Consultation on changes to practising certificate fees

Consultation begins on proposals to change teachers’ practising certificate fees

Source: Education Council

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Teachers across New Zealand are being given another opportunity to help shape their profession today as the Education Council of Aotearoa New Zealand publishes its latest topic for consultation.

"We want to give teachers every opportunity to have their say about the changes we’re proposing to make to the fee structure, including those for practising certificates," says Education Council Chief Executive Dr Graham Stoop.

"We have prepared a detailed consultation document to help inform this conversation with the profession, and we’ve worked closely with Deloitte to be sure our financial modelling is robust."

The Education Council is funded by teachers’ fees. The fees teachers pay to the Council have remained the same since 2010, and don’t reflect the services it provides to the profession.

The Council has been given government transition funding but must become self-sufficient from July 2019. Without an increase in fees, the Council will face a $9.595 million annual shortfall from that date.

"That paints a simple picture of why we’re proposing to change fees," says Dr Stoop.

Under the proposals, the fee for renewing a teacher’s practising certificate will rise from an annualised figure of $73 to an annualised figure of $170. This amount has been calculated after modelling from Deloitte.

The Education Council will also consult on a regular CPI-linked increase to the fee.

Consultation also covers proposals regarding the frequency of fee payments - annually or triennially. Currently teachers pay $220.80 every three years. The proposed triennial fee is $510.

Feedback collected during the fees consultation will be passed to the Education Council Board for its decision. We are proposing that any changes to fees will not take effect until 1 July 2019.

"Teachers help shape our future society every day in the classroom - this consultation is their chance to shape their profession for the future, too. I encourage all 101,000 of them to share their thoughts with us."

The fees consultation webpage can be found here: https://educationcouncil.org.nz/feesconsultation

Consultation closes on 5 May 2017.

ENDS

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