Expat Forum For People Moving Overseas And Living Abroad banner

Information for Teachers/AITSL Assessment

44K views 84 replies 35 participants last post by  Sandhu3120 
#1 ·
Hello,

Posting this information as I could not find much help and suggestions for people applying as Teachers in Australia.

We have applied for a PR. My wife who is a teacher is the primary applicant. We took help from a consultant for filing of our application and some post landing help. They are NOT MARA registered. We did our own filing, with help and assistance from them.

My Wife is a Teacher and has 9 years experience. Unlike in India, Australia values Tutor Experience and rank them above conventional teaching ( Heard it from a friend in Australia). I am an IT Manager with 13 years experience in IELTS, IT, Banking and Financial(IT) Domains.

We applied for assessment on 3rd January along with all documents supporting my wife's education, trainings, experience, references, teacher training and most importantly - 45 days Supervised Teaching experience. This is absolutely important as applications have been rejected without this evidence.

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/au...ching-practice-requirement-advice-needed.html

While the documentation was being done, we started our groundwork of checking online about the opportunities that we may explore. To work as a teacher in Australia, you need to register yourself with the registering authority. Every state has different rules and fees, so you may want to check their respective websites. We have chosen Victoria to start with and have registered on their site. Post a assessment result we would pay the fees.

VIT - Victorian Institute of Technology | Melbourne Australia

In Australia, most of the public jobs are allocated though centralised staffing in each state (or territory). The exception to this is Victoria. The first thing you will need to do is go to the websites of these Departments of Education and Training. The your best bet would be the ACT, WA, NT or SA (for rural and remote). You will then need to go to the registration council in the state or territory you are interested in a register with them.

Our Assessment file is with AITSL (Home | Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership) which is the Assessing Authority for teachers applying to teach in Australia. They charge AUD 550 for assessment. The rules keep changing. The new rule says -

**English language proficiency requirements from 1 January 2013
1. An Academic version of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Test Report Form (TRF) that shows:
• a score of at least 7.0 for Reading and Writing; and
• a score of at least 8.0 for Speaking and Listening.
The IELTS test scores must appear on a single IELTS TRF and be the result of a test undertaken during the 12 month period prior to submitting an application.
OR
2. An applicant has completed study assessed by AITSL as comparable to at least four years of full-time (or part-time equivalent) higher education (university) study, that results in a qualification/s comparable to the education level of an Australian bachelor degree or higher, (must include a recognised initial teacher education qualification) undertaken in Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States of America.
All applications received by AITSL post-marked from 1 January 2013 will be assessed against the new English language proficiency requirements
.**

This rule is effective 1st Jan 2013.

I will keep on posting stuff that we experience and have information about. Posts may be delayed as we both may be busy with our current jobs. In the interim if you have questions feel free to post them. We would revert and try to answer them if we could :) Till then, be happy.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
Update -

We received an email from AITSL. Since we had applied AFTER the rules changed, they wanted us to sign and send a form by checking the appropriate boxes -

proceed with assessment of my application

withdraw my application as I am unable to meet the revised criteria.


AND

Yes I will submit additional evidence

No I will not submit additional evidence, please assess my application as is


Since my wife met all the requirements, we thought of requesting them to assess our application as is. However, we agreed to submit additional evidence if needed. Have scanned and sent them the document.

Awaiting reply. Will post updates soon.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Well, unfortunately we have received a NOT SUITABLE reply from AITSL. The reason being the universities in India conduct 40 days supervised teaching which included micro-teaching,simulated lessons, computer assisted lesson plan plus other practical activities that AITSL does not consider as part of supervised teaching practice.

They require pure, unadulterated 45 days supervised teaching practice which NONE (if I am correct) of the universities in India provide. The principal's letter which we had provided along with the application did not suffice neither will the University's letter would mean much, they said. So in short, teachers in India unless they have a full 45 days supervised teaching experience without any additions will not be able to migrate - that's the message I get.

Any ideas, suggestions are welcome :) As of now my PR-for-Aus process is on hold :D
 
#19 ·
Hi Mav3rick,
Thank you very much for the detailed information. Very frankly, I am into the same category like you. My wife is an English teacher and I am into IT - Project Management. But we are in the initial phase (analysis\lots of thinking\IELTS prep). We would like to start the process with the help of a registered agent but confused. Most of the people are insisting me to apply of my own. Though I have done an extensive research, I am little afraid to go by my own.

