Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQ
EP’s recruitment services are free of charge for teachers. If you are working with EP to find a role - permanent, fixed-term, contract or relief - this does not cost you anything.
We place permanent teachers everywhere in New Zealand.
Relief teaching through EP is currently available in Auckland and Wellington.
We work with primary teachers, secondary teachers and early childhood teachers.
We work with teachers already in New Zealand, as well as overseas teachers eligible to work in New Zealand (see Overseas Teacher FAQ).
No. A vaccine mandate was in place for the education sector in late 2021/early 2022, and it was removed in April 2022. Please talk to your EP recruiter if you have questions about teaching in NZ and COVID-19 vaccination.
Visit the NZ Government COVID-19 website for more information about the current guidelines for international travellers here.
Due to our close relationship with anzuk, we’re able to direct you to an anzuk staff member who can discuss and then support you through their requirements. They work in Australia, Canada, USA and the UK, so will work with you to help you decide the best spot for you. If you are already working with ep.education, you'll be able to shortcut overseas compliance by asking us to send your police vet, reference and other checks direct to anzuk. ep.education also have occassional roles in Asia and the Middle East. To find out more, just make contact with your EP recruiter or email EP's Candidate Care team.
This depends on several factors:
- What status your practising certificate is when you leave NZ (if you hold one)
- What the teaching you complete offshore looks like (day to day relief, full time, the kind of school/centre you work at, whether you were fully supervised and appraised during this time etc…)
- How long ago you graduated with your NZ teaching qualification
- How long you’ve been teaching outside of NZ
If you apply and are granted a provisional practising certificate upon completion of your teaching qualification, the Council expects you to complete the teaching service requirements to meet the Standards for the Teaching Profession and be issued with a full practising certificate within 6 years of first becoming registered.
If you’re unable to fulfil this, you may be required to complete the Teacher Education Refresh (TER) programme.
If you hold a full status practising certificate (which is valid for 3 years) and then head offshore, you are required to complete satisfactory recent teaching experience within the previous 3-5 years and to have completed satisfactory professional development within the previous 3 years when it’s time to renew that full practising certificate. Here’s the link to the Council’s registration policy for further details.
Temporary/Relief Roles FAQ
Relief (supply/substitute) teaching means that you can experience working in a variety of different centres/schools, generally on a casual basis.
When teachers are sick/on leave/on release/not able to teach for whatever reason, schools/centres can use relief teachers to ensure that learning outcomes are still being met and ratios are maintained.
Absolutely! Many teachers will relief teach when they are looking for a permanent role so they can get a taste of different teaching areas. You may think that your ideal role is working with Year 3 students, but then teach a few days in a Year 7/8 class and realise that you love working with older students. You may have never considered Montessori centres until you do a day’s relief in one, and realise that’s where you’d like to go with your career.
Doing daily relief work while looking for a permanent job also means that you’re constantly improving your teaching abilities and getting more experience, as well as earning money during your job hunt.
Not necessarily. You can work as an unregistered early childhood relief teacher if you don’t have teacher registration. Unregistered early childhood teachers work alongside the registered teachers in early childhood centres.
In New Zealand, all classroom teachers need to be registered, regardless of whether you are in a permanent job or doing day-to-day relief work. It doesn’t matter if your practising certificate is categorised as Provisional, Subject to Confirmation, or Full - as long as you have a current practising certificate, you are considered a registered teacher.
There are a few exceptions to this rule that apply to primary teachers. To learn more about these, please call your local EP office.
If you are working in early childhood centres through us, EP is your employer. We are responsible for your pay and working conditions.
If you are working in primary or secondary schools as a classroom teacher, EP is not your employer. We are an agent working on your behalf. You have a short term employment agreement with the schools themselves and will be paid by the school.
If you are an employee of EP (i.e. doing early childhood work through us), then we pay you using an online time sheet system called Invoxy. You will normally receive a payslip on the Tuesday following your work week and will be paid by Wednesday or Thursday.
If you are working as a primary or secondary classroom teacher, then you will be paid by the schools directly. If you work at a state school, then you will be paid by Novopay. If you work at a private school, then the schools will add you to their payroll system and pay you directly.
That depends on several factors, such as what sector you’re working in, what kind of teacher you are, and how much experience you have.
