sciteach

hello,

we are thinking of moving to Brisbane in the future. we are both teachers. i have contacted QCT for some advice on our quals etc but without understanding their system i dont really know if we qualify to register or not.

was hoping someone in a similar situation could help out.

my husband has a 3 year BA hons in music then went on to do a 2 year science/maths BSc non hons course at uni which also included gaining QTS. not the regular PGCE route of most teachers. he also has 4 years science teaching experience.

has anyone successfully registered with the QCT without a PGCE yet has QTS?

any advice at all greatly received.

thanks

Dorothy

What visa are you coming on? I do think you will struggle to find work as teachers, especially if you're looking in cities and/or if you are not on a permanent visa.

carcajou

You will really struggle to find a teaching job in Brisbane, doubly so if not on a permanent visa.

It can be done but will very, very likely require you doing relief for a while first - and you will need a permanent visa for that.

To migrate on a permanent visa you will need to have your skills assessed by AITSL (this involves assessing your teaching qualifications), who can also provide points advice.

When you said you "contacted" QCT, did you e-mail them or did you ring them? If you e-mailed them - ring them instead.

sciteach

Hi both thanks for replies.

I'm a citizen and plan to sponsor him on an offshore partner visa. From what I've read this could lead to hI'm having a permanent visa granted straight away but correct me if I'm wrong here.

He's happy to work relief.

Are you currently teaching there at the minute?

He's going on a reccie in August to speak to QCT re. Registration.

quoll

He will have a permanent visa so will be able to work. Whether he has the right qualifications to teach is entirely another matter. It very much depends on the structure of his "teaching qualification" course - there are strict requirements for course structure and supervised practice. His current status and uk experience are essentially irrelevant if he doesn't meet the requirements for supervised practice from a recognised University course. Get all the transcripts from his Uni and send them off for assessment but don't be surprised if he gets a knock back. Given the over supply of teachers in places that people actually want to live, now is a good time to consider a career change.

carcajou

The upcoming trip to Queensland and visit to QCT would be the way to go then. You do not need a visa to be registered as a teacher.

As quoll mentioned, requirements are strict and inflexible, and don't vary much state-to-state (except NSW which has a different system). For example QCT will require the supervised practicum to be 45 days in length - if your partner's was 44 days they will deny registration. Thus - your partner should bring all relevant documentation from transcripts to course guides (if available) to current qualification papers, and not just expect that QCT will grant him registration on the grounds that he's a qualified teacher in the UK.

They may start him on provisional registration, during which he will have 2 years to make a portfolio to show that he meets their teaching standards to reach full registration - he will need to do this even if he is just doing relief and the clock starts from when registration is granted. If he's doing relief he will need to do something like 100 days of relief in addition to the portfolio to gain full registration.

One thing that does vary state-to-state is how teachers are appointed. Traditionally, there was a central appointment system run out of the various Departments of Education, and a new hire would be expected to work remote at first, accumulate "transfer points" (the more remote, the more "transfer points" earned), and then redeem transfer points for a position in the state capital or somewhere else desirable. Some states have abolished this and allow certain schools to direct hire, but I think Queensland still largely retains the old central appointment system.

The upshot would be then that it would be almost impossible for your partner to be a direct hire at a government school in Brisbane, since the schools would very likely have to prioritise the transfer pool and then the graduate pool first for new appointments, and only openly advertise a position if there were no suitable applicants in the those two pools. Or something similar to that process.

But things may have changed in the last year or two, and of course the private schools do not have to use this process.

I would highly recommend your partner also schedule a visit to chat with some school principals as well to get an idea of his prospects and the hiring process.