General Information

The Teachers Registration Board of South Australia (the Board) is established pursuant to the Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004 (the Act) and Teachers Registration and Standards Regulations 2021 (the Regulations). The Act and Regulations can be accessed via the Board’s website: www.trb.sa.edu.au/legislation

The object of the Act is to regulate the teaching profession in South Australia. Pursuant to Section 20 of the Act it is an offence to undertake employment as a teacher, principal or director at a school or prescribed service or provide pre-school, primary or secondary education unless you are registered (Maximum penalty $5 000).

Applications must be submitted either by post or in person:

Applications submitted by email will not be accepted.

Incomplete applications will not be accepted and will be returned to you.

Additional Documentation or Information

The Board may require additional documentation or information. All documentation supplied in support of your application must be the original or a certified copy. Refer to the below section ‘Certification of documents’ for more information.

The paper clip symbol is used throughout the Application for Teacher Registration form to indicate when additional information or original or certified documentary evidence must be provided. All required documentary evidence must be supplied with the application form.

Overseas Teaching Qualifications

If you hold overseas teaching qualifications, you must have all of your higher education, or equivalent, qualifications formally assessed by the Board before submitting an Application for Teacher Registration.  You will need to complete a separate application form, ‘Application for Assessment of Qualifications’, and wait until you have received an assessment report from the Board before applying for teacher registration.  The Application for Assessment of Qualifications form can be downloaded from the Board’s website at: www.trb.sa.edu.au/forms

Certification of Documents

All required documents other than the original must be certified copies. Copies of original documents must be certified as a true and correct copy of the original by the same person responsible for all document certification and the same person who signs the Statutory Declaration (i.e. Justice of the Peace; Commissioner for Taking Affidavits; Proclaimed Police Officer; Notary Public).  Each document submitted for certification must be a photocopy with the original document available for sighting at the time of certification. In some circumstances the Board may require presentation of an original document. If all documents have not been correctly certified, the application will not be accepted and will be returned to you.

Translation of Documents into English

All documents in a language other than English lodged as part of an Application for Teacher Registration must be certified copies and attached to the official certified English translations.

English translations undertaken in Australia will only be accepted if completed by a translator accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters Ltd (NAATI).  English translations undertaken overseas must have been completed by an officially accredited or licensed translator or an officially recognised organisation in that country.

Personal Details

You must complete all details within the personal/contact/address information sections of the Application for Teacher Registration form.

You must also disclose all names you have been known by throughout your life, see below example.

When Lucianne was born, she was given the first name Lucianne, the second name Jane and the surname of Jones.  When she was married, she changed her surname to Smith. Lucianne commonly uses the name Lucy when introducing herself in the community.  As such, Lucianne has four known names – her current name, maiden name, the alias name she used before she got married and the alias name she uses now.  Lucianne needs to provide all four names, as follows:

Current name: Smith, Lucianne Jane                                     Alias name: Smith, Lucy Jane

Maiden name: Jones, Lucianne Jane                                    Alias name: Jones, Lucy Jane

Current and previous residential address history is required for the past five (5) years.

Working with Children Check

You must provide details of your current Department of Human Services Working with Children Check (WWCC) or Child Related Screening Clearance, including the name the WWCC/Clearance was issued in; the date of issue; and the Unique Identification number.

If you do not have a current WWCC you can apply for one through the Department of Human Services: https://screening.sa.gov.au/types-of-check/new-working-with-children-checks

Identity Documents

* Please note you may be able to use the identity documents you provide for both purposes.

Required for Registration

You must provide certified copies of:

• your full birth certificate; and
• a document containing your photographic identification (i.e. driver’s licence [front & back required] or passport)

Required for the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check

You must provide certified copies of four (4) documents to confirm your identity for the purpose of the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check as detailed on page 3 of the Application for Teacher Registration form. At least one of the commencement or primary documents must include a photograph of you verified by the same person responsible for all document certification and the same person who signs the Statutory Declaration (i.e. Justice of the Peace; Commissioner for Taking Affidavits; Proclaimed Police Officer; Notary Public).

