[vitalogy]

Hi All,

[I've cross-posted this from the Working in NZ forum, hope that's alright. I hadn't spotted the NZQA sub-forum until now.]

Myself and my partner will be moving to Napier in January. She is a UTas Degree qualified teacher, with four years experience, and is currently registered with the Tasmanian Teacher Registration Board. Obviously, she is hoping to be able to land a teaching job when we arrive.

I'm hoping to get some advice from other Australian teachers who have made the move to NZ. We are getting conflicting information from the NZQA and the NZ Teachers Council, and can't seem to get any sort of straight answer out of either of them :-)

Basically, we understand that, generally speaking, overseas teaching quals need to be assessed by the NZQA in order to become a registered teacher with the Teachers Council. However, on the Council's website (http://www.teacherscouncil.govt.nz/registration/how/eligibility/overseas.stm) in the section regarding Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition, it seems that currently registered Australian teachers do not in fact need NZQA approval in order to register. It seems fairly unambiguous, to me at least.

So basically, before going ahead and submitting the application to register with the Teachers Council, we were hoping that someone who has been in a similar situation could shed any light on the issue. Basically, if she doesn't need to go through NZQA then that would be great (and $450 saved), but it would be a waste of time to go through the Teachers Council registration process only to be told that she needs NZQA clearance.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Cheers,
Alistair

[Aussie Pom]

Hello there,
I have just looked into this myself, if you go to the teacher registration website there is a section for Australian registered teachers. You do need to have police clearance checks etc but if you have been teaching over 5 years I think it is you get a short probation etc. The registration costs $140 NZ or something so you will save about $300. Out of interest why are you leaving Tassie, that is our other option so I would interested to get some info from someone already there and thinking of leaving. We just had a "reccy" trip to Christchurch and Nelson.
Anyway, good luck,
Gina

[vitalogy]

Hi Gina,

Thanks for the info, I'll try to find the webpage you mentioned. You'd think Australian teachers heading to NZ would be fairly common, so I don't know why it's so hard to find out the basic information.

The only reason we're leaving Tasmania is that I was offered a job in NZ, and so we thought we'd head over for a few years. We''re certainly not leaving because we don't like it or anything :-)

If you're thinking of moving here though, you should go for it. There's some beautiful places to visit, it's pretty laid-back and friendly. We've been to NZ, and honestly it's pretty similar.

If you're a teacher, I believe it's easier to get a position in Launceston than it is in Hobart. As always there are good and bad schools, so do you research first. Under no circumstances teach in Georgetown.

All the best,
Alistair

[Aussie Pom]

Hi Again Alistair,
I tried to send this a private massage but it wouldn't let me.
I think we will be heading for Hobart, my eldest daughter is asthmatic so Launceston would be a bad choice for her. We have been looking at Blackmans Bay and Kingston. Are you based in Hobart? Are these quite family friendly suburbs? We think we can get a larger block here (over 1000m2) for the sort of price we are looking for, whilst also being close enough to commute if necessary. Is this a fair assessment? Would commuting be a viable option from there? Is Hobart's public transport reliable? Do you know of any areas in Hobart that should be avoided?
Sorry that is a lot of questions, but we would be very grateful if you could even answer a couple.
Thanks again,
Gina

[vitalogy]

Hi Gina,

We're based in Launceston I'm afraid, so our knowledge of Hobart isn't that extensive. I'd say most suburbs in the greater Hobart area would be commutable in easily less than half an hour (Blackman's Bay might be a bit further out though, I'm not sure). Of course, most Tasmanians would baulk at commuting more than 10 minutes to work, but most mainlanders think 1 hour is reasonable, to it's down to personal preference a bit.

No idea about public transport, sorry :-)

As far as family-friendly suburbs, like I said I'm no expert, but some of the northern suburbs have a poor reputation, so be careful there.

With regards to Launceston's air quality, yes it isn't the best, however it has improved markedly over the last few years since a wood-heater buyback scheme was introduced. Also, if you live slightly out of the city (ie. not in the bottom of the valley) it's really fine in winter. We recently moved from Newnham to Prospect, and the difference is huge.

Anyway, hope that's helped, any more questions, let me know!

Cheers,
Alistair