Fees consultation and announcement
Closed: Teachers were asked for feedback on options for the Teaching Council to become financially stable.
Fees announcement
From 1 February 2021 the fees paid by teachers for registration, practising certificates and Limited Authority to Teach will change and practising certificates will be issued yearly.
New fee structure
For |
New fee |
Applicants who are registered and apply to renew a practising certificate (this applies to any teacher renewing a current Practising Certificate). |
$157 for one year |
Applicants who are graduates from an approved New Zealand initial teacher education programme and who apply for Kaiako Whai Rēhitanga | Teacher Registration and a Tōmua | Provisional Practising Certificate |
$157 for one year |
Applicants who are overseas training teachers and who apply for Kaiako Whai Rēhitanga | Teacher Registration and a Tōmua | Provisional Practising Certificate (this includes applications made under the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Agreement (TTMRA). |
$257 for one year |
Applicants who are provisionally certificated or certificated ‘Subject to Confirmation’ / Pūmau | Full Practising Certificate (Category Two) teachers and who now apply for Tūturu | Full Practising Certificate (Category One). |
$257 for one year |
Additional Fee (Late Fee) for applicants who lodge their renewal applications after the expiry date of their current practising certificate. |
$100 |
Applicants who apply for a Tūranga Whakaako Whai-herenga | Limited Authority to Teach (LAT). |
$157 for one year |
Applicants who are Registered teachers who have not completed any teaching in New Zealand in the last 5 years and who apply for a Returning to Teaching in Aotearoa New Zealand Practising Certificate. |
$157 for one year |
Applicants who are graduates from an approved New Zealand initial teacher education programme and who apply for Kaiako Whai Rēhitanga | Teacher Registration only |
$157 (registration never expires) |
We are mindful of the need to reduce workload for teachers and professional leaders applying annually for certification.
Work is already underway to streamline processes and the launch of Hapori Matatū | Online Community, the new online system, simplifies and expedites the process for applying for certification. Police vetting will continue to be undertaken every three years.
The Governing Council, your representatives from the profession, listened to your concerns and considered the extraordinary COVID-19 situation we all find ourselves in.
Delaying the increase until February 2021 gives you more time to prepare. The Council will use $5m of its own reserves to fund the delay in implementation of new fees.
Moving to annual certification means you won’t pay a large lump sum once every three years. The Budget 2020 announced $16.5m of funding to help us move to annual certification and fees. If you currently hold a three-year practising certificate or are due to renew before February 2021 you won’t be required to move to annual certification until the expiry of your current practising certificate, which could be up to early 2024.
Fees consultation results
Thank you to the more than 24,000 teachers and professional leaders who had their say in the proposed fees consultation.

Click to enlarge
For information about who responded and what their feedback was please read our summary of feedback.
For more information about how the Teaching Council came to a decision on the fees increase following consultation with the sector, read this Briefing Paper.
Proposed fees consultation
Since establishment in 2015 the Teaching Council has received a significant amount of funding from government on the understanding that we would be independently financially sustainable from 1 July 2020.
The current three-yearly fee of $220.80 paid by teachers for registration/certification, or renewal of a practising certificate, was last increased in 2010. Since then the Council’s functions have significantly expanded.
With the end of government transition funding on 30 June 2020, and current teacher fees only covering around 40% of the expenditure required to carry out our functions, we are concerned that we will be unable to deliver our statutory obligations with the current fee settings. We are therefore consulting on proposed options to increase fees to ensure the ongoing financial sustainability of the Teaching Council.
Full details of proposed fees under each option | Full consultation document
Ripanga Rāpopoto Uiuinga Utu | He uiuinga mō ētahi huringa e marohitia ana mō Matatū Aotearoa
Review of the New Zealand Teachers Council 2012
Two key proposals for fee changes
Q&A videos
Your common questions or misconceptions are answered in these short video snippets. Simply click on a question below and watch the answer.
Q: What does my money pay for?
Q: Why are there only two options – pay more or pay even more?
Q: Why is the consultation period only 4 weeks and held at one of the busiest times of the year?