Professional Learning

Professional learning ensures all teachers continually update their knowledge and practice and are classroom-ready at any time.

The Teachers Registration Board defines professional learning as any planned or unplanned learning opportunities, processes, or experiences, beyond the day-to-day expectations of a teacher’s professional role and responsibilities, where a teacher engages either in their work time or own time.

Professional learning:

  • continually builds capacity as a professional to positively impact child and student growth
  • furthers professional growth based on the needs and relevance of individuals
  • supports the learning outcomes of children and students now and into the future
  • aligns to site and/or system priorities.

Registered teachers who have not completed the minimum required hours of professional learning within their current registration period may not be permitted to renew their registration.

Teachers who have exceptional and/or extenuating circumstances are encouraged to contact the office to discuss their options.

You can find out your learning term dates on the Teachers Portal.

You can also visit our Professional Learning Calendar for upcoming events and programs.

You can read the Professional Learning Policy here.

What are my Professional Learning requirements?

Professional learning for registration purposes is required to be:

  • a minimum equivalent to 20 hours per year of the current registration term
  • completed regardless of whether teaching full-time, part-time, as a temporary relief teacher, or taking extended leave, including parenting leave
  • over and above the normal roles and responsibilities of a teacher, such as preparing units of work, programming, assessing students’ work, and reporting
  • referenced against the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST)
  • recorded with annotations connecting the learning with the APST
  • completed and recorded in the Teachers Portal.

Teachers should retain evidence of their professional learning activities for a period of 12 months after the expiry of their current term of registration.

What can I count as professional learning?

Teachers can choose from a broad range of professional learning opportunities with the Board anticipating that a variety of learning activities will be undertaken.

The following table lists acceptable professional learning activities in different categories of learning along with the type of evidence that might be kept. This information should not be considered exhaustive.

Activity example

Evidence that might be  appropriate

  • conferences
  • workshops
  • guest speaker at a staff meeting
  • school/site professional development
  • training around a particular aspect (eg, Teams)
  • attending a lecture/seminar
  • certificate of attendance
  • diary/journal notes
  • written personal reflection
  • attendance record
  • resources gathered from session (ie. PowerPoint slides, handouts)   annotated with own notes

Activity example

Evidence that might be  appropriate

  • postgraduate study (ie. towards a qualification)
  • university degrees
  • TAFE certificate/diploma courses
  • academic transcript
  • certificate of completion
  • course notes- annotated
  • learning journal including reflection/notes

Activity example

Evidence that might be  appropriate

  • professional reading – including books, articles, academic journals,   peer-reviewed literature, etc
  • reading log with notes or reflections on the readings
  • reports and articles written about the research

Activity example

Evidence that might be  appropriate

  • eLearning modules and online course
  • participating in a webinar or online conference
  • certificate
  • attendance record
  • learning journal – including name of course/activity, presenter if applicable, date, and reflection/notes

Activity example

Evidence that might be  appropriate

  • participating in a professional learning team/community – of teachers striving   to push their collective knowledge and understanding around an area of   educational interest ie, more effective assessment tasks.
  • participating in a group project
  • learning journal – including personal reflection/notes
  • resources gathered from session (ie. PowerPoint slides, handouts)   annotated with own notes
  • certificate
  • verification from facilitator

What can’t I count towards my professional learning?

  • reading a curriculum to write units, plans or programs of work
  • finding or making resources, worksheets and assessment tasks/activities
  • setting up a learning area, decorating the classroom, preparing an   activity
  • attending open nights, parent-teacher interviews, or professional meetings
  • report writing, marking, entering data on the student learning management system, and submitting students’ work for moderation

  • SACE/IB examination marking or moderation of students/children’s work
  • NAPLAN marking
  • writing examinations, assessment criteria or curricula
  • competition grading eg. Australian Maths Competition, judging for art/history prizes, being on the audition panel for Adelaide Youth Orchestra

  • general staff meetings -including administrative aspects at the school/site
  • writing the school/site newsletter or minutes
  • membership of a Board or Governing Council and attending their meetings
  • working in the role of a secretary for a committee

  • working one-on-one with a child/student
  • tutoring
  • supervising preservice teachers
  • coaching or managing sports teams (school or community)
  • supervising a boarding house
  • giving resources and feedback to other teachers or conducting a performance review

  • facilitating staff training sessions
  • presenting at conferences
  • conducting workshops or information sessions

  • participating on a panel
  • training regarding strategies for employment applications
  • writing job applications
  • recording professional learning
  • volunteering – in school/site or the community

  • accompanying students on excursions and camps
  • supervision of students’ extra-curricular activities
  • attending school/site events and ceremonies
  • participation in a performance or sport
  • personal travel experiences

Teaching Service

I have provisional registration

To be eligible to apply for (full) registration you need to have undertaken at least one year of full-time (or part-time equivalent of 200 days) satisfactory teaching service within the five years prior to the date you lodge your application.

For registration purposes, teaching service is considered to be employment as a registered teacher at a school or pre-school setting in Australia or New Zealand. These are the roles for which teacher registration is required by legislation. No other employment can be considered towards the requirements for (full) registration.

Please check with your employer or request a statement of service from them if you are uncertain about how you are employed.

I have provisional registration, but have not completed the equivalent of 200 days service

Should you not attain (full) registration within your five-year term of provisional registration you will need to make an application for extension to your provisional registration as part of the renewal process.

As part of your renewal application, you will be required to provide an explanation as to why you have not complied with the condition of your five-year provisional registration to meet the requirements for (full) registration.

If you make  an application for an extension to your provisional registration, you must meet legislative and Board requirements. Further, teaching experience remains current for five years only.

Teachers under this process should not expect that their applications for provisional registration will be approved as a matter of course.

The Board will consider the individual merits of each application under the extended transition process to determine whether or not to grant extra time. The Board will look at the efforts taken by a teacher to attain the experience and/or requirements for (full) registration during their five-year term of provisional registration, together with any explanations as to why the teacher has been unable to successfully transition to (full) registration.

In some circumstances, an application will be placed before a sub-committee of the Board for hearing and determination.  In such circumstances, the teacher is entitled to appear before the Board and make submissions.

Should the Board determine to grant a teacher an extension to their provisional registration, it will be an expressed condition of that grant that the teacher acquire the necessary experience and/or requirements to move to (full) registration. The Board may, in its discretion, set further conditions to ensure that this is achieved.

I have full registration

To renew your registration, you need to have completed the required number of days of teaching practice during your term of registration.

Teachers are required to work, at least, an average of 20 days per year (100 days during the five-year registration term) as a:

  • teacher (including early childhood teacher);
  • principal; or
  • directors who are not employed as teachers exempt

at a:

  • school in Australia or New Zealand; or
  • prescribed service in South Australia (including preschool and long day care)

Your days of employment as a teacher, principal or director must be completed in your current term of registration.

I have (full) registration, but have not completed the equivalent of 100 days teaching service

If you haven’t been able to undertake the required number of days of employment as described above; and you meet all other renewal requirements you may be granted (full) registration for a further term of five years with a notation on your Certificate of Teacher Registration which will advise that, over the five-year term; "100 days employment as a teacher under Part 5 of the Act to be verified".