Teaching in Australia

[Lambert]

Hi all,

I have seen an increase in number of posts regarding teaching in Australia, so i'd thought I would give as much info as I can.

NSW:

• When you arrive in Australia you need to get a working with children check (WWCC), these can only be applied for in NSW. You need to go to a NSW service centre, take your passport and $88.00 with you and then they will email it to you. They say it takes approx. 2 weeks but I received mine in about 1 hour.
• Once you have this you can apply for NSW teaching registration (you can apply for teacher registration beforehand but you will need the WWCC before they sign you off). In NSW the registration will tell you what you can teach. They essentially look at your degree to determine the subject areas you are qualified in, if the subject is not on there you cannot teach it (private schools are different as its up to them what you teach). 
• Once you have registration you need to apply to teach in NSW (https://www.teach.nsw.edu.au/) if they are interested in you, they will bring you in for an interview after obtaining a national police check (Australia). This process usually takes about a month. The interview places are in Parramatta if located in Sydney but they do also have  regional offices but bear in mind the interviews are less frequent. 
• If you're successful you can then apply for jobs (https://www.teach.nsw.edu.au/find-teaching-jobs/jobfeed) every wednesday the jobsfeed updates. If you don't have PR (or provisional such as 491) then you can only apply for temporary jobs. Find a job you like and submit an EOI. Most jobs come up in Oct - Dec ready for the new academic year, however, you can find some closer to the end of terms. 
• NSW works on a point system. You gain points each year of service. Points depend on where your school is, Sydney has 1 points per year, whereas the most remote has 7. It isn't easy to get a job in Sydney in a public school if your coming from overseas.
• Junior School starts at Year 7 and Senior is Years 11-12. Senior classes are referred to as stage 6, make sure you know your subject knowledge as it will be tested. Pupils who take a pathway to university take something called the ATAR. The ATAR is on a percentile basis and goes up to 99.95. Unlike the UK there is only ONE external exam at the end of year 12 (which makes up 50% of the senior subject). All other assessments are internal but externally moderated. 

 QLD:

• Much easier process. You apply here (https://teach.qld.gov.au/apply-to-teach/submit-your-application) 
• In QLD the process is different, the "offices" place you in a school. Again, Brisbane is a very competitive place to get into and if your looking at state schools you may have to go out of the city. Independent state schools in Brisbane operate on the system of "we have greater control over recruitment" so you can apply to these schools directly. Like NSW, there are also many private schools. 
• QLD also works on a point system. You gain points each year of service. Points depend on where your school is, Sydney has 1 points per year, whereas the most remote has 7. It isn't easy to get a job in Brisbane in a public school if your coming from overseas - but not impossible.
• Queensland college of teachers don't specify what you "can teach", that is up toy uo to discuss with the head of the school. 
• QLD school holidays are 1 week before NSW, VIC, SA and WA - so bear that in mind if you are visiting family in other states, however, flights are cheaper when pupils in other states are in school.
• Junior School starts at Year 7 and Senior is Years 11-12. Senior classes are referred to as stage 6, make sure you know your subject knowledge as it will be tested. Pupils who take a pathway to university take something called the ATAR. The ATAR is on a percentile basis and goes up to 99.95. Unlike the UK there is only ONE external exam at the end of year 12 (which makes up 50% of the senior subject). All other assessments are internal but externally moderated. 

 

VIC: 

• First you need to apply for your teaching registration with Victoria, this is the longest process out of any of the other states, so get on that one quickly.
• You need to register here and look for jobs (https://my.vit.vic.edu.au/Teachers/Account.aspx/SignIn?ReturnUrl=%2fTeachers%2fHome.aspx%2fIndex)
• You need to look for the roles you wish to apply and write a cover letter addressing their standards. The standards change so get around 3 - 4 different cover letters so you can just amend slightly before sending it off.
• Now when you find a job and get offered it in victoria, other individuals can appeal the rejection they got. They cannot formally give you the job until any appeals have been sorted. Individuals have 1 month to appeal and if the appeal does occur it can take a few weeks. Start early in VIC - it takes AGES!!
• Junior School starts at Year 7 and Senior is Years 11-12. Senior classes are referred to as senior classes, make sure you know your subject knowledge as it will be tested. Pupils who take a pathway to university take something called the ATAR. The ATAR is on a percentile basis and goes up to 99.95. Unlike the UK there is only ONE external exam at the end of year 12 (which makes up 50% of the senior subject). All other assessments are internal but externally moderated. 

NT: SA: WA: Don't have experience with these, although I know NT is very difficult to get into

Salary: 

Salaries are set by the Government. In general, QLD earns more than the other states and if you go regional or rural you can incentive packages to accommodate this. I won't delve too much into this but just know you will earn A LOT more than the UK. The lifestyle is great 

Actual work: 

MUCH more relaxed than the UK. Hours are generally 8:15 - 2:45. QLD and NT work slightly less due to the heat (it gets very hot). If your teaching senior then you need to write the internal assessments and they need to get moderated by the Education Dept (whichever GOVT you're working in) but schools have something called "clusters" where essentially schools work together so don't worry.

Australia is an amazing place to work and live - enjoy every minute

I hope I have helped, however, feel free to post here and i'll do my best to answer all your questions.

[wrussell]

In Qld recruits do not have much choice about rural deployment. They sign an agreement that requires inter alia they can be deployed according to the exigencies of the department, or at least it was so when I read my (so called) post graduate B. Ed. at Jimmy Cook Uni.

The moderation of NT HSC results, when they followed the SA syllabi, was to send the work to Adelaide in cartons along with a couple of volunteer teachers who spent their time in a motel getting gloriously pissed and eventually sent back the unopened cartons (including one I had packed with old telephone directories and other rubbish) with the notation - results to stand as awarded – taped on every carton. A young lady who had spent ages meticulously presenting her students' work in different, carefully labelled folders for each unit, burst into tears when she understood that her months of work had not been opened. Perhaps there has been some improvement over the last 20, years or so, or perhaps not.

Quote

In NSW the registration will tell you what you can teach

That is correct. You might have used 'may’ rather than ‘can’. Even with a physics a degree or two, if a teaching qualification transcript lists only 'mathematics curriculum studies' teaching physics in NSW is verboten.

 

BTW You have introduced a misplaced modifier.