Under the Education and Training Reform Act 2006, 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.
In some cases, an applicant may also be required to undertake other testing.
Applicants must also meet suitability requirements. Read this fact sheet or visit our suitability page to find out more.
Click here to find out more about VIT’s Qualifications Policy.
Initial teacher education
To be registered to teach in a school setting, applicants are required to have completed an approved initial teacher education (ITE) program in one of the following configurations
- four (4) years of full time or equivalent higher education study, including an approved initial primary and / or initial secondary teaching qualification of at least one (1) year’s duration
- an approved Certificate of Proficiency / Completion in a trade, together with
- relevant industrial experience combined with a period of apprenticeship that totals no less than eight (8) years
- an approved trade technical course or an approved equivalent program of post-apprenticeship studies
- an approved course of teacher education, or
- an approved Certificate of Technology, together with
- a minimum of six (6) years of approved industrial experience
- an approved course of secondary teacher education.
Visit the Education for those who wish to become teachers page to find an approved ITE program.
Early childhood teaching
To be registered to teach as an early childhood teacher (ECT), applicants are required to have completed an early childhood teaching qualification that is approved or recognised by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) in one of the following configurations
- an ACECQA approved ECT qualification (listed on ACECQA website at the ECT level)
- an ACECQA recognised ECT qualification (for example, a qualification from overseas that ACECQA has assessed as equivalent against the Australian standards)
- an early childhood teaching qualification recognised by a former teaching authority, or
- recognition by ACECQA as an equivalent early childhood teacher.
Overseas qualifications
If an individual has completed their teaching qualification(s) outside of Australia, these must be pre-assessed to ensure equivalency before an application for registration can be submitted. Those applying to teach in a primary or secondary school must have their qualification pre-assessed by VIT.
Those applying for early childhood teaching must have their qualification assessed by ACECQA, and obtain an ACECQA Certificate of Equivalence and Outcome Letter (Early childhood qualification assessment).
For more information about international qualifications and the key areas that VIT requires to assess an overseas qualification, please see our Interstate and Overseas Teachers section here.
Other prerequisites
Graduates from Australian ITE programs are required to demonstrate they have high levels of literacy and numeracy competency by providing evidence that they have met the standard of the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE) completed as part of their program. This supports quality teaching in Victorian schools.
Visit the LANTITE page to find out more.
An applicant for teacher registration satisfies English language competence requirements if they provide evidence that their teacher education qualifications, consisting of four (4) full years of higher education study that includes an approved initial teacher education program (or qualifications assessed as comparable), were undertaken in English in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada or the Republic of Ireland.
Visit the English language competency page to find out more.
Providing evidence of qualifications
Applicants are required to provide details of their qualifications, including
- an official academic transcript for each qualification, and
- evidence of completion which include one of the following
- a graduation certificate or academic transcript listing the completion date, or
- a letter from the education provider listing the completion date.
Applicants who have completed an ITE program (or overseas equivalent) must also provide evidence of the duration of their supervised teaching practice (STP), sometimes referred to as student teaching. If this is not listed on the applicant’s transcript, they will be required to provide a letter from their higher education provider containing this information, which must be uploaded to their application.
Applicants will also be required to provide information about their specialisations covered during their STP. This information is gathered for statistical purposes and applicants are requested to provide this information to the best of their abilities.
Last updated: 30 Jun 2025