Interstate or overseas teachers

Applicants who hold current teacher registration in another Australian state or territory, or in New Zealand, can apply for registration in Victoria under mutual recognition. 

To be eligible for mutual recognition, applicants must     

• have financially current, practising registration in another Australian state or territory or in New Zealand
• not be the subject of disciplinary proceedings in Australia or New Zealand (including any preliminary investigations or action that might lead to disciplinary proceedings)
• not have their registration cancelled or currently suspended in Australia or New Zealand as a result of disciplinary action
• not be otherwise personally prohibited from teaching in Australia or New Zealand
• not be subject to any special conditions as a result of criminal, civil or disciplinary proceedings in Australia or New Zealand, and
• outline any special conditions they are subject to.

If the teacher holds provisional registration interstate or in New Zealand, they may be eligible to obtain provisional registration via mutual recognition.

If they hold full registration interstate or in New Zealand they may be eligible to obtain immediate full registration via mutual recognition.

If they hold an alternative authorisation to teach, such as permission to teach or conditional registration, they are not eligible for mutual recognition.

How to apply under mutual recognition

Teachers who wish to apply for registration in Victoria under mutual recognition must first create a MyVIT account and then navigate to the ‘apply for registration' tile, and complete the application modules, including confirming the jurisdiction they are currently registered in.

During the application process, the teacher will be required to give VIT permission to verify their interstate or New Zealand registration. This is done via a templated statutory declaration.

• Statutory declaration (to be used by teachers registered in another Australian state or territory)
• Trans-Tasman statutory declaration (to be used by teachers registered in New Zealand)

Teachers must also provide evidence of current registration (such as a registration card or certificate). New Zealand teachers will also need to provide their current practising certificate.

Visit the How to register page to find out more about registering to teach in Victoria. You can also find out more about the registration timeline on the How long does it take to register page.

Watch our video: How to apply for registration if you're currently registered in another state in Australia or New Zealand.

Applicants who completed their studies outside of Australia must first have their teaching qualification(s) pre-assessed before they can apply for registration. This assessment can be undertaken prior to an applicant deciding to move to Australia. Read our overseas qualification section for details.

Once these qualifications have been validated and the applicant has arrived in Australia, they can apply for registration online through their MyVIT account.

In limited circumstances, applicants may be able to apply for registration from a country outside Australia no more than three (3) months prior to arrival. To apply within three (3) months of arrival, an applicant will need to provide one of the following 

• an offer of employment in a Victorian school or early childhood (EC) service;  
• an offer of employment with a Victorian teaching agency; or
• evidence that registration is required for the visa pathway they are following. 

Please note: submissions greater than three (3) months from arrival in Australia will result in an application being closed without any further consideration. 

Applicants who have completed their ITE or EC education studies in a country outside of Australia or New Zealand may apply for provisional or full registration.

Overseas applicants with appropriate qualifications will be eligible to apply for immediate full registration if

• they have completed at least 80 days of teaching in an Australian or New Zealand school or EC service in the past five (5) years, and
• have held full registration in Australia or New Zealand within the past five (5) years.

If an overseas applicant with appropriate qualifications does not meet the immediate full registration requirements, they will be eligible to apply for provisional registration.

If an applicant has completed any of their studies outside of Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada or the Republic of Ireland, they may be required to complete an approved English language competency test.

Visit the English language competency page for more information.

If the applicant lived continuously in any country other than Australia for 12 consecutive months within the last 10 years while over the age of 18, they will need to provide an approved overseas criminal record check (CRC) from each overseas country they lived in.

The VIT only accepts checks that are outlined on the Department of Home Affairs website or are undertaken by AIS International and are national (not state or regional).

This means if the teacher is already in Australia, the issue date must be on or after the day they left that country. If the teacher is applying from overseas (within three (3) months of arrival), the issue date must within seven (7) days of their application being submitted. Please contact VIT for any questions regarding this.

Visit the Criminal history checks page for more information.

How to find an accepted overseas police check

1. navigate to the ‘Offices and locations’ page on the Department of Home Affairs website  
2. search for relevant country in the ‘Find an office’ search bar
3. navigate to the ‘Police check’ heading and select ‘Details’ and then ‘View more…’ to view instructions on how to apply for an accepted check. 

Applicants providing copies of documents in a language other than English must also provide translations prepared and certified as correct by a translator accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters Ltd (NAATI).

Visit the How to register page to find out more about registering to teach in Victoria. You can also find out more about the registration timeline on the How long does it take to register page.