• caring responsibilities due to COVID-19 or COVID-19 like symptoms.

Timetabling

Schools have discretion over their timetabling to best meet their learners needs. Schools should seek to timetable their classes according to learners needs and then seek a PTT COVID-19 holder to fill any timetabling gaps.

For example: Teacher A is absent and cannot teach their VCE Maths class. Teacher B (Year 9 Science) is timetabled to teach VCE Maths while teacher A is absent. The school employs a PTT COVID-19 holder to teach year 9 Science.

Schools do not need to match a PTT COVID-19 holder to the absent teacher’s class in order to utilise PTT COVID-19, but must ensure the PTT COVID-19 holder is only teaching the subjects listed on their card.

Multiple staff absences

Where a school is experiencing multiple staff absences, a PTT COVID-19 holder may be kept on beyond the original absence to assist the school respond flexibly to learning needs. For example, schools may want to keep PTT COVID-19 holders teaching a specific class while a more experienced teacher works across the school to fill COVID-19 related vacancies. This will assist the pre-service teacher to develop their pedagogy in a supportive environment.