Applicants for renewal of registration must consent to and pay for a national criminal history record check. A national criminal history record check is one criterion used by the Board to assess fitness and propriety.
The Board has been granted accredited third party status with CrimTrac, established by the Australasian Police Ministers Council as a major national law enforcement support initiative. CrimTrac provides a National Criminal History Record Checking (NCHRC) service to accredited third party agencies primarily for the purpose of ensuring persons in positions of trust are adequately screened for criminal records.
Strict protocols and procedures have been developed within the Secretariat relating to the assessment of national criminal history record checks and a high degree of expertise, uniformity and consistency has been achieved. A secure, purpose built area has been established to accommodate criminal record checking and other matters requiring the utmost confidentiality. Specifically nominated personnel, i.e. the Registrar and Investigations Officers are the only persons authorised to process and assess national criminal history record checks. Strict codes of conduct and confidentiality are applied.
Any matters are considered on an individual basis and are assessed taking into account all relevant circumstances. From experience, the majority of records are either returned as clear or are cleared by nominated personnel. If further information or clarification is required a teacher will be contacted and either requested to provide a written statement or explanation, or invited to attend an interview to discuss the matter. Procedural fairness and the principles of natural justice are adhered to at all times. All offences are assessed using the following general guidelines:
- Child protection implications, age and vulnerability
- Relevance in a school teaching environment
- The gravity and nature of convictions
- Circumstances surrounding the offence(s), whether alcohol, drugs or a weapon was involved
- The harm to any victim including injury or loss
- Adverse impact on the teaching profession
- Total criminal history
- Severity of sentence imposed
- Length of time since offence, any rehabilitation
- Age at time of offence(s) e.g. adult or juvenile
- Evidence of the applicant’s good character since offence committed
- Whether offence has been decriminalised
- Whether found guilty ‘without conviction’
- Whether penalty restricted only to a fine
- Personal circumstances at the time of offending
Teachers who are concerned about offences or require further information about procedures or other matters related to national criminal history record checks should contact the staff of the Legal Unit on 8226 5984 to discuss their issues.
For Conditions of Registration in relation to reporting obligations for teachers refer to:
Part 5 Section 24 (2)(a)(i) of the Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004 states reporting obligations of teachers. For this purpose:
a complaint or information filed with any court
- 'an offence of a kind specified in the condition' is defined as:
any offence for which imprisonment is a penalty or any other offence which involves dishonest conduct or sexual misconduct or indecent behaviour or illicit drugs
- 'details specified in the condition' is defined as:
provision of name, address and details/circumstances relating to a charge or conviction
Proof of Identity for Renewal of Registration
You must provide verified copies of documentary evidence to prove your identity sufficient to satisfy a ‘100 Point Identification Check’ (201) as required by the Board’s arrangement with CrimTrac. This must include one primary document (70 points) such as a Birth Certificate, Citizenship Certificate, or International Travel Document (e.g. passport) and one secondary document (40 points) such as an Australian driver’s Licence, identification card as a public employee, Centrelink card or tertiary student identification card. Refer to this document for a full list of acceptable documents.
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