Evidence planning · Teachers Hub
Teacher evidence guide
Start with the claim you need to prove, not a generic document checklist. A migration skills assessment, teacher registration and a visa application ask different questions about the same history. This guide helps you organise evidence; it does not determine eligibility, points or the outcome of an application.
Official guidance checked 10 November 2026. Recheck the current occupation checklist before relying on a requirement.
One clear record. Separate checks.
Choose your starting point
Choose the right assessment branch
- Early Childhood (Pre-Primary School) Teacher: use ACECQA’s ECT migration application guidance. Check the exact qualification and whether a National Quality Framework assessment is needed through the dual-assessment route.
- Primary, middle, secondary and specialist school teaching: start with AITSL’s occupation-specific checklists.
- Vocational, university, TESOL and private tuition: identify the occupation and assessing authority separately. This guide does not set their requirements.
Compare the teaching profiles. Titles alone do not establish occupation fit.
Build your evidence record
Build a qualifications and placement record
Gather award certificates and complete academic transcripts. Identify which qualification is initial teacher education and which other study contributes to the total. Preserve the original evidence. Record discrepancies and obtain a reliable explanation rather than choosing the most convenient version.
AITSL school teachersRead the detail
The usual qualification criterion is at least four years of completed university-level study, including relevant initial teacher education. The initial teacher education must be comparable to AQF7 or higher; other contributing qualifications may be comparable to AQF6 or higher. Check the specific occupation checklist for teaching-study duration, age ranges, specialist study and supervised practice. This is separate from the English criterion below.
Supervised teaching practice is assessed placement within initial teacher education. Ordinary employment does not replace it. Obtain the awarding university’s signed and dated statement on its letterhead, identifying placement duration, student ages and school setting. School placement reports, work references and registration certificates do not substitute for that required statement.
For primary teachers, the current checklist specifies at least 45 days in a primary setting with students aged 5–12. For secondary teachers, it specifies at least 45 days in a secondary setting with students aged 13–18. These age bands do not mean every age must have been taught. Middle school and each special-education occupation need their own checklist review.
Ask your university for a truthful statement of the actual assessed placement, not wording designed to imply experience you did not complete. If the university cannot provide the required information, seek advice before assuming the file is sufficient.
Follow the selected checklist’s current digital-document and My eQuals instructions. Preserve digitally signed PDFs without renaming them. Do not apply ACECQA certification rules to an AITSL file by default.
Sources: AITSL supervised teaching practice · AITSL application process and checklists.
ACECQA early childhood teachersRead the detail
Check the exact award, institution and applicable course details against the approved qualifications list. A similar course title is not enough. If it is not an approved ECT qualification or equivalent, check the NQF dual-assessment route and additional course and placement evidence.
Use the requirements for your chosen branch, including identity, name-change, qualifications, English evidence, declarations, translations and any certification requirements. Do not import AITSL’s 45-day school-placement rule. ACECQA asks for clear, complete colour documents in accepted formats and says not to send documents through unsecured cloud links.
Source: ACECQA application instructions.
Keep the criteria separate
Check English separately for each process
AITSL study optionRead the detail
You may meet AITSL’s English requirement through at least four full years of completed university study, or its part-time equivalent, in Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom or the United States. The study must result in qualifications comparable to AQF7 or higher and include recognised initial teacher education. Every component of that teacher education, including supervised teaching practice, must have been completed in one or more of those countries.
Each qualifying award must represent at least one year of full-time study. Credit transfer, recognition of prior learning and advanced standing can affect the assessment. A completed doctorate in a listed country counts for no more than two full-time years. AITSL may still request Academic IELTS if English proficiency is uncertain.
Citizenship or an English-medium course elsewhere does not by itself establish this option. Study accepted for the qualification criterion may not meet this English criterion.
AITSL test optionRead the detail
The current checklists require Academic IELTS scores of at least 7 in reading and writing and 8 in speaking and listening, on one Test Report Form, from a test taken within three years before application. One Skill Retake is accepted. Check the live guidance, including delivery-mode rules, before booking or relying on a result.
Source: AITSL English language proficiency.
