The Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand requires you to complete some key steps prior to starting your teaching qualification to ensure that when you graduate, you can apply for provisional certification as a teacher in New Zealand.

We recommend applying early to allow plenty of time to complete the additional requirements.

We are here to help you on your journey. If you have any questions, please email education@auckland.ac.nz or visit your nearest Student Hub.

Start your application

The first step is starting your application. You will need to include documents that provide proof of your academic history; as you fill out your application, we will tell you what documents we need. If you don’t have all your supporting documents yet, you can save your application and come back to it later.

Referees’ report

You will need to ask two referees to submit a character reference about you. Referees must be people who know you well, but they cannot be a family member or friend. Examples of referees include:

• Teachers
• Careers advisers
• Sports coaches
• Members of organisations you belong to
• Youth group leaders
• Church members

Literacy and numeracy assessments

To meet the requirements of the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand you will need to complete two short online assessments in literacy and numeracy.

The literacy test (45 minutes) will involve reading an article and answering some multiple-choice questions about the article.

The numeracy test (45 minutes) will involve basic mathematical concepts, such as addition, subtraction, finding equivalent fractions, multiplying decimals, understanding place value, and converting common fractions, decimals and percentages.

The assessments will be done via Zoom and will be supervised. You will need to use a laptop/computer that has a camera. If you do not have access to a camera, you can book an on-campus assessment that will be held once per month. Online Zoom assessment sessions will be run at least twice a week.

The pass mark for the literacy and numeracy tests is 80%.

The following information applies to these four programmes only:

• Bachelor of Education (Teaching)
• Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Early Childhood Education)
• Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Primary)
• Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary)

All applicants to the programmes listed above will submit an interview before acceptance into the Graduate Diploma programme. This is to get to know a bit about you, your ambitions as a future teacher, and the skills or qualities you could bring to teaching. The interview will be conducted using Kira Talent and will be asynchronous in format. This means that you will submit a recording of yourself responding to a series of questions at a time of your choosing.

Once you have received a conditional offer, we will send you an invitation to Kira Talent with a unique link that is valid for two weeks. You can choose any time that suits you best within that two week period to record your interview responses. Your responses will then be evaluated by two reviewers (e.g. academic staff, educational specialists, or education sector representatives) resulting in a final score that determines the outcome.

Please note the following:

• As part of this process, you will also fill in a Police Vetting Service Request and Consent Form, in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014. You will need to show two forms of identification at the beginning of your interview.
• Once you have started the interview process on Kira Talent, there is no way to pause or return to edit your answers at a later time. You must complete all parts of the interview in one session. You will have a set number of minutes for each response, and will not able to re-record or edit your responses.
• Passing the interview does not guarantee you a place in the programme, it is just one of the conditional requirements you need to meet.

Before recording your interview on Kira Talent, it is recommended that you visit a school or early childhood centre (depending on the programme you are applying for). This experience will give you an idea of what teaching is like, and your observations may be helpful to refer to during your interview.

If visiting a centre/school is impossible, you should familiarise yourself with some key documents about education in New Zealand. If you are applying for primary or secondary teaching, please look at the New Zealand Curriculum:
Ministry of Education - The New Zealand Curriculum

We have put together some Interview tips for Teacher Education programmes to help prepare you for your interview.

If you have lived in New Zealand for the past ten years, please complete the Police Vetting Service Request & Consent Form and we will follow through this process with New Zealand Police on your behalf. This process can take 3–6 weeks, so it is best to complete this as early as possible.

If you have lived overseas for a period of more than 12 months in the past ten years (not including any time under the age of 16), you will need to arrange a police report from that country. Please organise this as soon as possible to avoid delays in your application process.