I have some qualifications from overseas (outside Australia)

Eligibility to apply for teacher accreditation in NSW

To be eligible to apply for teacher accreditation in NSW you need to have completed a minimum of 4 years full-time (or part-time equivalent) university level study.

The study must include a teaching degree comparable to AQF Level 7 (Bachelor degree) or higher, which includes:

• at least one year full-time (or part-time equivalent) university level study of initial teacher education

and

• completion of at least 45 days of supervised teaching practice (professional experience, practicum).

Assessing qualifications

NESA will assess your qualifications to ensure they are comparable to an accredited Australian teaching degree.

NESA refers to advice provided by the Australian Government Department of Education’s Country Education Profiles (CEPs) in determining equivalency to the Australian Qualifications Framework.

NESA cannot consider previous teaching experience when assessing qualifications.

Evidence you need to apply for teacher accreditation in NSW

• A final transcript from your university that shows all the subjects you’ve completed in your teaching degree, your marks, and credit points awarded
• The degree certificate (testamur) from your university that shows the date your teaching degree was awarded/conferred
• A NAATI-accredited translation of documents along with the original documents if in a language other than English
• A valid NSW Working with Children Check Clearance for paid employment
• Three identity documents from the list of accepted IDs and a photo of yourself holding 1 form of photo ID
• English language proficiency: see below for the 3 types of evidence you can provide to show your English language proficiency
• An international police check for the country you lived in, if you lived outside of Australia for 12 months or more in the last 5 years.

Graduate entry/postgraduate applicants also need to provide:

• a final transcript of your undergraduate degree from your university that shows all the subjects you’ve completed in your degree, your marks, and credit points awarded AND
• degree certificate (testamur) of your undergraduate degree.

Early childhood teachers

If you have completed an Early Childhood Teaching qualification overseas you also need to provide a Certificate of Equivalency from the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA).

Transcript and degree certificate (testamur) requirements

Degree certificates (testamurs) must show the date your degree was awarded/conferred.

Transcripts must clearly show:

• the name of your degree
• your name and student number
• all the subjects you have completed in your degree, your marks, and credit points awarded.

If your teaching degree transcript does not show the following information, please provide additional evidence from your university confirming:

• the degree you completed is a recognised teaching qualification, equivalent to 1 year of full-time academic study, and awarded by a university
• the age range of students you are trained to teach within the teaching qualification
• the teaching qualification included at least 45 days of supervised teaching practice in a school, specifying the age range of the students taught and that:
  • the university was directly involved in observing and overseeing the supervised teaching practice
  • the supervised teaching practice formed part of the teaching qualification.

We do not accept:

• screenshots
• assessment results
• confirmation of enrolment documents
• letters of completion.

English language proficiency requirements

You need to show evidence of English language proficiency if you have qualifications from a country that is not: 

• Australia
• New Zealand (NZ)
• United Kingdom (UK)
• United States of America (USA)
• Canada
• Republic of Ireland.

The Australian Government’s skilled migration policy considers English to be the main official language in these countries.

You must provide 1 of these 2 options:

1. Results from a NESA approved English language proficiency test (ELPT)
2. An application for an English language proficiency test (ELPT) exemption. Your application must address at least 2 of the criteria.

Please see English language proficiency for the list of approved tests and the criteria and evidence for an exemption application.

Apply for teacher accreditation

If you have checked that you are eligible to apply for teacher accreditation and have gathered the required evidence, then you are ready to apply.

You can create an online account and start your application in NESA’s electronic Teacher Accreditation Management System (eTAMS) by clicking on the button below:

Apply for teacher accreditation

Check the status of your application

You can check the status of your application in your NESA online eTAMS account.

Assessing qualifications from overseas to ensure they meet NESA’s requirements is a complex process and may result in longer processing times.  

If you don’t provide all the evidence required for your situation, your application will take longer to process.