C1. Applying to change accreditation status

C1 applies to NSW teachers who wish to cancel or change their type of accreditation.

Teachers can apply for:

• Non-practising teacher accreditation – for teachers who wish to take an indefinite break from teaching in a school or service – see C1.1
• a Leave of Absence – for teachers who take leave from teaching and intend to return later – see C1.2
• voluntary cancellation – for teachers who leave the profession – see C1.3.

Teachers with Non-practising accreditation or on a Leave of Absence do not hold active accreditation and are therefore not eligible to work as a teacher in a NSW school/service.

C1.1 Non-practising teachers

C1.1.1 Teachers can apply for Non-practising teacher accreditation

Non-practising teacher accreditation is for teachers who are not currently teaching in a school or service but wish to remain accredited members of the profession.

Eligibility

To be eligible for Non-practising teacher accreditation, teachers must be:

• accredited at Proficient Teacher or HALT
• not teaching in a NSW school/service.

Teachers returning from a Leave of Absence (see C1.2.1) can also apply for Non-practising teacher accreditation.

A teacher whose maintenance of accreditation is overdue or suspended is not eligible for Non-practising teacher accreditation.

Application process

To apply for Non-practising teacher accreditation, eligible teachers must log on to their eTAMS account and change their accreditation status from active to Non-practising. This cannot be done retrospectively.

The status of the teacher on the NSW Public Register of Teachers will be changed to ‘Non-practising’.

Teachers can hold Non-practising teacher accreditation indefinitely, as long as they continue to meet the accreditation conditions in C1.1.2.

There is no limit on the number of times a teacher can move between Non-practising accreditation and active accreditation.

C1.1.2 Non-practising teachers must meet the accreditation conditions

A Non-practising teacher:

• must pay the annual accreditation fee
• must hold a current WWCC clearance
• must continue to meet the suitability to teach requirements.

PD exemptions

A Non-practising teacher is not required to:

• complete PD (although they might choose to)
• demonstrate ongoing practice against the Standards.

Restrictions

A Non-practising teacher is not permitted to:

• work as a teacher in a NSW school/service
• finalise their maintenance requirements
• make accreditation recommendations or verifications.

Involvement in accreditation assessments

A Non-practising teacher is eligible to be:

• an Accreditation Supervisor
• a HALT Assessor
• an External Assessor.

C1.1.3 Non-practising teachers can return to active accreditation

Non-practising teachers can return to active accreditation and teach in a NSW school/service at any time.

Non-practising HALTs can return to active accreditation at the HALT level if they do so within 5 years. However, HALTs who have held Non-practising teacher accreditation for more than 5 years will revert to Proficient Teacher accreditation when they return to active accreditation.

A Non-practising teacher returning to teach in a NSW school/service must:

• notify NESA in eTAMS before they return to teaching
• continue to meet the accreditation conditions at the applicable level.

Maintenance period adjustments

When a teacher returns to active accreditation, their maintenance period will change depending on how long they held Non-practising teacher accreditation.

C1.2 Teachers on leave

C1.2.1 Teachers can apply for a Leave of Absence

A Leave of Absence from accreditation is for teachers who take leave from the profession for more than 6 months and intend to return to teaching within 5 years. It puts a teacher’s accreditation period on hold until they return to teaching.

Eligibility

To be eligible for a Leave of Absence, teachers must hold active accreditation. ²³

Application process

Eligible teachers must apply for a Leave of Absence in eTAMS. This cannot be done retrospectively.

Teachers can apply for a Leave of Absence for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 5 years.

When NESA approves a teacher’s Leave of Absence, it:

• extends the teacher’s accreditation period in eTAMS by the length of the leave period
• removes their name from the NSW Public Register of Teachers.

Leave period adjustments

To adjust their Leave of Absence, teachers must make the changes in eTAMS. At any time before the current Leave of Absence end date, teachers may:

• extend their leave period (up to a maximum of 5 years)
• reduce their leave period (to a minimum of 6 months)
• cancel their Leave of Absence (if they return to work within 6 months of the start date).

If a teacher cancels their Leave of Absence, their accreditation period end date will revert to the original date. 

C1.2.2 Teachers on a Leave of Absence are exempt from some conditions

A teacher who is on a Leave of Absence:

• may be exempt from paying the annual fee, until such time as they return to active or Non-practising accreditation
• may remain on the Leave of Absence if their WWCC clearance expires ²⁴
• may have their accreditation suspended, cancelled, or revoked by NESA (see D2).

PD exemptions

A teacher on a Leave of Absence is not required to:

• complete PD (although they might choose to)
• demonstrate ongoing practice against the Standards.

Restrictions 

A teacher on a Leave of Absence is not permitted to:

• work as a teacher in a NSW school/service
• finalise their Proficient Teacher application or their maintenance of accreditation.
• make accreditation recommendations.

If a teacher on a Leave of Absence is also a HALT applicant, they:

• cannot submit their final HALT module
• cannot participate in a HALT Site Visit
• can continue to develop their HALT application in eTAMS.

Involvement in accreditation assessments

A teacher on a Leave of Absence is eligible to be: ²⁵

• an Accreditation Supervisor
• a HALT Assessor
• an External Assessor. 

C1.2.3 Teachers returning from leave return to active accreditation

A teacher automatically returns to active accreditation after the end date of a Leave of Absence, so long as they:

• hold a current WWCC clearance for paid employment
• have no outstanding accreditation fees. ²⁶

Teachers who do not have a current WWCC clearance at the end of their Leave of Absence must submit one to NESA or will have their accreditation suspended. They will return to active accreditation once NESA has received, verified and recorded the new WWCC clearance.

Teachers who decide not to return to teaching or active accreditation at the end of their Leave of Absence can either:

• apply for Non-practising teacher accreditation (see C1.1.1)
• voluntarily cancel their accreditation (see C1.3.1).

C1.3 Teachers who leave the profession

C1.3.1 Teachers can apply to voluntarily cancel their accreditation

Application process

To voluntarily cancel their accreditation, a teacher must complete the form on the NESA website and email it to voluntarycancellation@nesa.nsw.edu.au.

NESA will consider the request and in most cases will cancel the teacher’s accreditation.

However, NESA may refuse an application to voluntarily cancel a teacher’s accreditation if:

• proceedings are underway that might lead to the teacher’s accreditation being suspended or revoked for misconduct; and/or
• processes are underway that might lead to the teacher’s accreditation being suspended or revoked for not meeting their maintenance of accreditation requirements.

A teacher who has voluntarily cancelled their accreditation cannot teach in a NSW school/service.

If a teacher decides to return to teaching, they must apply for re-accreditation (see C2.5.1).