1Short title
This Act may be cited as the
Teacher Registration (Northern Territory) Act 2004.
Bills and explanatory statements from legislation.nt.gov.au; second reading speeches from the NT Parliamentary Record (Territory Stories). Links open the official source in a new tab.
Bill homepage (legislation.nt.gov.au)This Act may be cited as the
Teacher Registration (Northern Territory) Act 2004.
(1) This Act, other than sections 7(3), 23(6), 72 and 73, comes into operation on the day on which the Administrator's assent to this Act is declared.
(2) Sections 7(3), 23(6), 72 and 73 come into operation on 1 February 2005.
(1) The object of this Act is to ensure that only persons who are fit and proper, appropriately qualified and competent to teach, are employed as teachers in the
Territory.
(2) The object is to be achieved by establishing a Teacher Registration Board to:
(a) register persons as teachers in the Territory; and
(b) facilitate the continuing competence of teachers, and quality teaching and educational leadership, in the Territory.
In this Act:
accredited education course means a teacher education course provided in the Territory that has been accredited by the Board under section 74.
alternate member means an alternate member of the Board, appointed under section 9.
approved form means a form approved by the Board.
authorisation means an authorisation under Part 5 to employ or otherwise engage an unregistered person to work as a teacher.
authorised person means:
(a) for Part 6 – a person in relation to whom an authorisation is, or has been, in effect; or
(b) otherwise – a person in relation to whom an authorisation is in effect.
Board means the Teacher Registration Board of the Northern Territory established by section 6.
Board member means a member of the Board appointed under section 7.
clearance notice means a clearance notice issued under section 189(3)(a) of the Care and Protection of Children Act 2007.
committee means a committee established under section 25.
criminal history, of a person, means the person's criminal record as defined in section 3(1) of the Criminal Records (Spent Convictions) Act 1992.
Director means the Director of the Board appointed under section 14.
employer, of a person, means a person who employs or otherwise engages the person to work as a teacher.
full registration means full registration as a teacher granted under section 36(1).
higher education institution means a higher education institution, or overseas higher education institution, as defined in section 4 of the Higher Education Act 2004.
inquiry means an inquiry held in accordance with Part 6, Division 4.
inquiry committee means a committee appointed under section 60.
interim certificate of registration means a certificate issued under section 34.
investigation panel means a panel appointed under section 55.
investigator, see section 55(1).
notifiable offence means:
(a) an offence against a law in force in the Territory if the penalty that may be imposed on an individual for the offence includes imprisonment for a period of 12 months or more; or
(b) an offence committed outside the Territory if the penalty that may be imposed on an individual for the offence includes imprisonment for a period of 12 months or more.
personal details, of a person, means:
(a) the person's name, residential address, private telephone numbers and email address; and
(b) details of any physical or mental impairment, disability, condition or disorder, including substance abuse or dependence, that the person has and that may affect the person's eligibility for registration or authorisation.
preliminary investigation means an investigation held in accordance with Part 6, Division 3.
prescribed means prescribed by regulation.
professional development condition means:
(a) for registration – the condition that the teacher to whom the registration has been granted comply with the requirements of the professional development framework; or
(b) for an authorisation – the condition that the authorised person in relation to whom the authorisation has been granted comply with the requirements of the professional development framework.
professional development framework means the framework approved by the Board under section 75.
provisional registration means provisional registration as a teacher granted under section 36(1)(b).
reasonably believes means believes on reasonable grounds.
referee, for a specified person, means each of the following:
(a) a current or previous employer of the specified person;
a registration authority;
(c) an institution at which the specified person is, or was previously, enrolled for the purpose of obtaining a prescribed qualification;
the Commissioner of Police;
the Screening Authority;
(f) a person nominated by the specified person to give a character reference for the specified person.
register means the Register of Teachers kept under section 26.
registered, in relation to a teacher, means currently registered under this Act.
registration means provisional registration or full registration.
registration authority means a statutory body in a State or another Territory of the Commonwealth, or in New Zealand, established to register teachers and includes a similar body in other jurisdictions.
regulatory authority means:
(a) for the Territory – the person declared by section 9(5) of the Education and Care Services (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 to be the Regulatory Authority for the Education and Care Services National Law (NT); or
(b) for another participating jurisdiction under the Education and Care Services National Law – the person declared by a law of the participating jurisdiction to be the Regulatory Authority for the Education and Care Services National Law in that jurisdiction.
relevant entity means the Board, an investigator or an inquiry committee.
relevant person means:
a registered teacher; or
(b) a teacher whose registration is suspended; or
(c) a person to whom an authorisation relates if the authorisation is in effect or suspended.
school, see section 5 of the Education Act 2015.
school year means the period from the beginning of the first term of school to the end of the last term within the same calendar year.
Screening Authority, see section 196 of the Care and Protection of Children Act 2007.
sexual offence means a prescribed offence.
teacher means:
(a) a person who is qualified to program and deliver a course of instruction at a school and to assess the work of students in relation to that course of instruction; and
(b) for Part 6 – a person who is, or has been, a registered teacher.
teacher education course means an initial (pre-service) teacher education course that:
(a) is administered by a higher education institution; and
(b) includes a minimum of 45 days of supervised practice teaching in a school.
unregistered person means a person who is not registered under this Act.
