School Teachers Migration Guide
110-page PDF covering seven teaching profiles, AITSL assessment, teacher registration, occupation-specific visa routes, points and the later application stages.
Migrate to Australia as a School Teacher
If teaching in Australia is part of your plans, your training is the place to start. This guide covers seven school-teacher occupations, from primary and secondary teaching to specialist roles.
Use the study and placement check below to find the profile closest to yours. The 110-page PDF then takes you through skills assessment, teacher registration as a separate step, and the migration applications ahead.
The complete PDF guide · US$17 once.
Check If I QualifyCompare your completed study and supervised placement with the seven profiles below.
Check Your Teaching Qualifications
Compare your completed study and supervised teaching placement with the seven profiles below. This is an initial check, not an assessment decision. AITSL assessment, teacher registration and visa rules have other requirements. Early Childhood Teacher is outside this guide.
Primary School Teaching QualificationPrimary teacher study and placement
Completed study: At least four years of full-time higher education, including at least one year of relevant primary initial teacher education at Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level 7 or higher. Other study may be at AQF level 6 or higher.
Teaching preparation: Your training must prepare you to teach children aged 5–12 in primary schools. It must include at least 45 days of compulsory, assessed, supervised teaching practice with this age group in a primary school.
Middle School Teaching QualificationMiddle school teacher study and placement
Completed study: At least four years of full-time higher education, including at least one year of relevant initial teacher education at AQF level 7 or higher. Other study may be at AQF level 6 or higher.
Teaching preparation: Your training must prepare you to teach ages 10–15. You need at least 45 days of assessed, supervised practice in a middle school, or across upper primary and lower secondary schools. If split, at least 10 days must be with ages 10–12 and 10 days with ages 13–15.
Secondary School Teaching QualificationSecondary teacher study and placement
Completed study: At least four years of full-time higher education, including at least one year of relevant secondary initial teacher education at AQF level 7 or higher. Other study may be at AQF level 6 or higher. A subject degree alone does not replace teacher education.
Teaching preparation: Your training must prepare you to teach ages 13–18 in secondary schools, with at least 45 days of compulsory, assessed, supervised practice with that age group in a secondary school.
Special Needs Teaching QualificationSpecial-needs teacher study and placement
Completed study: At least four years of full-time higher education, including at least one year of relevant initial teacher education at AQF level 7 or higher. You also need a one-year special-needs qualification at AQF level 7 or higher. Other study may be at AQF level 6 or higher.
Teaching preparation: Your study must include at least 45 days of compulsory, assessed, supervised school practice. If the special-needs study is part of your teacher education, the practice must be in a special-needs setting. A separate specialist award needs its own qualification record.
Hearing-Impairment Specialist Teaching QualificationHearing specialist study and placement
Completed study: At least four years of full-time higher education, including at least one year of relevant initial teacher education at AQF level 7 or higher. You also need one year of hearing-specialist study at AQF level 7 or higher. Other study may be at AQF level 6 or higher.
Teaching preparation: Your teacher education must include at least 45 days of compulsory, assessed, supervised school practice. If specialist study is integrated into teacher education, practice must involve hearing-impaired pupils. A separate specialist qualification must include at least 30 supervised days with hearing-impaired pupils.
Sight-Impairment Specialist Teaching QualificationSight specialist study and placement
Completed study: At least four years of full-time higher education, including at least one year of relevant initial teacher education at AQF level 7 or higher. You also need one year of sight-specialist study at AQF level 7 or higher. Other study may be at AQF level 6 or higher.
Teaching preparation: Your teacher education must include at least 45 days of compulsory, assessed, supervised school practice. If specialist study is integrated into teacher education, practice must involve sight-impaired pupils. A separate specialist qualification must include at least 30 supervised days with sight-impaired pupils.
Other Special-Education Teaching QualificationOther special-education study and placement
Completed study: At least four years of full-time higher education, including at least one year of relevant initial teacher education at AQF level 7 or higher. You also need one year of special-education study at AQF level 7 or higher. Other study may be at AQF level 6 or higher.
Teaching preparation: Your teacher education must include at least 45 days of compulsory, assessed, supervised school practice. If the specialist study is part of teacher education, practice must be in a special-education setting. This is a distinct field, not a fallback for another specialist occupation.
Thinking About Teaching in Australia?
You might be drawn to a different school system, a new professional challenge or a move that suits your family. The route to an Australian classroom depends on the teacher education you completed and the pupils you trained to teach.
A primary teacher, a secondary teacher and a specialist teacher can face different assessment and visa choices. The guide helps you find the occupation that matches your training and follow the separate decisions on skills assessment, permission to teach and migration.
