Your RTT condition checkup

Why do I have an RTT condition on my registration?

Firstly, the QCT recognises you as a fully registered teacher and appreciates that instrumental music teachers are often expected by their employers to plan, assess, moderate, and report on the Instrumental Music Curriculum.

Teachers with an RTT condition have declared on their renewal application that they have not met recency of practice (ROP) in a previous five-year registration period. To achieve ROP a fully registered teacher must ‘teach’ for at least 100 days in Australia within their five-year registration period.

In accordance with the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Act 2005 (the Act), a ‘teacher’ is defined as a person who undertakes duties in a school (including delivering or assessing student participation in an educational program).

While neither the Act nor the Education (Queensland College of Teachers) Regulation (2016) (the Regulations) define ‘educational program’, prescribed educational programs are defined in the Regulations as:

• an educational program based on the Australian Curriculum
• an educational program based on a syllabus developed, purchased or revised by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) under the curriculum and assessment Act
• an educational program based on a kindergarten guideline developed, purchased and revised, or accredited by the QCAA under the curriculum and assessment Act.

Using the prescribed educational programs definition as guidance, the Instrumental Music Curriculum does not meet ‘educational program’ definitions, and therefore teaching this curriculum cannot be counted towards ROP. This is why many instrumental music teachers with teacher registration may have an RTT condition on their registration.

An RTT condition does not imply a reduction in status or credentials as a fully registered teacher. The RTT condition simply ensures teachers who have had a significant absence from teaching the Australian Curriculum/QCAA syllabus have their skills and knowledge brought up to date, should they begin teaching these prescribed educational programs after their RTT condition was applied.

Am I required to do anything about my RTT condition?

It depends on whether you have taught the Australian Curriculum or a QCAA syllabus in a Queensland school since your RTT condition was applied:

• If you haven’t, you do not need to take any action on your RTT condition at this stage. If you continue to exclusively teach Instrumental Music, you are not required to take action on your RTT condition.
• If you have, but only between 1-19 days in any calendar year since the condition was applied, you must complete the mandatory elements of the RTT professional development program. When you tell us that you have completed them, the RTT condition will remain, until the full requirements of the condition are met.
• If you have taught the Australian Curriculum or a QCAA syllabus for 20 or more days in any calendar year since the condition was applied, you must complete the full RTT professional development program, which equals 20 hours of total professional development. Please refer to the information in your myQCT account for how to complete this.

Why isn’t my experience recorded by the QCT in the RTT Checkup?

Statistics are not drawn from the RTT checkup tool by the QCT, nor is the way a teacher answers the questions recorded on a person’s file. The RTT checkup is merely a tool to provide information to teachers.

Do I need to complete the RTT Checkup?

No. The RTT Checkup email is sent annually to all teachers with an RTT condition. The checkup email is merely a tool to assist teachers with an RTT condition to understand whether they are required to complete the RTT professional development or not, depending on the answers they provide.

Teachers with an RTT condition are not required to use the tool, nor are statistics drawn from participation from the tool. It is merely to provide information to teachers about what they need to do about their condition given their circumstances.

I still want to remove the RTT condition from my registration. How do I do this?

The RTT condition can be removed by completing the RTT professional development program. This involves completing all three elements of the RTT professional development activities which are available for free in your myQCT account. Completion of the three elements include:

• All professional development from the mandatory elements
• Your choice of professional development from the context and role specific elements and teacher specific elements
• The above totals 20 hours of professional development.

Once you have logged each professional development record in your myQCT account, please submit an application for review of an RTT condition. A QCT officer will then review your professional development records.

I have completed over 20 hours of professional development in my current role. Can this be counted?

Many continuing professional development (CPD) activities completed in schools can be counted towards the RTT professional development program.

If you have completed CPD through your school or have sourced CPD yourself, please log completion of them in your myQCT account as they may be counted under the RTT program. Please ensure that you enter a sentence or two about the content of the CPD in the Reflection section of each CPD record you log.

Please then submit an application for review of an RTT condition. If there is anything missing, the QCT will email you to let you know.