If you are working in schools as a classroom teacher, you will need to complete a salary assessment, which takes into account how long you’ve been teaching, your level of education, etc.
If you are working as an early childhood teacher, please call your local EP office to talk about rates.
If you’re unwell and unable to do a shift that you are booked for, call your local EP office as soon as possible to let them know. If it is outside of work hours or if your call isn’t answered, then leave a voicemail letting your team know that you are unable to work.
You can back up a voicemail with a text or email, but please do not just text or email in sick - the EP temp teams are very busy in the morning so texts and emails could be overlooked until it’s too late!
At the moment, we only offer daily relief in Auckland and Wellington, but things are constantly changing! Please get in touch with us and let us know if you are interested in daily relief work in another part of the country - we work with centres all throughout New Zealand and we may be able to connect you with centres in your area.
Overseas Teachers FAQ
Here are the most common questions we receive from overseas teachers. After reading this information, and exploring the details in the links provided, you'll be more informed about teaching in New Zealand. We invite you to register here for one of our weekly webinars, which will provide you with additional information about teaching and living in New Zealand.
Here at ep.education we place teachers in casual day to day relief teaching (supply / substitute) roles, as well as fixed term contracts which vary in duration from several weeks to a year, and permanent roles also.
If you’re planning a fun filled working holiday adventure and want the flexibility of when you work, and you meet the requirements for a Working Holiday Visa with you may decide that casual daily relief work is the best option for you. We offer day to day relief teaching in Auckland and Wellington.
We also work with schools to help them find the best teacher for their school for longer fixed term and permanent roles. Our primary client schools are predominantly located in Wellington and Auckland with others sprinkled throughout the country. Our secondary client schools are located throughout our large cities, provincial towns and rural locations.
You must hold at least a recognised (by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority) degree level teaching qualification, of no less than one year of full time study, with specialism in teaching Early Childhood, Primary and/or Secondary level. Content comparable to what is required in New Zealand initial teaching qualifications is what is needed (pedagogy, education, teaching practicum, curriculum content etc…). This may or may not need to be assessed by the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).
Here is the 4 agency process, outlined on one website. This is a great place to gain a broad overview of what you’ll need to do.
The New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) now have a list of 'Pre-Approved Overseas Teaching Qualifications.' If your initial teacher education qualification is on this list, and you fulfil the other exempt requirements, you don't need to have your qualifications assessed.
If your qualifications are not exempt from assessment, you’ll need to submit an online application form for an International Qualifications Assessment, and upload the required documentation (all of which needs to be colour photocopied and scanned).
Click here to watch our International Qualifications Assessement webinar with Stefan Grand-Meyer, Acting Manager of QRS at NZQA
If your qualifications don’t need to be assessed, you can apply directly to the Teaching Council.
The Teaching Council has recent moved to an online based application form for NZ teacher registration with a practicing certificate, the online platform is Hapori Matatū | Online Community. The Teaching Council requires certified copies of most documents.
You can find the type of Police Check you require for the Teaching Council at Overseas Police clearance.
For the UK it is an International Child Protection Certificate (ICPC), ACRO ask for the ‘Name of School or Organisation’ requesting the police check. The answer is the New Zealand Education Council. Add your name and DOB to this letter to send with your application for an ICPC.
To watch our webinar please click the link, New Zealand Teachers registration.
Teachers employed in state and state integrated schools are paid on the base salary scale included in their respective collective agreement. Teachers are paid the same salary regardless of where in New Zealand they work. Where a teacher is placed on the salary is dependent on 2 things:
-
the level of qualifications you hold (on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework)
-
years of recognised teaching experience
Relief teachers are paid the same salary as if they were in a fixed term or permanent role (with holiday pay built into the daily rate). A teacher with a recognised bachelor degree and bachelor level recognised teaching qualification doing relief teaching could expect to earn approximately NZ$250 - $350 per day, depending on what step they are on the salary scale.
The current starting salary for a primary school teacher with a bachelor’s teaching degree is $50,470 and can progress up to $75,200 after seven years service. The current starting salary for a primary school teacher with a bachelor’s degree (not a teaching degree) and a recognised teaching qualification is $52,736 and can progress up to $80,500 after seven years service.