Find the Teaching Occupation That Fits Your Training
The guide’s opening comparison puts all seven occupations on one page. You can compare your award, the age group you trained to teach, specialist study and supervised placement before settling on an occupation code.
If you are new to migration research, it gives you a place to begin. If you already have a visa route in mind, it lets you check that the teaching occupation behind that plan fits your qualifications.
School Teachers guide · The Seven Teaching Occupations · page 5
Ask Your University for the Placement Details AITSL Needs
A placement report may show where you taught but leave out details needed for assessment, such as the length of supervised practice, pupils’ ages or school setting. Middle-school and specialist roles can need even more detail.
The guide includes wording you can adapt when asking your awarding university for a statement. A fictional completed example helps you check the reply against your own records, while the study and English chapters explain the rest of the academic evidence.
Inside the School Teachers Guide
Document Your Teaching Experience
If you have taught in more than one role or changed your hours, a single general letter can hide the differences. The guide’s fictional two-role example shows how to set out separate periods, and the work-history spreadsheet helps you gather dates and paid hours from your own records.
This part is useful if you later consider a teaching-employment statement or a work-points claim. The ordinary AITSL skills assessment is based on qualifications, so a newly qualified teacher can begin without a paid teaching period.
Inside the School Teachers Guide
Check the Visa Routes for Your Teaching Occupation
The seven teaching occupations do not share the same national-list visa options. The guide’s comparison table shows the routes listed for each code, including why a primary or middle teacher should not build a points-tested 189 plan around that occupation.
The guide also has a worked points example and worksheet. Follow the calculation, then examine your own circumstances and the current visa and state-program requirements.
School Teachers guide · Occupation Visa Options · page 43
What Comes After Skills Assessment
Later chapters follow the Expression of Interest, state nomination where relevant, invitation and visa application. They also cover information requests, processing and the written decision.
Those are separate decisions. An AITSL assessment does not grant teacher registration or a visa, and an EOI or nomination does not secure an invitation. The guide keeps the stages in view while you check the current rules for your occupation and route.
The School Teachers Migration Guide
US$17One 110-page PDF covers the seven school-teacher occupations and the migration process from initial assessment to a visa decision. It includes a work-history spreadsheet for paid teaching periods if you later consider an employment claim.
What’s in the Guide
- Find Your Teaching Occupation
- Compare the seven profiles by teacher education, pupil age group, specialist study and supervised placement.
- Prepare Your Academic Records
- Use the study and English chapters, checklist and university-statement material to review your evidence for AITSL.
- Plan Teacher Registration
- See how permission to teach differs from migration assessment and find the regulator for your state or territory.
- Record Teaching Work If You Need To
- Use the employment example and spreadsheet to separate roles, dates and paid hours behind a possible work claim.
- Compare Visa Options and Points
- Read the occupation-specific table and follow the worked points example and worksheet before checking your own route.
- Follow the Application Stages
- Use the EOI and visa chapters for relevant nomination, invitation, lodgement and the written decision.
Keep the Teaching and Migration Decisions Clear
AITSL, teacher regulators and Home Affairs publish their requirements for free. This guide shows how those separate requirements affect a teacher planning a move, starting with the occupation that matches your training.
The university request, employment example and spreadsheet help with different records at different times. You can begin with the assessment chapters and return for the visa stages as your plans move forward.
Before You Get Started
Do I Need Teaching Experience Before I Can Use This Guide?
No. AITSL’s ordinary school-teacher assessment looks at completed study and assessed teaching practice, not a period of teaching employment. Paid work has separate rules if you later seek a Skilled Employment Statement or claim employment points.
Does the Guide Cover Early Childhood Teachers?
No. It covers Primary School Teacher, Middle School Teacher, Secondary School Teacher and four specialist school-teacher occupations. Early Childhood Teacher has a different occupation and assessment pathway.
Is My Teacher Registration Included in the AITSL Assessment?
No. AITSL assesses skills for migration. The state or territory regulator decides the registration or NSW accreditation required to teach in its schools. The guide explains the distinction and points you to the relevant regulator.
Can a Primary or Middle Teacher Apply for the 189 Visa?
Those two occupation codes are not on the current national list for the points-tested 189 route or family-sponsored 491. The guide shows their 190 and state-nominated 491 national-list routes and explains why nomination and other visa requirements still matter.
What If I Have Already Started My Migration Research?
Check your occupation in the seven-code comparison, review placement records with the university request, and use the employment example if you are considering a work claim. The EOI and visa chapters cover later steps. You can use only the sections you need.
