Application Steps

It is essential that teachers are of good character and fit to teach in order to maintain public confidence in the teaching profession. The Board must consider any behaviour that does not satisfy the standards generally expected of a teacher and shows the person is unfit to be granted teacher registration or a Limited Authority to Teach (LAT).

Good character
Factors that the Board must consider when determining a person’s good character are outlined in the Teachers Registration Act 2000. These include:

• charges and convictions (in Australia or overseas)
• current Registration for Working With Vulnerable People (RWVP) status
• any behaviour that:
  • does not satisfy a standard of behaviour generally expected of a teacher
  • is otherwise disgraceful or improper.

The Board may also consider “any other matter it considers relevant”.

Fitness to teach
Factors that the Board may consider when determining a person’s fitness to teach are also outlined in the Act. These include:

• any medical, psychiatric, or psychological condition
• the competence of the person as a teacher
• any other matter it considers relevant.

You must hold a current Registration to Work With Vulnerable People (RWVP). You must ensure your RWVP status remains current at all times to teach in Tasmania.

Please note
You must record your RWVP details as part of your application in TRB Online. Your RWVP status is automatically validated by the Department of Justice Tasmania.

Everyone who applies for teacher registration must be able to communicate in English at a professional level with students, parents, colleagues, and other education professionals. 

You will automatically meet this requirement if you have completed four or more years of higher education (including a recognised initial teacher education qualification) in any of these locations: 

• Australia
• New Zealand
• Republic of Ireland
• Canada (if tertiary studies were completed in English)
• United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales)
• United States of America

Alternatively, you can demonstrate English language proficiency with the following assessment: 

• International English Language Testing System (IELTS) academic assessment 
  •  Requires:
    • an average band score of 7.5 across all four skill areas (listening, speaking, reading, and writing)
    • a score of 7 or higher in all four skill areas, and
    • a score of 8 or higher in speaking and listening.

Please note:

• You may complete a IELTS one skill re-take assessment on one area. Otherwise, the required scores must be achieved in one assessment.
• The assessment must have occurred no more than two years prior to the date you submit your application for registration.

In Tasmania, annual registration fees are for the calendar year, regardless of when you apply for registration. For example, if you pay for one year of registration commencing in 2024, your registration will expire on 31 December 2025 whether you applied in February or October.

Applications for registration open in TRB Online from 1 September each year. Please choose carefully when selecting which year you want your registration to start, as you can choose the current year or the following calendar year. ‘Start year’ is the first question on the application.

Applications may incur an additional fee if your overseas qualifications must be assessed.

For more information on fees and payments…

Refunds
Application and overseas qualification assessment fees are not refundable or transferable. If your application is refused, your annual registration fees may be refunded. Once your registration is granted, the annual registration fee for the current year cannot be refunded. Annual registration fees for future years are refundable. To request a refund, email enquiries@trb.tas.gov.au.

If you hold a current teacher registration for the school sector elsewhere in Australia or in New Zealand, you must provide a certified copy of your current registration card or certificate/s showing:

• jurisdiction
• registration category
• expiry date.

If your registration certificate is only available online, please send us a copy via post or email. It does not need to be certified. We will verify your registration status using the relevant regulatory authority’s register of teachers.

If you hold current accreditation with NESA, please include your NESA Statement of Accreditation/Summary Report and your invoice from ‘eTAMs Help’ confirming your fees are current.

If you previously held full registration (in the last five years) for the school sector elsewhere in Australia or in New Zealand, you may be required to provide evidence of employment and registration. To do this you must provide:

• original or certified copies of Statement(s) of Service from one or more employers (relief days, contracts, fractional workloads, and permanent employment all count for this purpose)
• a certified copy of your previous teacher registration card/certificate or an original ‘Letter of Professional Standing’.

If you have previously held teacher registration in Tasmania, we should already have your proof of identity evidence. You only need to provide additional proof of identity if you have changed your name since you last held teacher registration.

For more information, please see our fact sheets on:

• Proof of identity
• Certifying your evidence correctly

Qualification upgrade requirement
The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) sets the minimum qualification benchmark for trainers and assessors in the vocational education and training (VET) sector who deliver accredited qualifications in its Standards for Registered Training Organisations (RTOs). These standards form part of the ASQA VET Quality Framework, a system that ensures the integrity of nationally recognised training in Australia. RTOs must comply with the VET Quality Framework at all times.

The qualification criteria for Specialist Vocational Education and Training (SpVET) registration has changed to reflect these changed requirements for RTOs.

You may need to provide additional evidence that you meet the qualification criteria before SpVET registration can be granted. If you hold TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and have completed the upgrade of two additional units, you must provide evidence to the Board.

For more information, please see our fact sheet on qualification evidence requirements.

If you have lived outside of Australia as an adult for one year or more in the last decade, an international police history check (or its equivalent) is required for all countries you have lived in.

Please list all international residency on your application’s ‘Declarations’ page. For each country, list the month and year you moved there and the month and year you left.

A member of our Professional Conduct Team will contact you to discuss your application when we receive it.