By the way, with regard to 45 days of training my Wife has gone through 45 days of training when she was doing her B.Ed. And I hope we will get a letter from the Teacher training university. Hope it will be sufficient to get a positive report, right? Please guide me and provide me your valuable suggestions.

Thanks and regards,
pbk
 
#20 ·
Hi Mav3rick,
Thank you very much for the detailed information. Very frankly, I am into the same category like you. My wife is an English teacher and I am into IT - Project Management. But we are in the initial phase (analysis\lots of thinking\IELTS prep). We would like to start the process with the help of a registered agent but confused. Most of the people are insisting me to apply of my own. Though I have done an extensive research, I am little afraid to go by my own.

By the way, with regard to 45 days of training my Wife has gone through 45 days of training when she was doing her B.Ed. And I hope we will get a letter from the Teacher training university. Hope it will be sufficient to get a positive report, right? Please guide me and provide me your valuable suggestions.

Thanks and regards,
pbk
 
#7 ·
I am trying to get the details. But the folks at AITSL were cautious enough not to suggest anything. I would work with some MARA agent or a Lawyer and see if we can do it some other way and as you have suggested. My wife is smarter than me, hence we chose her as the primary applicant :) AITSL said that the criteria may not be the same the next time they evaluate this. Lets see. Will keep all posted. Just wanted to ensure that ppl do not waste their time and hard earned money :)
 
#8 ·
Thanks Mav3rick that's great information for teachers looking to migirate in the teaching profession. I wish had such infor during my application. I would like to widen this information to include application as a pre primary teacher.
So application and rules are the same as Mav mentioned however instead of having your qualification assessed by VIT, early childhood teachers have to get their assessment from
Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).
They need have proof that you have experience in years 0- 5 so you MUST show that you have worked with children from 0-2 years as well as 3-5 yrs. it's not etheir or otherwise you won't be certified as an Early Childhood Teacher.
It took me 2 years to get all my paper work in order because of lack of knowledge about applications in this field. But thank goodness it's done and now got my grant a few weeks ago. I'm happy to answer any one who have questions for this field.
Thanks Mav for starting this thread!
 
#9 ·
Hey Anjali,

Congratulations on your grant! As said earlier, I have emailed the Manager stating the obvious about Indian Secondary School teachers not able to qualify for Aus immigration due to this strict rule. She is yet to come back to me. Let me see how this goes. Thanks for the above information. This forum was missing such info on migrating as a teacher. Thanks a ton :)
 
#10 ·
AITSL Assesment

Hi,

I am new to expat forum. I am writing on behalf of my friend. My friend is a school teacher in India for the past 7-8 years. She has finished Bachelors & Masters degree in Commerce. She also have got Post Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education(1 year course with Supervised Teaching practice included) from Osmania University.

Currently, she is trying to migrate to Australia with 2 dependent children. She lost her husband recently. We understand her skills need to be assessed through AECQA.

Could someone please confirm, if we also need to do AITSL assessement if opting for State Sponsorship? Appreciate your assistance.

Regards,
Kiran
 
#12 ·
I had applied in the same catogory. In order for her to be assessed in early childhood by ACeCQA she needs to have experience in all ages from 0-5. I hope she has experience in 0-2 years and 3-5. They are quite particular with their assessment. I had done my ASILS first and then used that as one of the document to show the level of my educational qualification in term of Australia. They may ask you to get it assessd by Australian Education International (AEI), through the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (AEI-NOOSR), (provides official information and advice on the comparability of overseas qualifications with Australian qualifications.) however they will accept the assessment from AIlST.
 
#13 ·
AITSL Assesment

Thanks Anjali,

Yes, She has experience from 0-2 and 3-8 year old in the Baby Care, Pre-Primary and Primary schools. AITSL requires IELTS qualification that she is planning to take in Aug. In parallel, we are planning to get the NOOSR qualification and AECQA assesment done as well.

