TOP TIPS: NSW Registration for Educators from the UK and Ireland
To apply for your teaching registration for New South Wales (NSW), you will need to apply through NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) and this can only be done once in NSW, you cannot do this outside of the state/country. You will need to have an Aussie phone number to be able to create the accounts and get started with all the applications needed. Below are some steps to follow to help you prepare the documents needed for your arrival, as well as the steps to take once you arrive to gain accreditation to teach in New South Wales.
Pre-departure: Prepare documents for NESA (NSW Educational Standard Authority)
- Gather transcripts and certificates from any university course including undergraduate, Bachelor of Education, Master of Education or PGCE (if you did multiple courses, you will need both/all courses’ documents verified). Every page must be verified.
- Have coloured copies of those documents signed and verified before you make the journey to Australia. Can be verified by a police officer, head teacher (principal), or Peace Commissioner (more info on Who Can Verify Docs).
- NESA will also need to see verified copies of your identity documents. These documents include your passport, your driving license (national identity card if you don’t hold a driving license), and your visa approval. Those copies can also be verified by a police officer, head teacher (principal), or Peace Commissioner.
- Once verified, scan/upload the documents onto a device to take with you (we also recommend packing the hard copies in case you lose the digital ones).
- Overseas applicants require international police checks for any Country/Countries you have lived in for 12 months or more over the past 5yrs (you would not require a check if you resided for less than 12 months in any country). Apply for the police check from your current country of residence.
- Educators from Ireland: apply for a police certificate from the Garda
- Educators from the UK: apply for a police certificate from ACRO
Arrival in NSW: Apply for Working with Children Check (WWCC), NESA and the DET
- Apply for WWCC once arriving in NSW. This is started online, but you will need to finish the application in a Service Centre. You must provide the following documents:
- Australian phone number.
- Passport and visa approval.
- Bank statement from the last 12 months (can be from UK or Ireland).
- Bank card from new Australian account.
- Apply to NESA (can make profile when you first arrive).
- Must have WWCC approved
- Apply for Provisional Registration
- Apply for Approval to Teach with the Department of Education (DET).
- Must have NESA approved
This process will take around 4-8 weeks to be completed from when you first apply for your WWCC to getting approval to teach through DET. During this application and processing time you will not be able to work as a teacher within the state of NSW, but the team in Sydney will be in touch with you to support and get you Ready2Work.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your Global Consultant, however, please keep in mind that we are not experts around the teaching registration process but will help you out as best we can.