Teaching in Australia.
Your next chapter.

Key considerations

• Teacher registration or accreditation: permission to teach in the state or territory where you will work.
• Migration skills assessment: recognition for a nominated occupation when your visa pathway requires it.
• Work rights and employment: a suitable visa, any applicable work conditions and an appointment offered by an employer.

Find the teaching role and location that fit you

Begin with the age groups, subjects and school settings your training prepares you to teach. Australia has government, Catholic and independent schools, with recruitment through education departments, school systems, individual schools and teaching agencies. Consider your preferred state, whether you are open to regional locations, and the kind of appointment you want.

When comparing roles, ask about the contract length, teaching load, start date, salary classification, superannuation and recognition of overseas service. For Victorian government schools, approved prior teaching experience can affect commencing salary, subject to the department’s rules. Keep detailed service records so the employer can assess your experience.

A useful job offer sets out the actual role and employing entity. If sponsorship is being discussed, confirm who can authorise it and whether the proposed arrangement fits the role and your visa position before committing to relocation.

Sources: AITSL: finding teaching work in Australia · Victorian Government: applying for teaching jobs · Victorian Government: recognition of teaching experience for commencing salary · Home Affairs: Skills in Demand visa, subclass 482

Register in the state or territory where you will teach

School-teacher registration or accreditation is managed locally. Choose the destination regulator early: it assesses qualifications and other requirements and decides the registration category and any conditions. An overseas teaching licence can be useful evidence, but the regulator still needs to consider your Australian application.

Your starting authority is VIT in Victoria, NESA in New South Wales, the Queensland College of Teachers in Queensland or the ACT Teacher Quality Institute. South Australia, Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory each have a teacher registration board. AITSL’s regulator directory links to all eight.

Prepare for checks of qualifications, English proficiency, identity and suitability to teach, including the applicable criminal-history or child-safety requirements. Confirm any additional approval required by the school system. Provisional registration can be a normal starting point; ask how you will progress to full registration in your jurisdiction.

Sources: AITSL: teacher registration in Australia · AITSL: state and territory teacher regulatory authorities · Victorian Government: applying for teaching jobs · VIT: interstate and overseas teachers, including application timing

Planning to teach in Victoria?

For the overseas-qualified school-teacher route, VIT requires qualification pre-assessment before the registration application. It examines the level and length of higher education, the initial teacher education component and supervised teaching practice. This pre-assessment can be started while you are overseas, before deciding to move.

The registration application has its own timing. VIT generally allows an overseas-qualified applicant to apply after arriving in Australia. In limited circumstances, you can apply from overseas no more than three months before arriving in Australia, with specified supporting evidence such as a Victorian teaching offer or evidence that registration is needed for the visa pathway. Check the applicable route before submitting.

If you already hold current registration in another Australian jurisdiction or New Zealand, ask about the separate mutual-recognition process. Qualification pre-assessment, registration and migration assessment each serve a different purpose.

Sources: VIT: pre-assessment of overseas qualifications · VIT: interstate and overseas teachers, including application timing

Understand what AITSL assesses

AITSL assesses nominated school-teacher occupations for skilled migration. First establish whether your visa pathway needs an assessment, then select the occupation that matches your teacher education. Primary, secondary and special-education occupations have their own checklists.

The core qualification requirement is at least four years of completed university-level study, or its part-time equivalent, including a relevant initial teacher education qualification. AITSL also assesses English proficiency. The course content, qualification level and supervised placement evidence matter, rather than the course title alone.

For supervised teaching practice, obtain an official statement from the university awarding your teaching qualification. It should confirm the placement duration, students’ ages and school setting, following AITSL’s requirements. The minimum is generally 45 days in the relevant setting and age range. Later classroom employment does not replace this compulsory assessed placement.

Early childhood teachers should check ACECQA’s qualification and migration-assessment routes. The school-teacher AITSL process should not be assumed to cover an early childhood role.

Sources: AITSL: skills assessment application process and occupation checklists · AITSL: qualifications and application FAQs · AITSL: supervised teaching practice evidence · ACECQA: qualification recognition and migration skills assessments

Secondary school teacher migration guide →

Early childhood teacher migration and ACECQA assessment →

Check English evidence before booking a test

English requirements should be checked separately for your skills assessment, teacher registration and visa. A test or exemption accepted for one process may not satisfy the others.

AITSL offers a qualifying-study route or an Academic IELTS route. The study route requires four full years of eligible higher education in Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, the UK or the USA, including recognised teacher education. Study location, placements and transferred credits can affect the result; nationality alone does not establish eligibility.

