Can you get Approval to Teach in NSW while waiting for 190 visa grant?

[Andrea-Familyof5]

Hello!

We submitted our application on 15th April and all 5 of us have had full health clearance now (husband has a wonky head so this was an issue!).

NSW is the state. I’m wanting to start applying for teaching positions now, ideally. Is this possible? From what I’ve read, in order to apply for anything in NSW, I need Approval to Teach, which involves a Working With Children Check/WWCC, amongst other scary sounding tests and assessments, etc. But in order to get this Approval to Teach, I need to already be living in Oz/have PR/an address/a working visa. 
 

Can anyone shed any light on this, pretty please? The good old ‘tinternet is sending me in circles. Find it hard to believe that this isn’t something that I can be sorting now while we are waiting for our visas, which seem to be pretty much guaranteed at this stage?

Thank you from a very dizzy Andrea! 

[wrussell]

You need to hold a visa with work rights.

[Andrea-Familyof5]

Ahh, OK, thank you. Seems bonkers to me when that state is sponsoring me to work there and they have the job vacancies, especially considering all the other hoops you jump through to get to this final stage of waiting, but, hey, what’s a bit more waiting gonna hurt?!? 

[Ausvisitor]

4 hours ago, Andrea-Familyof5 said:

Ahh, OK, thank you. Seems bonkers to me when that state is sponsoring me to work there and they have the job vacancies, especially considering all the other hoops you jump through to get to this final stage of waiting, but, hey, what’s a bit more waiting gonna hurt?!? 

Its not that bonkers, the process costs a considerable amount and uses a lot of bureaucratic time. So no point just checking everyone who asks them to. Instead much easier to make it a condition that you must be able to work (i.e. holding a valid work visa)

[wrussell]

If you can let me know where in the world you can go and work legally without holding a visa with work rights please do and In shall add it to my repertoire.

[Andrea-Familyof5]

This is not what I’m saying at all. Because my 190 state sponsored visa is close to being granted (fingers crossed), and with that application comes the positive Skills Assessment, proof of qualifications and work history, tonnes of letters proving my past employment with children, Police Check, Health Clearance, etc, etc, you’d think there would be a way to apply for jobs only in the state that has offered sponsorship and has thus requested all these docs already without having to apply for another check of some kind (i.e., part of the AtT is the WWCC which involves a Police Check which I’ve already done…). 
 

I’m talking about applying for jobs in a state that has said they want me to go to work in! Jeez. I’m not asking to go and ‘work there legally without holding a visa with work rights’. I’m not a visa expert and know I haven’t explained all this correctly, but I think you knew full well what I was asking. I don’t think your reply is necessary, kind or helpful. And here was me thinking this forum was a friendly place to seek advice. Boy was I wrong. I won’t be doing it again, nor will I be responding to your inevitable condescending reply. 

[Marisawright]

18 minutes ago, Andrea-Familyof5 said:

Because my 190 state sponsored visa is close to being granted (fingers crossed), and with that application comes the positive Skills Assessment, proof of qualifications and work history, tonnes of letters proving my past employment with children, Police Check, Health Clearance, etc, etc, you’d think there would be a way to apply for jobs only in the state that has offered sponsorship and has thus requested all these docs already without having to apply for another check of some kind (i.e., part of the AtT is the WWCC which involves a Police Check which I’ve already done…).

I know it's frustrating, but VeryStormy has a point.  The State Education Department (to whom you'd be applying) has no access to anything you've submitted for the visa processing.  That may sound crazy to you, but it's a privacy/confidentiality principle that different departments can't go sharing a person's personal information willy-nilly.  So they will have to do all their own checking, all over again. 

Although it does sound as though your visa grant is 99% certain now, it's not granted until it's granted.  Occasionally the offer is withdrawn at the last minute.   As VeryStormy says, the education authorities don't want to start all that bureaucratic work only to find you don't get the visa. 

The fact that Immigration is totally separate comes as a surprise to a lot of people, so you're not the first.  It catches out tradies in particular, because they think the Skills Assessment means their qualifications are accepted as valid in Australia. It doesn't.  It's just for Immigration, and most tradies have to do extra courses to convert once they get to Oz.

[Raplin45]

9 hours ago, Andrea-Familyof5 said:

And here was me thinking this forum was a friendly place to seek advice. Boy was I wrong. I won’t be doing it again, nor will I be responding to your inevitable condescending reply. 

 I promise this forum does have kind people on it. Sadly it can also be a place where you need to apply a filter and put your armour on before entering...which is bonkers of course.

[calNgary]

9 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I know it's frustrating, but VeryStormy has a point.  The State Education Department (to whom you'd be applying) has no access to anything you've submitted for the visa processing.  That may sound crazy to you, but it's a privacy/confidentiality principle that different departments can't go sharing a person's personal information willy-nilly.  So they will have to do all their own checking, all over again. 

Although it does sound as though your visa grant is 99% certain now, it's not granted until it's granted.  Occasionally the offer is withdrawn at the last minute.   As VeryStormy says, the education authorities don't want to start all that bureaucratic work only to find you don't get the visa. 

The fact that Immigration is totally separate comes as a surprise to a lot of people, so you're not the first.  It catches out tradies in particular, because they think the Skills Assessment means their qualifications are accepted as valid in Australia. It doesn't.  It's just for Immigration, and most tradies have to do extra courses to convert once they get to Oz.

So what you are saying is the poster CANNOT apply for any teaching jobs until she has the visa in her hand? At the end of the day that is what she is asking.

I am quite surprised she can't, as i thought after reading millions of posts on here that people often sourced potential employers and tested the water on where the jobs seemed to be before the visa was granted and they arrived here, but that must just be other trades who do that going off what you are saying.

    Cal x

 

[Marisawright]

22 minutes ago, calNgary said:

I am quite surprised she can't, as i thought after reading millions of posts on here that people often sourced potential employers and tested the water on where the jobs seemed to be before the visa was granted and they arrived here, but that must just be other trades who do that going off what you are saying.

People can certainly test the waters but the most they're likely to get is, "Yes, we'd love to give you a job if you can get a visa", which is a very long way from a firm job offer.   I know a few people who got really enthusiastic reactions like that, but by the time they finally got their visa, those enthusiastic employers had no vacancies.  

With teaching, the OP is looking at the State Education Department which isn't going to be as flexible as a private employer about qualifications and eligibility etc.  I don't know if private schools would be more open to making a conditional offer.

[paulhand]

My understanding is that "Approval to Teach" is a specific approval to work in NSW Department of Education schools and is required in addition to accreditation from the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA), which is effectively a licence to teach at any school in the State, whoever runs it. 

The Approval to Teach does require that you hold valid work rights. Logical, I guess, as you can't work without them and therefore you can't be "approved to teach" if you can't actually work.

I don't see that the NESA accreditation process requires a current visa and, as this is needed before you can apply for an Approval to Teach, it is probably the best place to start. Happy to be corrected if I have misunderstood this.

As I'm sure you know, the AITSL approval you got in the skills assessment process is not a licence to teach in Australia.