Secondary school teachers are paid according to the level (on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework - NZQF) of their subject specialist qualification. The current starting salary for a trained secondary school teacher with a Level 7 subject or specialist qualification on the NZQF is $52,736. For trained teachers with a Level 8 specialist/subject qualification the starting salary is $54,796, while for trained teachers with a Level 9 specialist/subject qualification the starting salary is $58,247. Most trained teachers can progress up to $80,500 after seven years’ service. Trained teachers with Masters or PhD qualifications may take less time to reach this maximum.
A salary assessment will determine how much previous teaching experience will be accepted and determine where on the salary scale a teacher will be placed. A salary assessment cannot be submitted until a job offer has been accepted.
A teacher undertaking extra responsibilities may be entitled to other additional allowances on top their base salary. Management units (MU) middle / senior management allowances, special duties allowance for special education teachers and secondary high priority teacher supply allowance are examples of some of the extra allowances that enable a teacher to increase their overall salary.
The TeachNZ website salaries page is a helpful resource. Here are the links to the primary and secondary teachers collective agreements.
- Secondary STEM and other subject specialist teachers (nationwide)
- Science (chemistry, physics)
- Mathematics
- Technology (hard materials, resistant materials, DVC + graphics, digital media and electronics)
- English
- ICT / Computing
- Relief (supply/substitute) teachers throughout the year, specifically during winter months (Wellington and Auckland)
- Primary and ECE teachers for long term and permanent roles (Wellington and Auckland)
- ECE teachers and Centre Managers for relief, long term and permanent roles (Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch)
- Special Education and Sign Language teachers (Wellington and Auckland)
- Teachers who can fulfil the special characters requirement for teaching in Catholic schools.
As part of a teacher supply and retention package, some new initiatives have recently been announced to help streamline the process for overseas teachers coming to teach in New Zealand. It could be quicker and cheaper for you to teach in New Zealand than ever before!
You may be eligible for one of the overseas relocation grants, of up to $5,000.00. There are a few conditions to these. Click here to see if you fulfil the requirements, and find out more.
If you meet the age requirements and are from a qualifying country you may be able to enter and work in NZ on a working holiday visa. This means you can take on shorter term teaching roles (daily relief/supply teaching, long term relief and fixed term).
A work visa is required for a permanent job offer. Most teachers with a job offer apply for this work visa. Education Personnel will work with your school to gather the documents required for this. You cannot apply for a work visa until you have NZ teacher registration. At Education Personnel we not an licensed immigration advisor - only a licensed immigration advisor can give immigration advice we can direct you to information on the immigration website. Several of our overseas teachers have used Migration Associates to assist them with their visa applications for New Zealand. If you'd like to complete a free initial New Zealand visa evaluation, then please click here.
If you meet immigration criteria set by Immigration New Zealand and have a job offer and the required forms for teaching work from a NZ school then you can apply for a work visa. Certain visa applications for New Zealand require you to have a medical and chest x-ray with a Panel physician. Applicants for visas must be of good character. You may have to supply a police certificate (or similar) as evidence of good character, depending on your visa requirements.
Trade Me is our leading buy/sell online website. It is a great place to look for cars, flats, flatmates wanted, clothes, furniture: you name it.
Rental properties will either be rented directly from the landlord or through a residential property management company. A company is likely to charge a 'letting fee'. The Bond is held by Tenancy Services.
A local real estate agent may also have rental properties, usually also advertised on Trade Me. Ask someone in your school (principal, principal's PA or colleagues) if they have any recommendations or referrals. There are also residential property management companies in some areas such as: Quinovic, Fullhouse Property Management, Oxygen (we do not endorse these companies). Again they will likely advertise on Trade Me.
To open a bank account in New Zealand some banks will do so from offshore; you will be requested to provide certain identification. Rules differ between banks on how much identification you need. For your IRD number application you will require a fully functional New Zealand bank account. As an offshore person, you'll need to prove you have a fully functional bank account with a New Zealand bank. This means you have an account that:
- you have the ability to use for deposits AND withdrawals, and
- you have provided documentation to verify your identity.
The main banks are ANZ, ASB, BNZ, Kiwibank, The Co-operative Bank, TSB Bank and Westpac (listed in alpahbetical order). Kiwbank is NZ owned.
Once you are in NZ and have a fully functioning bank account you can apply for an IRD number.
The main cell phone providers are: Spark, 2 Degrees, Vodaphone and Skinny.