For example, AITSL’s current secondary-teacher checklist requires Academic IELTS scores of at least 7 in reading and writing and 8 in listening and speaking, with its stated test-format, reporting and validity rules. VIT has its own English policy and also accepts an approved teaching-focused ISLPR assessment. Check all relevant requirements before choosing your evidence.

Sources: AITSL: English language proficiency · AITSL: Secondary School Teacher checklist, July 2026 · VIT: English language competency

Working holidays: explore Australia with a clear work plan

A Working Holiday or Work and Holiday visa, subclasses 417 and 462, can be a temporary starting point for eligible passport holders. Eligibility depends on the relevant country arrangements, age and other criteria. Registration and employer requirements still apply before taking a teaching role.

Check the conditions carefully when considering a school contract. Work with one employer is generally limited to six months unless an exemption or permission applies. Plan any longer-term visa option early enough to account for assessment, sponsorship and application requirements.

Sources: Home Affairs: Working Holiday Maker program · Home Affairs: Working Holiday Maker employment limits and exemptions · AITSL: teacher registration in Australia

Explore Working Holiday and Work and Holiday visas →

Employer-supported work and sponsored training

If a school wants to employ you, assess the proposed role and the employer’s participation alongside your own eligibility. The duties, salary, location, experience and registration position all need to fit the selected pathway. Common options to discuss include:

• Skills in Demand visa, subclass 482: a temporary employer-sponsored visa for an eligible skilled position.
• Employer Nomination Scheme, subclass 186: a permanent employer-nominated pathway, with requirements depending on the stream.
• Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa, subclass 494: a provisional employer-sponsored pathway for eligible regional employment.
• Training visa (subclass 407): a temporary sponsored pathway for an approved training program, subject to its specific requirements.

Sources: Home Affairs: Skills in Demand visa, subclass 482 · Home Affairs: Employer Nomination Scheme visa, subclass 186 · Home Affairs: Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional visa, subclass 494 · Home Affairs: Training visa, subclass 407

Explore subclass 482 →

Explore subclass 186 →

Explore subclass 494 →

Explore subclass 407 →

Points-tested skilled migration

A school sponsor is not the only possibility. Depending on your occupation and profile, consider the Skilled Independent visa, subclass 189; Skilled Nominated visa, subclass 190; or Skilled Work Regional visa, subclass 491. The 190 requires state or territory nomination. The regional 491 requires nomination or eligible family sponsorship and carries regional conditions.

These pathways involve a skills assessment, eligibility and points checks, an expression of interest and an invitation. For the 189 Points-tested stream, 65 points is the minimum threshold, but reaching it does not guarantee selection. An expression of interest is not a visa application and does not provide a bridging visa. Your current lawful stay needs its own plan.

Sources: Home Affairs: SkillSelect and invitations · Home Affairs: Skilled Independent visa, Points-tested stream · Home Affairs: Skilled Nominated visa, subclass 190 · Home Affairs: Skilled Work Regional visa, subclass 491

Compare skilled migration pathways →

Prepare the evidence and the timing together

Start with a qualification and employment timeline. Identify which records must come from a university, regulator or employer, and allow time for translations or missing placement evidence. Keep your passport, qualification and employment names consistent, with evidence of any changes.

Work backwards from your preferred school start date, while allowing for registration, any required assessment, employer approvals and visa processing. If you are already in Australia, include your visa expiry and work conditions. Discuss partner or family plans early so the proposed route supports the whole move.

Before paying for further study or making non-refundable relocation commitments, review the likely pathway and any gaps. A practical plan should explain what can begin now, what depends on an earlier decision and what needs to be reconsidered if your circumstances change.

Sources: AITSL: qualifications and application FAQs · AITSL: supervised teaching practice evidence · VIT: interstate and overseas teachers, including application timing · Home Affairs: Skilled Independent visa, Points-tested stream

How we can help

Ausdirect provides immigration advice and application support. We can review your qualifications, teaching experience, current visa position and preferred location; identify the assessment and registration issues that affect the migration plan; and compare temporary, employer-sponsored and skilled options. Where a school is involved, we can liaise with its authorised contact about the sponsorship arrangement, nomination evidence and visa timetable. We can also help you consider a longer-term permanent-residence strategy, including the evidence and milestones that need attention. Our agreed scope can cover preparation and coordination of the relevant migration applications. Schools make recruitment decisions, regulators decide registration and the Department of Home Affairs decides visa applications.

Questions to consider

Your next step

Tell us where you qualified, the age groups or subjects you teach, your years of experience, where you would like to live and whether a school has already contacted you. If you are in Australia, include your visa subclass and expiry date. A short first email is enough to begin the conversation; we can then confirm the next step and an agreed secure channel for documents.