Early childhood teacher registration by state: who must register and what it costs
Whether early childhood teachers must register in each state, plus the authority, fees, renewal and register, checked at official sources in October 2026.
On this page
Early childhood teachers in childcare must hold teacher registration in Victoria, NSW (as accreditation), South Australia and Western Australia, and in the Northern Territory from September 2026 with a year to apply. It is voluntary in Queensland and the ACT, and not open to early childhood teachers in Tasmania. Each state's teacher regulatory authority sets its own fees.
Teacher registration by state (as of October 2026)
| State | Name | Issuing body | Validity | Application fee / Annual fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | Teacher accreditation with the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) | NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) | Proficient Teacher maintenance period: 5 years full-time, 7 years casual or part-time | Check with the issuer / $100 per calendar year (GST-free) |
| VIC | Teacher registration with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) | Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) | Annual, 1 October to 30 September; provisional registration is granted for two years | $175.60 with a Victorian qualification; $203 with an interstate or overseas qualification (non-refundable) / $131.30 for 2026-27 if paid by 30 September; $173.10 from 1 October to 31 December, including the late fee |
| QLD | Teacher registration with the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) | Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) | Full registration 5 years; provisional 2 years, extendable to 4 with annual fees | $178.61 to $331.74 depending on applicant type (from 1 October 2026); $308.34 or $331.74 for mutual recognition / $107.64 a year (from 1 October 2026) |
| WA | Teacher registration with the Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia (TRBWA) | Teacher Registration Board of Western Australia (TRBWA) | Full registration 5 years | $140 (provisional) or $178 (full) with an Australian or NZ qualification; $140 for mutual recognition / $95, due by 31 March each year |
| SA | Teacher registration with the Teachers Registration Board of South Australia | Teachers Registration Board of South Australia (TRB) | 5 years, to 31 January of the fifth year | $218 (1 February 2026 to 31 January 2027, non-refundable) / $137 a year; up to five years can be paid at once ($685) |
| TAS | Teacher registration with the Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania | Teachers Registration Board of Tasmania | Check with the issuer | $65.09 once-off application fee / $121.32 a year for 2026-27, payable for up to 5 years ($606.60) |
| ACT | Teacher registration with the ACT Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) | ACT Teacher Quality Institute (TQI) | 12 months, renewed by 31 March | $115 (1 January to 30 June), $90 (1 July to 30 September) or $65 (from 1 October), valid to the next 31 March; refunded if unsuccessful / $115 a year |
| NT | Teacher registration with the Teacher Registration Board of the Northern Territory (TRB NT) | Teacher Registration Board of the Northern Territory (TRB NT) | Full registration to 31 December five years after grant; provisional to 31 December three years after grant | Check with the issuer |
Each state page carries the full key facts, with a link to the official page every value was checked against in October 2026.
What holds in every state
- Teacher registration is separate from ACECQA qualification approval and from the Working with Children Check. An ACECQA-approved qualification does not register you to teach.
- No state recognises another's registration automatically. Each uses mutual recognition by application, and teaching is exempt from automatic deemed registration in several states into 2027.
- Victoria is the only jurisdiction where teacher registration replaces the working with children check: VIT registration exempts a teacher from the Victorian WWC Check. In Queensland a registered teacher working in a childcare service needs a free blue card exemption card. In NSW, SA, WA, Tasmania, the NT and the ACT an early childhood teacher needs both registration and the state's own check (WWCC, WWC Card, RWVP, Ochre Card or WWVP).
- Required for ECTs in education and care services in October 2026: Victoria, NSW, WA, and SA for anyone providing pre-school education; the NT from September 2026, with applications due before September 2027. Voluntary: Queensland (a Bill would make it mandatory from 1 July 2028) and the ACT. Not available to ECTs: Tasmania.
Sources: VIT: purpose of registration, NESA: early childhood teachers, Queensland: early childhood teacher registration, TRB SA: early childhood teachers, TRBWA: early childhood, TRB Tasmania: eligibility, TRB NT: early childhood teacher registration, TQI: ECT registration.
What Koora checks
Verified by Koora, point-in-time, where the state has a public register (every state except the ACT). Koora checks the registration number against the authority's public register when the credential reaches Koora's review (a worker shares their Career Passport, a provider requests access, or Crew is attached to an organisation's own records), records the result with its date and tracks the expiry. Koora does not monitor registrations between checks. ACT TQI registration is reviewed, because there is no public lookup. A teaching qualification is always reviewed: the degree is not the registration.
Your team reviews each credential in Koora, or Crew does it for you. The provider keeps the legal responsibility for who they engage.
Frequently asked questions
Do early childhood teachers have to register as teachers in Australia?
Registration is required in Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Western Australia, and in the Northern Territory from September 2026. It is voluntary in Queensland and the ACT, and in Tasmania early childhood teachers with 0 to 5 qualifications cannot register.
Is teacher registration the same as a Working with Children Check?
No. A Working with Children Check is a child-safety clearance from a state screening body. Teacher registration is held with a teacher regulatory authority. Victoria is the only state where registration replaces the check; in Queensland a registered teacher in childcare needs a blue card exemption card, and everywhere else a teacher needs both.
Which states require teacher registration for childcare teachers?
Victoria, NSW, South Australia and Western Australia now, and the Northern Territory from September 2026 with applications due before September 2027.
Can I transfer my teacher registration to another state?
Through mutual recognition, by applying to the new state's authority. It is not automatic, and Tasmania does not recognise early childhood teacher registration because it has no equivalent category.
State and territory pages
- Teacher accreditation (NSW): New South Wales
- Teacher registration (VIC): Victoria
- Teacher registration (QLD): Queensland
- Teacher registration (WA): Western Australia
- Teacher registration (SA): South Australia
- Teacher registration (TAS): Tasmania
- Teacher registration (ACT): Australian Capital Territory
- Teacher registration (NT): Northern Territory
For the wider picture, read Early childhood teacher registration in Australia, by state, or use the which worker check tool to match a sector, role and state.
This is general information, not compliance advice. Always confirm requirements with the relevant regulator, and remember that providers keep the legal responsibility to sight credentials and decide who can work.
We work hard to keep everything accurate, and our compliance engine keeps up with the rules as they change. Even so, we might get a detail slightly wrong or miss something. No one's perfect. If you think something here needs updating, email us at resources@koora.care. We would genuinely rather know, because we all do better when we help each other get it right.
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