Disciplinary tribunal
What is the Disciplinary Tribunal?
The Disicplinary Tribunal is a disciplinary decision-making body, independent of the Teaching Council. When a matter of teacher conduct is referred to the Tribunal by the Complaints Assessment Committee (CAC), a formal process culminating in a hearing takes place.
The CAC is the prosecuting body, represented by a lawyer. The teacher can represent themselves or may have a lawyer or representative to present their case.
Please visit the Disciplinary Tribunal website for more information about the New Zealand Teachers' Disciplinary Tribunal, including the Tribunal process, details about Tribunal hearings, and published decisions from past hearings:
FAQs
The teacher or others who might be named in the decision, including a school, may request suppression of all details that might identify them. The chairperson will consider this, balancing the public’s interest with the respondent’s right to privacy. There is a strong mandate for transparency in these matters so the chairperson will consider this very carefully.
Sometimes names and/or details of the respondent teacher or others may be suppressed if there is concern about, for example, the age of a witness or where allowing this information to be public could have an adverse effect on a witness or member of the respondent’s family. The name and details of students involved are usually suppressed if requested.
If the Tribunal determines a teacher’s conduct was serious misconduct or warrants disciplinary action it will then determine what the outcome will be. For instance, the teacher might be censured but allowed to carry on teaching under certain conditions, the teacher’s practising certificate might be suspended for a period, or, if the matter is extremely serious, the teacher’s registration might be cancelled. A person cannot work as a teacher unless they are registered.
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