Note for section 4
The Interpretation Act 1978 contains definitions and other provisions that may be relevant to this Act.
This Act binds the Crown in right of the Territory and, to the extent the legislative power of the
Legislative Assembly permits, the Crown in all its other capacities.
Part IIAA of the Criminal Code applies to an offence against this Act.
Note for section 5A
Part
IIAA of the Criminal Code states the general principles of criminal responsibility, establishes general defences, and deals with burden of proof. It also defines, or elaborates on, certain concepts commonly used in the creation of offences.
Part
2 Teacher Registration Board
(1) The Teacher Registration Board of the Northern Territory is established.
The Board:
(a) is a body corporate with perpetual succession; and
has a common seal; and
(c) is capable, in its corporate name, of acquiring, holding and disposing of real, leasehold and personal property and of suing and being sued.
(3) All courts, judges and persons acting judicially are to take judicial notice of the common seal of the Board affixed to a document and must assume that it was duly affixed.
(1) The Board consists of 12 members appointed by the Administrator, of whom:
(a) one is to be a person nominated by the Chief Executive Officer; and
(b) 2 are to be teachers (of whom one is to be based at a remote school) nominated by the Northern Territory Branch of the Australian Education Union; and
(c) one is to be an indigenous teacher at a government school and is to be nominated by the Chief Executive Officer; and
(d) one is to be a teacher nominated by the Northern Territory Principals' Association Incorporated (Association registration number 01357C); and
(e) one is to be an educator nominated by the Association of Independent Schools of the Northern Territory Incorporated (Association registration number 01661C); and
(f) one is to be a teacher nominated by the Independent Education Union – Queensland and Northern Territory Branch; and
(g) one is to be an educator nominated by the Catholic Education Office; and
(h) one is to be an educator nominated by the Charles Darwin University; and
(i) one is to be an educator nominated by the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education; and
(j) one is to be a person nominated by the Northern Territory Council of Government School Organisations Incorporated (Association registration number 00668C); and
(k) one is to be a teacher nominated by the Professional Teachers' Association of the Northern Territory Incorporated (Association registration number 01940C).
(2) An organisation or body mentioned in subsection (1) must nominate a panel of persons from which the Board member, and an alternate member if required, can be selected.
(3) A Board member (or alternate member) who is required to be a teacher must be a registered teacher.
In this section:
educator means a person:
(a) who is a specialist in the administration of education; or
(b) who is a specialist in the theory and practice of education; or
(c) who delivers, outside of a school, a course of academic instruction to adults.
(1) Subject to this Act, a Board member holds office until the expiration of the period, not exceeding
4 years, specified in his or her instrument of appointment, but is eligible for re-appointment.
(2) If a period of appointment is not specified in an instrument of appointment of a Board member, the
Board member holds office, subject to this Part, for 4 years.
(3) The appointments of Board members are to be arranged so that, as far as practicable, the terms of office of 6 Board members expire together, with the terms of office of the other 6 Board members expiring 2 years later.
(1) If the Board requests, the
Minister may appoint a person to be an alternate member to act in the place of a Board member of the Board during the absence or inability to act of the Board member.
(2) The Minister must not appoint a person to be an alternate member unless the person is eligible for appointment as a Board member under the same paragraph of section 7(1) as the Board member to whom he or she is an alternate.
(1) The Board members must elect a chairperson and a deputy chairperson who are to be chosen by the
Board members from among their own number.
(2) The deputy chairperson acts as chairperson when the chairperson is absent from a meeting of the
Board (or a committee), or is otherwise unable to perform the functions of the chairperson, or there is a vacancy in the office of the chairperson, despite that an alternate member may be acting in the place of the chairperson.
(1) The Board has the following functions:
(a) to administer the scheme of registration under Part 4;
(b) to make recommendations to the
Minister in relation to the minimum qualifications and other requirements for registration;
(c) to grant, if satisfied it is appropriate to do so, authorisation to a person to employ an unregistered person as a teacher;
(d) to accredit teacher education courses and liaise with institutions providing accredited education courses;
(e) to liaise with the Agency administering the Education Act 2015 in relation to strategic priorities for professional development of teachers in the Territory;
(ea) to promote the professional development of teachers in the Territory and approve a framework for the professional development of teachers;
(f) to develop and approve professional teaching standards and other professional standards;
(g) to develop and maintain a code of professional ethics for the teaching profession;
(h) to liaise with employers of teachers in the Territory in relation to developing the competencies of teachers during the early stages of the teachers' careers;
(i) to research and promote best practice in teaching in the Territory;
(ia) to support, recognise and certify quality teaching and educational leadership in the Territory;
(j) to deal with complaints about teachers, hold preliminary investigations and inquiries in relation to teachers and take disciplinary action under Part 6;
(k) to prosecute offences against this Act.
(2) In addition, the Board has those functions imposed on it by this or any other Act or that are prescribed.
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