Revised Policy for Limited Authority to Teach

Media Release

To: All Education Reporters

Date: 5 September 2007

Revised Policy for Limited Authority to Teach

The Teachers Council is unequivocally committed to supporting the highest standards of excellence in the teaching profession. Through its teacher registration processes and approvals of teacher qualifications, the Council ensures that appropriately qualified and trained teachers are available for employment in schools and early childhood settings.

The Education Act also provides for the issue of Limited Authorities to Teach (LATs) where a suitably registered teacher is unavailable. Very few LATs are issued by the Council as a proportion of the teaching workforce. “The number of LATs has steadily reduced over the last three years as the Council encourages people wishing to teach as LATs to gain a teaching qualification,“ said Director of the Council, Dr Peter Lind. “In fact, fewer than nine hundred LATs are issued which is less than 1 per cent of teachers with a current practising certificate.”

After extensive consultation with the profession, the Council has revised its Limited Authority to Teach (LAT) policy. The changes clarify the critieria and processes for LAT applications, and provide for LATs to be issued for longer periods of time in a very few, specific circumstances. The changes have been overwhelmingly endorsed in the consultation with the profession, particularly by professional leaders.

The teacher unions have understandably expressed reservations about what they consider is the potential of the policy to undermine the Council’s commitment to a fully qualified and registered profession.

Dr Peter Lind explained that “there are some circumstances, however, where an appropriately qualified teacher is extremely difficult to recruit, such as part time community language positions or positions in remote rural schools. The revised policy reduces the administrative compliance costs of schools to employ people with LATs in those circumstances. The vast majority of LATs will still be issued for one year only.”

The Council will continue to monitor the patterns of LATs issued to ensure they are only issued in appropriate circumstances.

ENDS

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