Payment of registration fee
The annual registration fee is $75.00. In November of the year that your annual registration fee is due, the TRB office will send an e-mail notifying you of the process to pay your annual fee. You should complete and return the ‘Payment of Annual Registration Fee’ form [or pay online via the TRB Website] before 31 December if you wish to teach in the Northern Territory the following year.
1. When is my annual registration fee due?
Registrations are financial to the end of the calendar year (31 December). Your TRB Registration Card and the Online Register of Teachers shows your financial expiry date.
2. When is the Payment of Annual Registration Fee form available?
In November each year, the Payment of Annual Registration Fee form is available on the TRB website for all teachers whose annual registration fee payment is due at the end of the current calendar year.
3. My Payment of Annual Registration Fee notification was emailed to the wrong address. Why?
The e-mail notification would have been e-mailed to the address on your TRB record. If you have changed e-mail address you are required to notify the TRB, in writing, within 90 days so we can update your record. Please provide your new contact details on Part 1 (Change of Contact Details) of the payment form.
4. Can I pay the fee without lodging a payment form?
If you pay online, or by phone there is no need to lodge the payment form. Otherwise you must complete and lodge a ‘Payment of Annual Registration Fee’ form.
5. Can I pay my registration fee by telephone?
Yes, we can accept credit card payments by telephone.
6. I have misplaced my payment form. How do I obtain another form?
You may pay online, by phone or download the ‘Payment of Annual Registration Fee’ form from the TRB website. Please include your name and TRB Registration Number at the top.
7. What is the maximum payment period?
You can pay for one year only because your term of registration carries specific legislative requirements that need to be declared prior to your term of registration expiring. It is for this reason that payment for more than one calendar year will not be accepted.
8. What are the payment options?
The TRB office can accept payment by cheque, money order, VISA card or MasterCard. The TRB office cannot process payments by EFTPOS or cash. Cheques and money orders must be made payable to the Teacher Registration Board of the Northern Territory. Please identify which payment option you have chosen by completing Part 2 (Payment Details) of the payment form, or pay online via the website.
9. I don’t have a cheque book or a credit card, and I don’t have internet access. How can I pay for my registration fee?
Purchase a Money Order from Australia Post or a Bank Cheque from your local bank (Money Orders are less expensive). The TRB office will also accept credit card payments from a third party (e.g., your employer, friend or family member). Please do not send cash to the TRB office.
10. Do I need to supply any documents with my payment form?
No documents are required unless you have changed your name and not yet notified the Board of the change.
11. I have changed my name. What documentary evidence do I need to supply?
Teachers who have changed their name are required to notify the Board, in writing, within 90 days.
You should complete a Notification of Change of Details form and post:
- a certified copy of documentary evidence, such as a Marriage Certificate, Change of Name Certificate, etc. (if changed legally); or
- a Statutory Declaration (if your new name is assumed).
12. How does the TRB office process my payment?
For manual payments, as soon as the TRB office has confirmed that your payment is complete, it is entered on the TRB database with your new financial expiry date. We send your payment form to the Receiver of Territory Monies (RTM). Once your payment has been processed by the RTM, you will be sent a receipt and a new TRB card.
13. How long do I have to wait to receive my receipt and my registration card?
Allow up to six weeks for the processing of your payment. Once your payment has been processed, your new registration card should follow a week or two afterwards. Online receipts are issued immediately, and your new card should follow soon after.
14. While I'm waiting to receive my TRB Registration Card, how can I check that the TRB has received my payment?
You can confirm that the TRB office has received your payment by searching the Online Register of Teachers. If we have received your payment and it is complete, you should be able to find your name, TRB number and new financial expiry date.
15. What happens if I don't pay my annual registration fee by 31 December?
Teachers whose registration lapses due to non-payment of the annual registration fee by the due date (31 December) will automatically be removed from the Online Register of Teachers on 1 January. Under the provisions of section 73(1) of the Teacher Registration (Northern Territory) Act, it is an offence to teach in the Northern Territory unless you are a registered teacher.
16. In the past, the Board asked teachers to declare matters such as criminal offences, disciplinary proceedings and registration issues as part of the annual registration fee payment process. Does this requirement still apply?
From 1 September 2010, all registered teachers with ‘Full Registration’ are required to meet registration renewal requirements every five years in order to demonstrate ongoing eligibility for Full Registration. This process is called ‘Registration Renewal’ and is quite separate to paying the annual registration fee. Nevertheless, the annual registration fee payment process provides a good opportunity for all teachers to be reminded of their obligation to notify the Board of criminal offences, disciplinary proceedings and registration issues.
17. What criminal offences do I need to notify?
Teachers are required to notify the Board, in writing, if committed to trial for, or found guilty of, a sexual offence or another indictable offence. The notice must specify the offence and whether the teacher has been committed to trial for, or found guilty of, the offence. Not all offences are indictable..
18. I’ve been the subject of disciplinary proceedings recently in relation to my employment as a teacher. Do I have to declare this to the Board?
The employer is obliged to notify the Board, in writing, if:
- the employer dismisses a teacher,
- a teacher resigns or otherwise leaves the employment of the employer, in circumstances that call into question the person’s competence or fitness to teach;
- the employer takes any action against a teacher in relation to the serious misconduct, or lack of competence or fitness to teach, of a teacher.
If any of the above apply to you and you have not been contacted by the Board in relation to this matter, you are encouraged to declare the matter to the Board so that the Board can determine whether the matter is serious enough to warrant investigation.
19. What registration issues do I need to declare?
The Mutual Recognition legislation provides that if a person’s registration as a teacher in another jurisdiction is cancelled or suspended or is subject to a condition on disciplinary grounds or as a result of or in anticipation of criminal, civil or disciplinary proceedings, then the person’s registration as a teacher in the NT is affected in the same way.
If you have (or had) registration as a teacher in another jurisdiction (e.g., another Australian State or Territory or New Zealand) and that registration was cancelled or suspended or conditions were imposed and you have not declared this to the Board, then you are encouraged to declare it at this time.
20. Why does the TRB remind teachers to declare?
The objective of teacher registration is to ensure that only persons who are fit and proper, appropriately qualified and competent to teach, are employed as teachers in the NT. A teacher is eligible for continued registration if the TRB is satisfied that he/she is a fit and proper person and competent to teach.