If you provide identity documents using a former name, you must provide evidence of your name change.  This means providing a change of name certificate issued by an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages or an Australian marriage certificate issued by a state or territory or a decree nisi, in addition to your four identity documents.  Church or celebrant issued certificates are not accepted.  If your change of name documents were issued in a country other than Australia please contact the Board.

Qualification Requirements

Current Australian Teacher Education Students

You can apply for registration as a teacher at any time during your final semester of study. When you lodge your Application for Teacher Registration, we can start other processes such as the Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check so that it is faster to finalise your registration when you have finished your studies.  Please provide an unofficial transcript (statement of results so far) with your application. This can usually be printed off from your institutions online student system so it does not need to be certified. If you are studying a postgraduate teacher qualification you must also supply certified copies of the official academic transcripts for your previous degree/s with the application.  Once you have finished your studies you will need to provide a certified copy of the complete official academic transcript for your registration to be finalised.

Overseas-trained Applicants

If you studied your teaching qualification in a country other than Australia or New Zealand you would have already provided this information with your Application for Assessment of Qualifications. Therefore, you do not need to send your qualification documents again.

Official Academic Transcripts

An official academic transcript is issued by the higher education institution on their official transcript paper which may include a seal, watermark, or other security features. The document should reflect the name of the awarding institution, your name, the name of the qualification studied and show that you have completed or been conferred (awarded) the degree.

If you have received your final academic transcript through My eQuals, please ensure that you:

1. share the link to your transcript document to: qualifications@trb.sa.edu.au
2. set an expiry date of at least 28 days after the submission date of your application.

The Board is not able to accept degree parchments, letter from the institution, official transcripts without a completion statement or unofficial transcripts as evidence of the completion of your degree.

Record of Teaching Service

If you have been employed as a teacher in a school or pre-school prior to applying for registration in South Australia, please include the details of the teaching position you have held in the table provided. Do not include details of any supervised teaching practice undertaken as part of a teaching qualification.

English Language Proficiency Requirement

You must satisfy the Board that you have a level of English language proficiency which enables you to communicate in English, in both the spoken and written form, at a professional level, with students, parents, colleagues and other educational professionals.

If you have completed any higher education qualifications from institutions outside of Australia, you may need to complete an English language test to meet the Board’s English language proficiency requirement.  The English language tests recognised by the Board are:

• The International English Language Testing System Academic Level (IELTS).
• The International Second Language Proficiency Ratings (ISLPR).

To determine whether or not you need to complete an English language test, please refer to the Board’s website at: www.trb.sa.edu.au/english

Teaching Appointment

Please complete this section if a formal offer of employment has been made. An original or certified copy of the written offer of employment must be attached.

Employment as a teacher, principal or director at a school or prescribed service must not be undertaken until teacher registration has been granted. It is an offence to do so under Section 20 of the Act and penalties apply.

Declarations – Fitness and Propriety

The object of the Act is to establish and maintain a teacher registration system and professional standards for teachers to safeguard the public interest in there being a teaching profession whose members are competent educators and fit and proper persons to have the care of children. You must answer all of the Fitness and Propriety questions and provide additional information where required.

You can discuss any issue relating to Fitness and Propriety matters by contacting the Board’s Investigation Unit (telephone +61 8 82265984).

National Overseas Criminal History Record Check/Declarations

If you have resided in a country other than Australia for more than 12 continuous months during the past 10 years, when over the age of 18 years, you must provide either original or certified copies of national criminal history record checks from those countries issued within the last 12 months. These checks must reflect all names by which you have ever been known.

The Board will only accept certain national overseas criminal history record checks for registration purposes. Applicants should therefore refer to the instructions for obtaining acceptable checks which are available on the Board’s website at: www.trb.sa.edu.au/ochrc

Consent and Statutory Declaration

Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check Consent

A Nationally Coordinated Criminal History Check (NCCHC) is one measure used by the Board to determine the fitness and propriety of applicants and is an integral part of the assessment of your suitability to hold teacher registration. Should you not consent to the Board conducting a NCCHC, your application cannot be processed.

