Teachers registered in the NT

Once registered, teachers are required by the provisions of the Act to:

• Notify the Board, in writing, within 90 days of changing your:
  
  
• • Name (change of name advice must be accompanied by evidence e.g. certified copy of Marriage Certificate or change of name document)
  • Other personal details (all contact details - postal address, email and phone/mobile number)
  • Business address (the address at which you are teaching e.g. the name of the school).
    
    
• Notify the Board, in writing, within 14 days of being committed to trial for, or being found guilty of:
  
  
  • A sexual offence*; or
  • An indictable offence.

Failure to notify the Board may constitute a breach of the Act and penalties apply.

* A teacher who is registered under this Act ceases to be registered on being found guilty of a sexual offence.

TRB registration card (certificate of registration)

Under s40 of the Teacher Registration (Northern Territory) Act:

1. The Director must issue a person with a certificate of registration if:
   
   
   • the Board grants registration, or a renewal of registration, to the person; or
   • any of the details specified in the certificate of registration change.
     
     
2. A certificate of registration must be in the approved form and specify the following:
   
   
   • whether the registration is full registration or provisional registration
   • the date the term of registration starts
   • the date the term of registration ends
   • whether there are any conditions imposed on the registration
   • the date to which the registration fees have been paid.

Sample registration card

The card below identifies the specifics provided by s40(2) above.

Category

The Board is required to indicate whether the teacher holds Full or Provisional Registration. The Board calls this a category of registration and each entails specific statutory requirements as provided by s30 and s31 of the Act. Factsheets and support documentation has been provided to assist teachers understand their legal and professional obligations in holding this category of registration.

Financial Expiry Date

Currently, teachers are able to pay for up to three years yet usually choose to pay for one year. As such, the financial expiry date will vary from teacher to teacher. Usually, teachers choose to pay for one year. It is important to keep in mind that the start and end date of a teacher’s term of registration is different to the financial expiry date. A fully registered teacher, whose term of registration is 17 January 2011 to 31 December 2015 and who has paid for one year, is required to pay the prescribed registration fee on or before the financial expiry date of 31 December 2011 (as indicated on their card). A teacher who has paid for two or three years will be required to pay their annual fee on or before 31 December of 2012 or 2013. Each October the Board sends to those teachers, whose financial expiry date is looming, the Payment of Annual Registration Fee form. Teachers are able to pay online or download and complete a hard copy that is then faxed or posted to the Board.

Term of Registration

The date the term of registration starts

Effectively, there are two start dates for applicants: those who apply using Form A and those who apply under the Mutual Recognition Principle (Form B). For those applicants who apply using Form A, the term of registration starts once the Board has approved their application to teach in the Northern Territory at one of its scheduled Board meetings. Once the Board has resolved to grant registration, the teacher’s category of registration is specified on the registration certificate and entered on the Register of Teachers. Currently, the online Search the Register function does not display the teacher’s category, teacher’s name, registration number and financial expiry date are specified. For those teachers who apply using Form B, the start date is set once their application has been assessed as complete by the Office of the Board. Registration under the Mutual Recognition Principle is not dependent on the Board approving their application, unlike applicants applying on Form A.

The date the term of registration ends

This is different for fully and provisionally registered teachers. A teacher who holds Full Registration does so for a period of five years; so if their term of registration begins on 17 January 2011, their term of registration ends on 31 December 2015. However, given that Provisional Registration is initially granted for a period of three years, the teacher’s term of registration, if granted on 17 January 2011, will end on 31 December 2013.

Conditions

If a teacher has a condition imposed at the point of registration, it will be indicated as such on the TRB card issued by the Board. If you wish to be informed of the condition, you may ask the teacher to sight the letter they received from the Board.

Renew your registration

Teachers may apply to renew their registration within the six month period prior to the date their term of registration ends:

• Full Registration - may be renewed for a term of five calendar years, subject to meeting the registration renewal requirements
• Provisional Registration - may be renewed (once only) for a term of two calendar years.

Please go to the Categories of registration page for details.