Hiring overseas educators can not only bring a service the benefits of a diverse, multicultural workplace but also address staffing shortage issues. However before an overseas candidate can be recognised as an early childhood educator under the NQF, their qualification will have assessed for equivalence by ACECQA.
Qualification Levelling
The application process for assessing overseas qualifications for equivalence by ACECQA begins with qualification levelling. This determines what the candidate’s qualification is comparable to in the Australian Qualification Framework. Under National Regulations, qualification levelling is done either by the Overseas Qualification Unit or the Australian Education International – National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition. A certified copy of an Australian Teacher Registration would also meet this levelling requirement. If an applicant holds Registration with the New Zealand Teachers Council they may be eligible for Australian teacher registration under Mutual Recognition, in which case too they would have to produce a certified copy of the Australian teacher registration.
Assessment Of Equivalence by ACECQA
Once the applicant’s qualification is levelled, the next step is to apply to ACECQA to have the content of the qualification assessed. This is so that regulatory bodies can decide whether your qualification indicates your suitability to work in the children’s education and care sector. Applicants should carefully go through website of ACECQA overseas qualification guidelines to gain a thorough understanding of the application process, supporting documents required and criteria against which their qualification will be assessed for equivalence.
ACECQA assesses qualifications against four key areas of Academic level, Age focus or specialisation, Supervised professional experience or work placement and Curriculum content. Each qualification must meet all four areas to meet ACECQA’s requirements.
To make an application to ACECQA, the applicant must:
- Complete the application form
- Attach the necessary supporting documents
- Pay the requisite fee
Necessary Supporting Documents Usually Include:
- Personal details like contact detail, qualification(s) including any placements undertaken as part of your studies, secondary schooling and any other relevant tertiary or vocational schooling / training.
- Certified colour copies of key documents, including proof of identity and evidence of any name changes qualification certificate or parchment academic transcript.
- If any of the documents are in a language other than English, a certified colour copy of both the original document and the translation will need to be provided.
- Proof of proficiency in the English language either with one year of full-time tertiary or higher education level study in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Canada, the United Kingdom or the United States of America or a score of seven (7.0) or more in the reading and writing components, and a score of eight (8.0) or more in the speaking and listening components, in the academic version of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) exam in the last two years.
Timeframe
Qualification levelling assessments are not completed by ACECQA and can be a lengthy process. Once a completed application for assessment of qualification equivalence has been received by ACECQA, the assessment process can take up to eight weeks from the date your application is received. Try to be as accurate and thorough as possible when applying since in case of incomplete applications, there may be further delays in the assessment process.