Assessing a concern

When the Teaching Council receive a report or complaint about a teacher, they must assess what the issue is and what the appropriate next steps should be. 

Initial assessment  

When a mandatory report, notification of a criminal conviction or a complaint comes in, the Triage Committee makes an initial assessment.   

The teacher involved will be invited to respond to any allegations to help inform the Triage Committee’s assessment of appropriate next steps.   

The Triage Committee is made up of Council staff, including experienced, registered teachers. There is an emphasis on ensuring appropriate tikanga Māori is followed and te ao Māori perspective is included.   

The Triage Committee can decide to:

• Take no further action, for example if no real conduct or competence issue is raised or is unlikely to require a disciplinary response

• Refer the issue to the teacher's employer

• Refer the issue to the Complaints Assessment Committee, if it’s about a teacher’s conduct 

• Refer the issue to a Professional Practice Evaluator, if it’s about a teacher’s competence  

• Refer the issue to the Teaching Council Governing members, for example where cancellation of the teacher will be necessary following their conviction of a very serious ‘specified offence’ (listed in the Children’s Act).  

Interim measures to deal with immediate risks  

If the Triage Committee has immediate concerns about the safety of children and young people and the reputation of the teaching profession, it can seek a voluntary agreement with the teacher to stop teaching until the matter has been fully investigated and resolved. 

This is called an 'undertaking not to teach' and appears as an annotation beside the teacher's name in the Register of New Zealand Registered Teachers. 

If the teacher refuses to agree, the Council may request the Complaints Assessment Committee consider applying to the Disciplinary Tribunal for an interim suspension of the teacher’s practising certificate.  

Investigation process  

If the Triage Committee decides to refer a report, complaint or make an own motion referral about a teacher to the Complaints Assessment Committee (CAC), investigators working on behalf of the CAC will investigate the allegations.  

The teacher involved will be told of the investigation, advised to seek representation through their union, a lawyer or advocate and given a chance to provide any relevant evidence and comment on the information the investigator has been given. The teacher’s current employer will also be informed.  

The investigator will write a report when all relevant information is gathered. 

A copy of the finished report and relevant information will be given to the teacher, who may also provide a response on the report and any of the collated information before it goes to the CAC.