I have also read about the Supervised teaching practice 45 days for AITSL. I have seen her University curriculum offering 45 days of Supervised teaching practice and she has got a letter from her University letter head as well. Is that sufficient along with AECQA assesment for the AITSL assessment?


She has a personal situation moving with two small kids to move to Australia. I am located in Sydney and helping her out in the process.

I have read forum and it is pretty impressive. Thanks for quick response as well.

Regards,
Kiran
 
#14 ·
Hi Kiran
Well you seem to have researched well and I don't think you will have any issues. She is lucky to have your support! It took me. About 2 years with gathering all my information and of course the exhausting paperwork.
She will need recommendation letters from her previous employers as proof. The letters must state the age group. Which state is she applying to?
 
#15 ·
Hi Anjali,

Yes. It is pretty exhaustive to get all the information. The expat forum is really helpful to get the details. I believe VIC is the better option, as NSW has lesser state sponsorship and the quota needs to be open only next year. It will be mostly VIC.

Another thing is the IELTS band of 8 required in two areas. How hard was the IELTS? Any advise in this?

I will keep updated on the progress. Appreciate your expert advise in this regard.

Regards,
 
#16 ·
Well the minimum requirement is 7 in all areas for IELTS Academic. You need 8 if you require extra points. I struggled with it bec I was short of 5 points. So that I had get 8 in all areas. Practice is the key to IELTS. You canbe a native speaker and not ace the exams. How many points does she have now.
 
#17 ·
She is 36 year old, and her points come to 60 with IELTS 7 and with state sponsorship will be 65. I am sure she is able to get 7 and she is practicing well. But, it appears to be AITSL requirement effective Jan-2013 is (as per the info in their site)

a score of at least 7.0 for Reading and Writing; and
a score of at least 8.0 for Speaking and Listening.

Thanks
 
#18 ·
Ok rules may have changed. Speaking and listening are easy but writing and reading can be hard. The exam isn't hard its giving the exam in the within the hours is tricky. . With the sponsership the invitation is automatic as long as she has 60 points. I had 55 points and with the victoria state sponsorship it become 60.
Well good luck if you need any help we are all here :)
 
#24 ·
Hi V yadav
I applied for VIT from India it self. They require the documents notarised. Anyways they replied in a letter with a rejection but suggest the amount of unit required to be regisistered.
 
  • Like
Reactions: v_yadav
#25 · (Edited)
Thanks Anjali , this helped alot :thumb: . My wife is in the process of giving IELTS test at this time. We'll start arranging documents for VIT registration.


BTW, how is the job market for teachers, we are a bit concerned because she runs her own institute where they provide tuitions etc. and as such she is not a conventional teacher but has more a teaching + management kind of a role.
 
#26 ·
I'm really not too sure. I went to a recruitment agency yesterday and signed in. I'm an early childhood educator and it seems hopeful in that area or at least that's what they said. I'm not sure what age group your wife is looking to teach.
Working in schools or with children have certain mandatory requirements.
From what I have learnt from my experience so far it's important to have your assessment of your educational qualification to the Australian standards. Which luckily is taken care of during the visa application process
If you are going to work in early childhood and child care you have to get another assessment in addition to AITSL. It's the ACEQCA it's more specific to Victoria State and early childhood qualification. There could be a case where AITSL will clear you as an educator but VIT and ACECQA have other conditions. In Aceqca they require you to have 0-2 as well as 3-5 years work or supervised experiences. It's not negotiable.
With VIT they have their conditions certain hours of study and 45 days of supervised teaching. Work experience doesn't matter.
So you can see there is no coordination between these agencies.
The final requirement apart from the obvious right to work and live in Australia is something called Working with Children Check. They say its not a police clearance but like a background check. So even if you want to volunteer in an institution you have to get a clearance. Volunteer permissions are free but if you want the employee one its about 102 aus dollars. This is really important and can only be applied from Australia. You can register online but they require you to come personally to the australian post office to verify your documents and submit 2 photos and pay the fees. It take about 3-6 weeks . They SMS me my approval in about 2 weeks but by the time you get your card it's about 4 weeks.
To get a feel of the kind of jobs available you can go to certain website such as
SEEK - Australia's no. 1 jobs, employment, career and recruitment site
Early Childhood Jobs in Australia | MyCareer
Teaching Recruitment Specialists - Find Early Childhood Education Jobs in Australia
I hope this gives a clearer picture.
 
