Renewing a practising certificate after a period of absence
If you don't have enough satisfactory recent teaching service to meet the requirements, there's a range of options you can undertake to renew your practising certificate.
Practising Certificate renewal after a period of absence
No matter how long it has been since you held a practising certificate, the first step that you need to take is to log into our online portal, Hapori Matatū. To log into Hapori Matatū, you'll need an Education Sector Logon (ESL).
Contact us and we'll help you get an ESL so that you can log in.
Once you have access to Hapori Matatū, you can apply to renew your practising certificate.
Once your application is submitted, a member of our Registration and Certification team will look at your teaching service. If you don't meet the requirements for satisfactory recent teaching experience, they'll talk you through the options available to you.
Teacher refresh processes
There are three different options available in our teacher refresh process.
1. A New or Beginning Teacher Practice Plan (NBTPP)
This is a self-assessment completed by a new or beginning teacher who has yet to complete their induction and mentoring programme and is seeking to renew their Tōmua | Provisional Practising Certificate.
2. A Return to Practice Plan (RTPP)
This is a self-assessment completed by an experienced teacher who doesn't meet the satisfactory recent teaching experience requirement and/or hasn't taught for an extended period, to identify their learning needs and the professional development they intend to undertake when returning to teaching.
3. A formal Teacher Education Refresh (TER) programme
TER programmes have been in place since 2014. These are more structured programmes which are flexible and vary in length, starting from 12 weeks. They may be online and may have practicum requirements.
Which refresh process is right for you?
You can check which refresh process might be right for you below, however, when you submit your application for a practising certificate, we'll advise if you're required to complete one of the refresh processes and which option you should do. You may be eligible to teach while you complete the refresh process.
New/ Beginning Teacher Practice Plan (NBTPP)
You'll be required to complete a NBTPP if you:
- Are seeking to renew your Tōmua | Provisional Practising Certificate
- Were issued with this practising certificate type less than five years ago
- Cannot meet the requirement for satisfactory recent teaching experience
Find out more details about NBTPP.
Return to Practice Plan (RTPP)
You'll be required to complete a RTPP if you:
- Want to renew a Tūturu | Full (Category One) or Pūmau | Full (Category Two) Practising Certificate
- Cannot meet the requirements for satisfactory recent teaching experience
Find out more details about RTPP.
Teacher Education Refresh (TER) programme
You'll be required to complete a TER programme if you:
- are applying for your first Tōmua | Provisional Practising Certificate and you graduated from your Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programme more than five years ago
- last held a Provisional Practising Certificate (now Tōmua | Provisional) and have not been able to gain satisfactory recent teaching experience for five or more years
- have held a Tōmua | Provisional Practising Certificate for more than five years and want to renew it
- are an overseas teacher and your education qualification was completed more than five years ago and you have not taught in the last five years
- apply to renew a practising certificate but your overseas teaching experience was not equivalent to a teaching position in New Zealand, and you are not able to meet the requirement for satisfactory recent teaching experience.
You may be required to undertake a TER programme if you are seeking to renew a Tūturu | Full (Category One) or Pūmau | Full (Category Two) Practising Certificate and have renewed either of these practising certificate types using a RTPP for more than five years.