To comply with the Board’s contractual arrangements as an accredited Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) agency, you must provide four (4) certified copies of documentary evidence to prove your identity as detailed on page 3 of the Application for Teacher Registration form.

Information extracted from the Application for Teacher Registration form will be forwarded by the Board to ACIC and other Australian Police Agencies.  By signing the form you are providing your consent to these agencies:

• disclosing police history information that pertains to you from their own records to the Board, and/or
• accessing their records to obtain police history information that in turn will be disclosed to the Board.

Such police history information may include outstanding charges, and criminal convictions/findings of guilt recorded against you that may be disclosed according to the laws of the relevant jurisdiction and, in the absence of any laws governing the release of that information, according to the relevant jurisdiction’s information release policy.

Police information is disclosed in accordance with applicable spent conviction legislation and information release policies of the Australian Government and state and territory governments.  These links may help you source information on spent convictions:

Australian Government www.legislation.gov.au

Australian Capital Territory             www.legislation.gov.au

New South Wales                          www.legislation.nsw.gov.au

Northern Territory                          www.legislation.nt.gov.au

Queensland                                  www.legislation.qld.gov.au

South Australia                             www.legislation.sa.gov.au

Tasmania                                      www.thelaw.tas.gov.au

Victoria                                         www.police.vic.gov.au

Western Australia                          www.legislation.wa.gov.au

It is usual practice for your personal information to be disclosed to Australian Police Agencies to use for their respective law enforcement purposes including the investigation of any outstanding criminal offences.

You must take reasonable steps to ensure you provide accurate, complete and up-to-date personal information on your Application for Teacher Registration form. Withholding and/or providing misleading, or false information is a Commonwealth offence and you may be prosecuted under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Cth).  If you become aware you have provided incorrect information you must contact the Board as soon as possible.

Unless statutory obligations require otherwise, the information provided will not be used without your prior consent for any purpose other than in relation to the assessment of your suitability to be registered as a teacher.

You should note that the existence of a police history record does not mean that you will be automatically assessed as being unsuitable to be registered as a teacher.

If you do not agree with the results of your NCCHC, contact the Board’s Investigation Unit (telephone +61 8 82265984) and tell them you want to dispute the result. The Board will accept and escalate all disputes.

Document Verification Service Consent

The Board uses the Commonwealth Document Verification Service to verify identity documents.

Statutory Declaration

Your signature must be witnessed by either a Justice of the Peace; Commissioner for Taking Affidavits; Proclaimed Police Officer; or Notary Public.  The person who witnesses your signature and signs the statutory declaration must be the same person responsible for all document certification.

Payment Details

Fees are reviewed on an annual basis. For information on the current fees refer to the Board’s website at: www.trb.sa.edu.au/fees

Provision of False or Misleading Information

You are asked to certify that all the information you have provided on the Application for Teachers Registration form is correct. If it is subsequently discovered that you have made a statement that is false or misleading in a material particular, whether by reason of the inclusion or omission of any particular; in any information provided, this can lead to prosecution under the Oaths Act 1936 and refusal or cancellation of registration pursuant to the Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004.

In addition, pursuant to Sections 54 and 55 of the Act, a person must not make a statement that is false or misleading in a material particular (whether by reason of the inclusion or omission of any particular) in any information provided under the Act, and that a person who by fraud or any other dishonest means procures registration for himself or herself, or for another person, is guilty of an offence. Maximum penalty: $10 000.