  • Like
Reactions: v_yadav
#27 ·
I'm really not too sure. I went to a recruitment agency yesterday and signed in. I'm an early childhood educator and it seems hopeful in that area or at least that's what they said. I'm not sure what age group your wife is looking to teach.
Working in schools or with children have certain mandatory requirements.
From what I have learnt from my experience so far it's important to have your assessment of your educational qualification to the Australian standards. Which luckily is taken care of during the visa application process
If you are going to work in early childhood and child care you have to get another assessment in addition to AITSL. It's the ACEQCA it's more specific to Victoria State and early childhood qualification. There could be a case where AITSL will clear you as an educator but VIT and ACECQA have other conditions. In Aceqca they require you to have 0-2 as well as 3-5 years work or supervised experiences. It's not negotiable.

With VIT they have their conditions certain hours of study and 45 days of supervised teaching. Work experience doesn't matter.
So you can see there is no coordination between these agencies.
The final requirement apart from the obvious right to work and live in Australia is something called Working with Children Check. They say its not a police clearance but like a background check. So even if you want to volunteer in an institution you have to get a clearance. Volunteer permissions are free but if you want the employee one its about 102 aus dollars. This is really important and can only be applied from Australia. You can register online but they require you to come personally to the australian post office to verify your documents and submit 2 photos and pay the fees. It take about 3-6 weeks . They SMS me my approval in about 2 weeks but by the time you get your card it's about 4 weeks.
To get a feel of the kind of jobs available you can go to certain website such as
SEEK - Australia's no. 1 jobs, employment, career and recruitment site
Early Childhood Jobs in Australia | MyCareer
Teaching Recruitment Specialists - Find Early Childhood Education Jobs in Australia
I hope this gives a clearer picture.
This is something I am worried about. Whether you are the primary applicant or not, if you want to TEACH in Australia, you HAVE to be cleared by the AITSL. That's what they told me. And they DO NOT ACCEPT anything less than 45 Days of supervised teaching. I wonder what teachers from India do/did. Any thoughts???
 
#28 ·
Well then certain universities allow you to take units you need so you can register with the Victoria Institute of learning (VIT)
It's important to get the assessment done. If you are the secondary applicant you don't need the AITSL. Just VIT and they will suggest what units you have to do and that letter can be sent to the certain universities and you just do those units. Victoria university is quite helpful. But the VIT letter is imp
 
  • Like
Reactions: v_yadav
#29 ·
Hi Anjalisham,
I am new member and my situation is almost like Mav3rick's. I am into IT Project Manager and my wife is a teacher. If my wife can get a letter from the college\university saying that she has attended "45 days of supervised teaching practice", then it will not be a problem for getting a positive report from AITSL, right?

We are yet to start the entire process. Right now we both are preparing for IELTS. Awaiting your reply!

Thanks and regards,
pbk
 
#38 ·
If someone already has a PR visa, would they still need to go to AITSL? I have spouse visa and we are planning to move to Aus next year. Here are my details
1) Graduation : B.A(eng hons) , 3 years
2) B.ed( 1 year) with 15 days TP

Do i need to join any course etc in Oz to complete the 45 day requirement and where can i get more information about such bridging courses? Does VIT provides suggestions on what courses might help one to register as a teacher.

Thanks everyone
 
#40 ·
Hi,

My sister has a Bachelors Degree in Nursing and a post graduate diploma in Secondary Teaching. Can she have a positive assessment by AITSL as suitable for migration under the Secondary Teaching Occupation?

Will that get my sister 15 points for Qualification?

Anyone here have the same case as my sister's?

Thanks,

Regards.
 
#41 ·
I found somewhere:

Total education should be four years – this can be made of a 3 year bachelors degree (non-teaching may also suffice) PLUS a 1 year formal teaching certificate which gives full teaching licence in that country. Or, an applicant could have done a 4 year bachelors of education schools teaching degree.

