Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia Annual Report 2023–24

This year has seen a significant period of change. The Teacher Registration Amendment Act 2023 (WA) came into effect on 19 December 2023, with the legislative amendments requiring changes to policies, processes, forms, online systems and website content.

The successful implementation of these amendments was a significant undertaking by the Teacher Registration directorate, with valued contributions from Board members and other stakeholders. I would like to acknowledge the resilience and commitment of staff in delivering a seamless transition to these important changes while continuing to deliver our regulatory services to a high level and maintaining quality customer service.

Our Board has grown from 7 to 9 members under the new legislation. We welcomed 3 new members:

• Kevin Sneddon, an employment and industrial relations lawyer
• Keith Svendsen, a collegiate principal at the Department of Education
• Rino Randazzo, a vice principal at Chisholm Catholic College.

Kevin brings many years of legal expertise to the Board, and both Keith and Rino are well‑regarded and experienced educators. On behalf of the Board and secretariat, I would like to congratulate Kevin, Keith and Rino on their appointments.

We also farewelled Board member Kate Offer, who completed her term as our Australian lawyer. On behalf of the Board and secretariat, I would like to extend appreciation and thanks to Kate for her expertise, and considered and valued contribution.

We are finalising a new Strategic Direction 2024–2028 to outline our objectives for the next 5 years. Our vision to be a quality and contemporary regulator of the Western Australian teaching profession that operates in the best interests of children remains unchanged.

A number of important and strategically significant matters have impacted our operations over the past year.

The Minister communicated his expectations relating to a commitment made by Australia’s education ministers in July 2023 under action 5 of the National Teacher Workforce Action Plan (NTWAP). The Board responded to these expectations. In particular, we have systems in place to register prospective teachers as quickly as practicable without compromising standards.

That said, there are ongoing challenges associated with teacher supply affecting all Australian states and territories and indeed, this issue is having an impact around the world. It is important that standards are maintained to provide safe and supportive learning environments while initiatives to attract and retain teachers are implemented.

In the Western Australian context, we obviously play an important role in this space. In addressing these challenges, we have worked collaboratively with education stakeholders to provide inputs to several local strategies, like the Department of Education’s pre‑service teacher employment pools and national strategies and reviews, including the NTWAP and the work of the national Teacher Education Expert Panel (TEEP).

Following the work of the TEEP, Australia’s education ministers agreed to some amendments to the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership’s Accreditation of initial teacher education programs in Australia: standards and procedures (National Accreditation Standards). In particular, amendments were made in relation to the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE) and the inclusion of ‘core content’ for initial teacher education programs. The Board has considered these changes and continues to engage with relevant stakeholders, including local providers of initial teacher education programs, about how they will apply in the Western Australian context.

We continued to contribute to a national information‑sharing initiative between teacher regulatory authorities to enhance regulatory decision‑making in the interests of child safety. This will help support any future introduction of the national automatic mutual recognition (AMR) scheme for the occupation of teaching in Western Australia. The 5‑year exemption from the AMR scheme for the occupation of teaching in Western Australia continues. Applicants from other Australian states and territories and New Zealand may continue to apply for mutual recognition under current arrangements to be registered as teachers in Western Australia.

We engaged with various state government agencies and other authorities that have a focus on the interests of children. This included the Department of Education, Catholic Education Western Australia and the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia, as well as the Department of Communities, the Commissioner for Children and Young People and the Western Australia Police Force.

Notably, key changes to the Working with Children (Criminal Record Checking) Act 2004 (WA) came into effect on 1 July 2023, to ensure the ongoing safety and welfare of children in educational institutions.

I would like to acknowledge the Western Australian higher education institutions, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, our regulatory counterparts around Australia and New Zealand and the national authorities with whom we work.

I was very pleased to participate, along with senior personnel of the Teacher Registration directorate, in the International Forum of Teacher Regulatory Authorities (IFTRA) Conference, which convened in Brisbane from 17 to 19 June. The 2024 conference was co‑hosted by the Queensland College of Teachers and the Australasian Teacher Regulatory Authorities (ATRA). The conference theme ‘Teacher Regulation for Quality and Quantity: Can it be done?’, recognised that teacher regulatory authorities are at the coalface of policy responses to address teacher workforce challenges, but must balance priorities related to quantity with the need to maintain teacher quality. We look forward to working closely with ATRA and IFTRA in the year ahead to collaborate on the regulation of the teaching profession.

In our work as a regulator of teachers, we receive secretariat support from the Department of Education. I extend my thanks to Lisa Rodgers, Director General, for the continued support provided to us by the Department. I also wish Lisa every success following her new appointment.

I would also like to acknowledge and thank the Director, Teacher Registration and all the Teacher Registration directorate staff for their continued professionalism, diligence and ongoing support to the Board.

Finally, I also express my appreciation to all our members, as well as those who serve on or chair our committees. I value and appreciate the commitment, integrity and insight each member contributed to our valuable work.

I look forward to continuing to work with all education stakeholders to achieve our vision of a quality and contemporary regulator of the Western Australian teaching profession in the year ahead. We look forward to serving the public interest by ensuring the professional, competent and safe practice of teaching.

On behalf of the Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia, I am pleased to present our 2023–24 annual report.

Margaret Collins
Chairperson