For Employers

We use proactive communication, collaboration and education to mitigate risk.

Employers have obligations

Employers must comply with the ACT Teacher Quality Institute Act 2010 (the Act).

Under the ACT Teacher Quality Institute Act 2010, employers must:

• ensure only approved teachers are employed or engaged to teach (s29)
• report specific notification events involving an approved teacher (s67)
• notify TQI within 5 days of a notification event (s70B).

These obligations help ensure timely, accurate information about potential risks to children, young people, or the profession.

It is an offence to employ, engage or allow a person who is not an approved teacher to teach in a school. A strict liability office with maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.

Section 29 of the Act states that a person commits an offence if:

• the person employs, engages or allows another person to teach in a school; and
• the other person is not an approved teacher.

Note: the above is not applicable in an Early Childhood Education and Care Service

Notifiable Events

Employers have particular obligations under the ACT Teacher Quality Institute Act (2010) to inform TQI if:

Regular and purposeful engagement with employers helps us identify and assess regulatory risk and align our approach with risk-based regulatory practices. The TQI Board (board) is comprised of a variety of stakeholders, including employers, teachers and community members. The board governs our work and decisions. The minister appoints the board. And we have robust board committees, representing all employers and other stakeholders

• A formal investigation begins in relation to a teacher
• Disciplinary action is taken in relation to a teacher
• Casual teacher status is removed from a person or cancelled
• A teacher subject to an investigation resigns.

Download the TQI Section 70B Notification form

The employer commits an offence if it does not notify TQI within five working days of the events above. Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.

Once the employer notifies a notification event, TQI will ask the employer to give further information within a stated timeframe in relation to the notification event.

In addition to the above, employers must inform TQI if any of the following events occur:

• The teacher has become mentally or physically incapacitated and the incapacity prevents the person from performing an inherent requirement of their job as a teacher (s. 67)
• The teacher is given a negative notice under the Working with Vulnerable People (Background Checking) Act 2011 (WWVP), section 40
• The teacher’s WWVP registration is made subject to a condition or interim condition, is suspended, or has ended (s.67)

Download the TQI Section 67 Notification form

TQI may ask the employer of an approved teacher for any information that the Institute believes on reasonable grounds is relevant to whether there is a ground for suspending or cancelling an approved teacher’s registration or permit to teach; or imposing a condition on their registration.

The Employers Obligations factsheet assists employers understand and comply with the obligations and notification requirements.