But still my questions stands: How many points will DIAC give for Qualifications on a non-Ed related Bachelors Degree + Post Graduate diploma in teaching
 
#42 ·
Hi,
I am an indian primary school teacher currently undergoing a bridging diploma course in early chilhood education approved by ACESQA,

My current qualifications are an overseas Bachelor's degree in education approved by queensland college of teaching, I am awaiting registration and I have enrolled at AUSTRALIAN CHILD CARE CAREERS ORGANISATION *for a bridging diploma as an external student for early childhood education,I also hold a Bachelors degree in Science and have expeirence teaching grades 1 to 6 in a reputed school in mumbai , India.
I have also had experience in a playschool teaching children aged 2 1/2 to 5 years,
My query is can I get recognition as a preschool teacher based on my experience,
Any help would be appreciated
Thanks
 
#43 ·
**** Update

Folks,

I have received a lot of PMs regarding the 45 days Supervised Teaching Criterion. I admit that since my application was rejected, I was not very active in this forum and my apologies for not replying to those who have pinged me long back.

The current status remains the same - AITSL still needs 45 Days supervised teaching and there is no change to that.

Again - this 45 days should be independent and not to be clubbed with the group teaching or teaching with your college teachers.

Even if you teach for 45 days, it has to be publicly supported by the documents of that respective university - esp. Syllabus. So if the syllabus says 40 days and you complete 45 days for fulfilling this criterion, its a rejection. Please ensure both the syllabus and your application speak the same language.

*** Please Note
  1. Do not fall for the "lawyers" who contact you for and start pressurizing you for handing over your case to them. They cannot and I repeat CANNOT do anything. And with the current conversion rate, I fear you'd lose a substantial amount.
  2. There would be a lot of people emailing you and assuring you that they can do this successfully. But their past successes do not mean that they can successfully lodge your application without the 45 days supervised teaching criterion being met.
  3. Ask if they have successfully placed or helped an INDIAN teacher in migrating to Australia. You cannot be more specific than this. Ask for contacts and numbers and check if you can talk to the candidate personally. Video Chat is better.
  4. My immigration agent took 3 months to give me a refund of 50% along with a letter from their lawyer. This means, this is a clear cut case of taking your money from you when they know this is going to be rejected. So I ended up paying 30K+ for accumulation of my documents and they just filed it with AITSL. Not forgetting the AITSL Assessment Fees of around 50K. I learned it the hard way and thought of sharing it with you. But, its your money after-all.

Check this - Question and answers

Feel free to ping me should you need to contact or talk to me personally. Also, if someone has any other tried and tested workaround, I'd be happy to discuss it with you.
 
#44 ·
Hello Everyone,

I am in the same situation as you all are. Got AITSL assessment with -ve response with same reasons. I am a permanent resident already in Australia (my husband was the main applicant). But I got my assessment done because I wanted to apply for teachers registration.

My assessment report stated that the Bachelors of education awarded to me has been assessed as comparable to one year of initial teacher education in Australia.
But they have not mentioned what this initial teacher education in Australia means. When I went to AITSL website Accredited programs list I found it says that it could be "Bachelor of Education (Secondary Education) " 4 years and it could also be "Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary Education)" one year.
I am confused which one they have mapped my India degree to? I called AITSL and they were not able to give me a definite answer. They said it could be either. I have now written a letter to AITSL and will wait for their response.

It is very clear to me that no one from India can get a +ve assessment from AITSL because of this "45 days..." teaching clause (I have not so far come across anyone saying that they have 45 days of supervised teaching practice during their course). That means everyone who comes to Australia has to do a course from here. I tried to find a bridging course which could fill this gap. But there is nothing which I can do except for enrolling in Graduate diploma of Education.

I went to one of the universities with AITSL letter and requested that since only 45 days of practicum is lacking in my assessment, I should be given RPL in all other units and be allowed to do only supervised teaching practice. The course coordinator first said that your India qualification is not comparable to Grad dip in education, rather it is comparable to the 1st year of Bachelor in education in Australia and therefore it is not even close to Grad dip. My argument was if it is 1st year Bachelors then how can only supervised teaching be lacking. Many other things would lack in that case. After much argument when she was not able to convince me, she said that AITSL is a new body and we do not recognize it much.

That's my story. If anyone can suggest something, it would be great.
 
Top