Privacy Statement

The personal information you provide within the Application for Teacher Registration form will be used to assess your eligibility for teacher registration and to maintain the Register of Teachers. Extracts of the Register of Teachers are available for public inspection and your name, registration number, registration status and expiry date will be published on the Register of Teachers on the Board’s website at: https://crmpub.trb.sa.edu.au/Home/TeacherSearch

Relevant information may be released to other teacher regulatory authorities to ensure effective national exchange of information, to ACIC to obtain a NCCHC, to universities to confirm academic results or in other circumstances as specified in the Act.

Requests for access to documents containing personal information held by the Board will be considered in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act 1991 and the South Australian Government Cabinet Administrative Instruction Number 1/89 known as the ‘Information Privacy Principles (IPPs) Instruction’.

Information Sharing Guidelines for Promoting Safety and Wellbeing (ISG)

The South Australian Ombudsman developed the Information Sharing Guidelines for promoting safety and wellbeing (ISG).  The ISB enables personal information to be shared without consent when it is believed a vulnerable person is at risk of harm (from others or as a result of their own actions). The Board will seek informed consent in all situations where it is considered safe to do so. A copy of the ISG can be found at: www.dpc.sa.gov.au/responsibilities/information-sharing-guidelines

If you require further information about the release of personal information under the ISG please refer to the Board website at: www.trb.sa.edu.au. If you are concerned that your personal information has been shared inappropriately, please contact the Registrar (telephone +61 8 8253 9700).

Categories of Registration

Provisional Registration – Teachers who are qualified but are not yet able to provide evidence of one year’s full-time (or part-time equivalent of 200 days) satisfactory service as a teacher at a school or prescribed service in Australia or New Zealand in the last five years.

Registration– Teachers who are qualified and have completed one year’s full-time (or part-time equivalent of 200 days) satisfactory services as a teacher at a school or prescribed service in Australia or New Zealand in the last five years. Applicants are not eligible to apply for (full) Registration by using this application form.  The only way for a teacher to be granted (full) Registration status is to initially receive Provisional Registration and then transition to (full) Registration with the Board as detailed below.

Transitioning from Provisional Registration to (full) Registration is not an automatic process.  If you hold Provisional Registration, you can apply for (full) Registration after successfully completing one year’s full-time (or part-time equivalent of 200 days) satisfactory service as a teacher at a school or prescribed service in Australia or New Zealand, and lodge an Application to Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration. You must meet the requirements as outlined on the Transition from Provisional to (full) Registration form. An application form can be downloaded from the Board’s website at: www.trb.sa.edu.au/app-tpr

In some cases the Board may impose conditions on registration. This would be determined after consideration of the application by the Board pursuant to Part 5, Section 24 of the Act.

Conditions of Registration

Pursuant to Section 24 of the Act it is a condition of registration that all registered teachers make appropriate notifications to the Board under the following circumstances:

• If charged with or convicted of an offence of a kind specified, a registered teacher must within 14 days give written notice of the charge or conviction to the Board.  Specified offence includes any offence for which a term of imprisonment is a penalty (whether or not a penalty of imprisonment was imposed); or any offence involving illicit drugs, violence, sexual or indecent behaviour, dishonesty, or cruelty to animals [Section 24(2)(a)i)].
• If dismissed or resigns from employment as a practising teacher in response to or following allegations of unprofessional conduct, a registered teacher must within 14 days give written notice of the dismissal or resignation to the Board [Section 24(2)(a)(ii)].
• If dismissed or resigns from employment as a practising teacher in response to or following allegations of incompetence (however described), a registered teacher must within 14 days give written notice of the dismissal or resignation to the Board [Section 24(2)(a)(iia)].
• If a registered teacher is dismissed or resigns from any employment in response to or following allegations of improper conduct relating to a child, they must within 14 days give written notice of their dismissal or resignation to the Board [Section 24(2)(a)(iii)].
• A registered teacher must give written notice to the Board, within 14 days after becoming aware of the fact, if they become a prohibited person under the Child Safety (Prohibited Persons) Act 2016 [Section 24(2)(c)(i)]; or if more than 5 years have elapsed since a Working With Children Check (WWCC) has been conducted [Section 24(2)(c)(ii)].