New Zealand Teachers Council

The New Zealand Teachers Council has the responsibility to approve Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes and to set standards for graduates from the programmes. All teachers in New Zealand schools, kura and state kindergartens, by law, must be registered teachers with a current practising certificate. Teacher-led early childhood education services other than kindergartens are required to have qualified and registered teachers as a major proportion of their total teaching team.

Overseas Teachers Applying for Registration

All teachers who have completed their teacher education programme overseas must fill in the TC0 application form.  You must hold a practising certificate, or authorisation from the New Zealand Teachers Council to be employed in a teaching position.

Requirements for Registration as a Teacher in New Zealand

In order to gain teacher registration in New Zealand you must demonstrate that you are:

1. of good character and fit to be a teacher; and
2. satisfactorily trained to teach; and
3. you are or are likely to be a satisfactory teacher; and
4. you have a police vet satisfactory to the Council

Detailed information about these requirements can be found in the Requirements for Registration pages of this website.

Application Procedure 

There are two pathways that a TC0 application can be considered under - these are known as Track 1 or Track 2. All teachers who have completed their teacher education programme overseas (with the exception of some States in Australia) must provide the following supporting documentation with their application:

• A International Qualifications Assessment report from the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).  This report states whether your teaching qualification/s are comparable to a recognised New Zealand teaching qualification.  The information on the report helps to determine whether an application will be considered under the Track 1 or Track 2 pathway.
• An overseas police clearance from any country outside of New Zealand in which you have lived for 12 months or more within the last 10 years
• Evidence that you meet the Teachers Council's language proficiency requirements

Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition

A teacher who holds registration in one of the following Australian States may be eligible to apply for registration in New Zealand under the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement (TTMRA): Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territories, Queensland, Victoria, or Tasmania.

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