ACECQA is differentRead the detail
Do not apply AITSL’s four-year English study rule to early childhood teachers. ACECQA’s ECT standards include qualifying tertiary-study, Academic IELTS and teacher-focused ISLPR routes. Professional employer references from specified countries may be considered case by case, not as a guaranteed exemption. ACECQA can request Academic IELTS where proficiency is uncertain.
Sources: ACECQA ECT assessment standards · ACECQA English evidence guidance.
Keep a separate English record for assessment, teacher registration and the visa: authority, evidence route, test or study basis, dates and exact rule checked. A result or exemption for one process does not establish another.
Check each permission
Keep registration and visa eligibility distinct
Teacher registration is managed by the relevant state or territory authority. Record jurisdiction, category, status, conditions and renewal date. Early childhood requirements need their own jurisdiction check. Permission to teach, employer approval and visa work rights are separate matters.
AITSL does not require Australian registration before applying, but full or provisional registration can be relevant. Registration does not automatically establish assessment suitability. If your qualifications or English evidence do not neatly fit the usual route, use AITSL’s registration guidance and obtain case-specific advice.
Source: AITSL Australian teacher registration guidance.
Use the individual occupation profile for visa and state information. An assessment, registration or occupation-list entry does not guarantee a visa, nomination or invitation.
Match the document to the claim
Match employment evidence to its purpose
Separate the initial skills assessment, AITSL Skilled Employment Statement (SES), visa points, employer sponsorship and registration. A document useful for one is not automatically acceptable for another.
AITSL Skilled Employment Statement (SES)Read the detail
An SES is optional, after a suitable AITSL assessment and while that assessment remains valid. It concerns qualifying employment after the qualification criterion was met, not only employment after the assessment was issued. AITSL describes paid teaching of at least 20 hours a week, in a registered school, in the past ten years, in the nominated or a closely related occupation. Closely related does not mean any teaching: primary and secondary teaching sit in different ANZSCO unit groups.
For an SES, obtain signed and dated employer statements on letterhead covering the employer and address, school setting, employment dates, title, student ages and weekly hours. For casual or relief work, record the period and average weekly hours. Payslips, contracts and offer letters are not substitutes for AITSL’s SES statements.
For separate visa or nomination claims, keep a factual chronology and the corroborating records relevant to that process. Identify overlapping roles, unpaid leave, gaps and changes to hours or duties. Do not silently count a period twice or convert hours into full-time years without checking the rule. Describe actual duties, not copied wording a signatory cannot verify.
Source: AITSL Skilled Employment Statement.
Pause and check
A practical readiness check
- Occupation and application purpose are clear.
- Current official checklist and review date are recorded.
- Names, qualification dates and employment dates match or are explained.
- Required qualification and placement evidence is present.
- English evidence matches this authority and pathway.
- Registration status and conditions are recorded where relevant.
- Employment claims separate dates, duties, hours and setting.
- Original-language records and required translations are included.
- Files are complete, legible and handled through an authorised secure channel.
- Unresolved questions are listed, not guessed or hidden.
Do not include pupils’ names, photographs, health information or identifying classroom material unless the authority specifically requires it and the disclosure is lawful and authorised.
Turn gaps into next actions
Your evidence worksheet
Use one entry for each claim in your own secure working document:
- Claim or question: the fact you need to establish.
- Purpose: skills assessment, SES, registration, visa or nomination.
- Evidence held: document, issuer and date.
- Gap: what is missing, inconsistent or uncertain.
- Next action: who can supply or verify it.
For example: “Supervised placement / AITSL assessment / transcript held / university statement missing / ask the awarding university to confirm days, ages and setting.” This is a fictional organising example, not an authority form or client case.
Choose the help that matches the gap
If occupation or pathway is uncertain, discuss it before preparing a full application. If the pathway is settled, identify missing evidence and who can provide it. For an already prepared application, confirm the precise scope of any pre-lodgement review before engagement.
Discuss your next step with WiseKangaroo. No teacher-specific review or preparation fee is offered on this page. Authority charges and professional assistance are separate unless expressly included. No service can guarantee an assessment, registration, invitation or visa outcome.