Apply to teach

Eligibility criteria to teach in ACT public schools

To work as a classroom teacher within the ACT public education system you must meet the following criteria:

1. Hold and/or be eligible for teacher registration with the Teacher Quality Institute (TQI ) prior to starting your employment.
2. Have a current ACT Working with Vulnerable People (WwVP) registration.
3. Be an Australian citizen and/or be permanent resident and/or hold a valid working visa.
4. Hold either:
   1. a Australian bachelor degree (or a qualification assessed as comparable) plus at least one year of tertiary level pre-service professional school teacher education
   2. an integrated degree of at least 4 years duration or part-time equivalent (Australian bachelor degree or a qualification assessed as comparable) including at least one year of pre-service professional school teacher education. People with international qualifications looking to migrate to Australia can find out more from the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).

Qualified teachers not currently in the ACT public school system or without a current recruitment rating can find vacancies advertised on the ACT Government’s employment website  Jobs ACT and also on SEEK.

*Offers of employment are conditional on applicants meeting the Directorate's employment requirements listed above.

How to apply

Apply here, noting you will need to attach the following documents:

• A two-page pitch providing practice examples of your experience aligned to the Australian Professional Standards  with an emphasis on the results you have achieved.
• Your resume.
• Contact details of two referees.
• A copy of your registration from your local regulatory authority. If currently studying, evidence of enrolment in an accredited Initial Teacher Education program.

We welcome applications from teachers all year round. Please email us at eduteacherrecruitment@act.gov.au to find out about the many opportunities within ACT public schools.

What happens next?

If you meet the criteria, our recruitment team will be in contact to arrange a panel interview. Teacher recruitment is a merit selection process and involves the assessment of an applicant through a written application, supporting documentation, an interview and referee reports.

Following the assessment process applicants will be provided an outcome . It is important that applicants provide examples of their practice to demonstrate their level of achievement against the indicators which are the basis of merit-based assessment.

Based on the outcome applicants can be offered permanent, temporary, or casual positions based on the needs of individual schools.

Advice to applicants

Tips for submitting a quality application

Your application should address the practice examples of your experience aligned to the Australian Professional Standards  demonstrating a high level of knowledge and understanding through well supported claims and recent examples. Go to the ACT Teacher Quality Institute website for further information on Australian Professional Standards.

• Demonstrate the link between effective teaching practice and student outcomes and the importance of partnerships.
• Encourage the panel to want to explore claims further at interview.
• Describe competence, initiative, creativity, flexibility, capacity and level of motivation.
• Use teaching practice and personal experience to demonstrate skills.
• Reflect an understanding of the nature of the ACT Education system and school-based curriculum.
• Ensure your application is carefully formatted, grammatically correct and free from spelling errors.
• Provide a well organised and current Curriculum Vitae.

Supporting documents

A minimum of two teaching reports or professional teaching references are required along with your application. These could include pre-service reports, contract reports, internship reports or teaching references. The documents should be current and written by teaching colleagues and include at least one direct teaching supervisor.

Preferred formats for reports

• Write your report from a teaching context, focusing on teaching and learning, student management strategies, relationships and engagement in the profession.
• Make sure your report has been written by a colleague or a current supervisor who has observed classroom practice for a length of time.
• Show development over time and a commitment to teamwork and on-going professional learning.
• Contain an informative final comment.
• Have information that readily translates into the ACT context.
• Are less than three years old.

The interview

You will be interviewed by a panel who will ask questions relating to the selection criteria. Your interview is designed to assist the panel in finding more information about your teaching knowledge, skills, and capacity.

Tips for performing well in interviews

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of the links between teaching, learning, assessment, reporting and professional partnerships.
• Display enthusiasm for teaching and use strong examples to reflect your practice.
• Use portfolios that are well organised (often around selection criteria), visually impressive and tagged for easy access.
• Provide strong evidence of commitment to enhancing outcomes for students.
• Exhibit potential to add value to the classroom or the school through demonstrated skills, abilities and interests.
• Embrace the interview as an opportunity to reflect on your teaching practice.

Referees

The panel will contact at least one of your listed teaching referees to clarify information provided in your application or at interview. Referees may be contacted at any time during the recruitment process.

Ideally, your referees will:

• Provide encouragement and advice as you develop your application and prepare for the interview.
• Have observed you teaching and can attest to your professional growth and potential for further development.
• Work with you in a teaching and learning partnership to support reflective practice and enhance student outcomes.
• Are readily available to provide a referee report.

International candidates

To be employed as a teacher in an ACT public school, applicants must meet the ACT Education Directorate’s eligibility criteria. Requirements to apply for a permanent or temporary teaching position include:

• Having a suitable 4-year education qualification. Applicants with qualifications gained outside of Australia seeking skilled migration must ensure their qualifications are assessed by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). Detailed information is available from the AITSL website .
• Holding the relevant Australian registration or licencing as a Professional Teacher with the ACT Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) prior to commencing employment. The ACT TQI website provides advice on the registration process.
• Have a Working with Vulnerable People registration card. See the Access Canberra website to apply for this registration.
• Have Australian citizenship or permanent residency status or have suitable working rights.

Migrating to Australia to work as a teacher

If you are interested in working as a teacher in Canberra via a migration pathway, you should first visit the Australian Institute for School Teaching and Leadership (AISTL) website .

AITSL assesses the skills of teachers who wish to migrate to Australia via a skills assessment process to determine suitability for teacher occupations as part of Australia’s skilled migration program.

It is important to note that TQI registration of teachers and an assessment for migration are separate and independent processes. Although many of the requirements are similar, candidates still need to submit all the evidence outlined in the occupation checklists and application guide to both AITSL and TQI as required.

All visa and immigration queries must be directed to the Australian Government’s Department of Home Affairs . Their website provides advice about visa and immigration i.e. visa type, points test for skilled migration and the skilled occupation list.