What it does
The Teachers Registration and Standards Act 2004 (SA) establishes a comprehensive system for the regulation of the teaching profession in South Australia. Its object, set out in section 4, is to establish and maintain a teacher registration system and professional standards for teachers to safeguard the public interest in having a teaching profession whose members are competent educators and fit and proper persons to have the care of children. The Act creates the Teachers Registration Board of South Australia (s 5), a body corporate with perpetual succession, and confers on it a range of functions including administering the Act, accrediting initial teacher education programs (s 19A), developing codes of conduct (s 31B), promoting professional standards, collaborating with employers and teacher unions, sharing information with other Australian and New Zealand teacher regulatory authorities (s 6(e)), conducting reviews and data collection, and recognising quality teaching and leadership (s 6(eb)). Section 7 provides that the welfare and best interests of children is the paramount consideration in the operation, administration and enforcement of the Act. The Minister may give directions to the Board in the public interest but cannot direct matters relating to a particular person, application or inquiry, or the determination of qualifications (s 8). The Act requires any person who provides or offers to provide pre-school, primary or secondary education for payment or other consideration to be a registered teacher (s 20(1)), with exceptions for persons holding a special authority to teach granted under Part 6 or persons prescribed by regulation (s 20(4)). Employers are prohibited from employing an unregistered person in such roles and face higher penalties (s 20(3), maximum $10,000). The Act also prohibits claiming to be a registered teacher when not (s 20(6)). Part 7 provides a disciplinary framework for dealing with unprofessional conduct or incapacity, and Part 8 sets procedural rules for Board proceedings including natural justice obligations. Appeals against registration and disciplinary decisions lie to the Administrative and Disciplinary Division of the District Court (s 49). The Act includes extensive information-sharing provisions (Part 9A) and requires the Commissioner of Police to provide information relevant to a person’s fitness to teach (s 50). It also mandates arrangements between the Board, the DPP and the Police for reporting of offences raising serious concerns about fitness to teach (s 51). The Act applies to conduct before or after its commencement and inside or outside South Australia (s 32(1)).