Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia Annual Report 2022–23

Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia

 

Logo for Government of Western Australia next to the logo for Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia

 

Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia Annual Report 2022–23

This annual report reflects the operations of the Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia in regulating the registration of teachers and accrediting initial teacher education programs.

 

 

Letter of transmittal

Ms Lisa Rodgers
Director General
Department of Education

Dear Ms Rodgers

In accordance with section 114 of the Teacher Registration Act 2012 (WA),
I am pleased to submit the annual report of the Teacher Registration
Board of Western Australia, for the period 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023,
for inclusion in the annual report of the Department of Education.

Yours sincerely

Margaret Collins
Chairperson
Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia

16 August 2023

 

I would like to begin by acknowledging the continuing dedication and resilience of our teaching profession through the ongoing impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic, with the state of emergency officially ending on 4 November 2022.

Over the last 12 months, there were some changes to our Board membership. We welcomed 2 new members: David Bean, former Deputy Headmaster of Hale School and Education Consultant who is now our Deputy Chairperson and Andrea Lewis, a teacher with St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School. Both David and Andrea are well‑regarded and experienced educators. On behalf of the Board and secretariat, I would like to congratulate David and Andrea on their appointments.

We farewelled 2 Board members with Ron Dullard AO completing his term as Deputy Chairperson, and Casey Bakunowicz. On behalf of the Board and secretariat, I would like to give special acknowledgement and thanks to Ron and Casey for their valuable and significant contribution to our work. Ron, in particular, has completed 10 years of distinguished service as Deputy Chairperson. In addition, I am very pleased to have been reappointed for a further term as Chairperson in March 2023.

As I consider the past year, there are several key strategically significant matters that have had an impact on our operations.

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 vitally 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 National Teacher Workforce Action Plan and the work of the Teacher Education Expert Panel.

The Teacher Registration Amendment Act 2023 (WA) was passed on 1 March 2023 and is due to commence later in 2023. Implementation of the amendments is an ongoing focus for us. In general terms, the changes will:

  • strengthen the powers of the Board to respond to matters of child safety involving teachers, consistent with recommendations of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse
  • ensure an effective registration system that allows teachers to move between registration categories and improve fairness for teachers returning after an absence
  • allow Western Australia to fully participate in the Australian Teacher Workforce Data Initiative
  • promote a skilled teaching workforce.

To better meet the needs of our stakeholders, in October 2022, we successfully implemented a new teacher registration database which underpins our registration operations and customer‑facing online services. The new database maintains a contemporary, secure and efficient system to support teacher registration in Western Australia.

In promoting continuous quality improvement and efficiency, we are supporting the development of suitable digital solutions to meet the needs of our stakeholders. Significant work has been done in the development of improvements to website accessibility and the secure digital identity process, which we will continue to progress.

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, which will also support any future introduction of the national automatic mutual recognition (AMR) scheme for the occupation of teaching in Western Australia. In this light, a national memorandum of understanding to support information exchange between regulatory authorities across Australia has been endorsed. 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 value our collaborative engagement with a number of state government agencies and other authorities that have a focus on the interests of children. This includes 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, the new Reportable Conduct Scheme being administered by the Ombudsman Western Australia commenced on 1 January 2023 and we have monitored developments in that regard. In addition, there is the pending implementation of changes to the Working with Children (Criminal Record Checking) Act 2004 (WA), to ensure the ongoing safety and welfare of children in educational venues.

To support our role in ensuring that initial teacher education programs are accredited, we continued to collaborate with our Western Australian higher education institutions and recognise the critical role they play in delivering high quality education to pre‑service teachers.

I would like to acknowledge the national authorities with whom we work, our regulatory counterparts around Australia and in New Zealand, and the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).

In our work as a regulator of teachers, we are given secretariat support by the Department of Education. I extend my thanks to Lisa Rodgers, Director General, for the continued support provided to us by the Department.

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

We will continue 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 2022–23 annual report.

Signature of the Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia’s Chairperson, Margaret Collins

Margaret Collins
Chairperson