The QCT is the regulator of the teaching profession. It promotes, monitors and enforces compliance with the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005 (the Act).
Its Regulatory Compliance Framework (PDF, 62KB) promotes voluntary compliance. It also lists the options available to the QCT to respond to any compliance issue.
The Act prescribes penalties for various breaches by a person, a teacher, or an employing authority. These are listed in QCT's Compliance Management Strategy (PDF, 94KB).
The QCT has created the Teacher Approval Checklist for Schools to advise school administrations how to properly check a person’s approval to teach before they commence teaching duties.
Approval to teach signifies that the QCT has undertaken robust processes to verify a person is eligible to teach in Queensland and suitable to work in a child related field.
Approval to teach can be removed at any time for a variety of reasons. For instance, the QCT can suspend or cancel a person’s approval to teach when a teacher is charged with a serious offence or is assessed as an unacceptable risk of harm to children. This is why checking each teacher’s approval to teach before and during their employment is important.
The Register of Teachers allows anyone to check whether a person holds approval to teach in Queensland. Schools can help ensure that only approved teachers are engaging in teaching duties by following the steps in the checklist.
It is an offence for a person to teach in a prescribed school without holding approval to teach.
The QCT has the power to undertake investigations to assess whether teachers, schools and various authorities are complying with the provisions of the Act.
In order to determine compliance with the requirement that only approved teachers can be employed to teach in Queensland schools, the QCT carries out an annual investigation of the employment records of a sample of Queensland schools.
The QCT has published a position paper to assist school principals and employing authorities to follow the requirement to employ only approved teachers in schools.
Only approved teachers can teach in prescribed schools in Queensland (PDF, 636KB).
To ensure an employee is an approved teacher, check the Register of Teachers.
For enquiries about employing only approved teachers contact the QCT.
The QCT conducts an annual census of all teachers employed in Queensland schools, to ensure that all teachers are registered.
For non-state schools, Principals or their delegates must complete an online census in their school’s myQCT account. This will be made available just prior to the census period and the QCT will notify the school by email.
For state schools, the census occurs by way of a centralised data exchange with the Department of Education.
Any teacher whose base school record with the QCT is changed is notified by email from the QCT.
For more information including which teachers to add or remove, please read the Census Quick Tips (PDF, 319KB).