Specific requirements
Application requirements 
First steps
Literacy and Numeracy assessments
Help and advice
Interview
Police check

Before you begin your teaching qualification at the University of Auckland, the  Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand has a list of requirements that you must complete. This will allow you to apply for provisional certification as a teacher in New Zealand.  

It is important to apply for your programme early to allow plenty of time to complete these requirements. 

If you have any questions, please email education@auckland.ac.nz or visit your nearest Student Hub.

Applicants for the Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes will need to complete the following requirements:

• Literacy and Numeracy test (Online)
• Interview (Online)
• Safety checks under the Children's Act 2014
• Overseas Police Clearance if applicable, and New Zealand Police Clearance
• Provide references from two referees
• Meet English language requirement – For University Entrance and additional requirements for initial teacher education programmes
• Provide work history (CV/Resume)
  
• Child Safety Assessment form
• Application Declaration

Here are the steps to complete your application.  

1. Submit your application – Please include: 

- Transcripts of all prior studies.
- The Child Safety Assessment form
- Application Declaration
- Work history (should be completed as part of your application)

Note: The referee form and the NZ Police vetting consent form will be provided at the application stage.    

Do not delay. Please start on the following tasks whilst we assess your application.

2. Request your Overseas Police Clearance document (if applicable)

3. Ask your referees to submit the character references using the form downloaded from the Apply To Study portal.

Submit your New Zealand Police Vetting form. If you are an International applicant, this task can wait until you arrive in New Zealand. This will not delay the application progress.

When you receive your conditional offer, please complete the following urgent tasks:

• Complete and pass the Literacy and Numeracy tests.  These tests are a New Zealand Teaching Council requirement. All applicants must pass these tests. A link for booking the test will be included in your conditional offer. 
• You are able to take the tests again if you dont meet the entry requirement after your first attempt. But please note,  there is a mandatory waiting period of two to four weeks, depending on the test (see table below) 
• Book your test early and make sure you have enough time for several attempts. There are strict deadlines for enrolment and programme start.
  

4. Complete and pass the Interview.

This is a NZ Teaching Council requirement. All applicants must complete the interview process.  The Admissions Team will send you an invitation. You will have two weeks to complete the online asynchronous (not live) interview. Once the interview is recorded and completed, it will be reviewed and scored by the faculty. This requirement will  be marked as completed on the application portal once the interview has been reviewed. Some interviews may need additional review before the final outcome is released.
Please note this may delay processing of your application. It is therefore important to complete the online interview recording as soon as possible. 

5. You may be requested to provide evidence of your English proficiency to meet the Teaching Council English language requirement. This is a separate, additional requirement to both the literacy test and the University Entrance English level requirement. If we require additional evidence, this will be added to your offer conditions. For further information, please see the Teaching Council website. 

The University of Auckland will likely contact you either via email, phone, or text message regarding the progress of your application and the completion of the entry requirements.

Please ensure you check your emails regularly, including your email spam folder and respond to our calls or emails as soon as possible.

Start your application

The first step is starting your application. You will need to include documents that provide proof of your academic history; as you fill out your application, we will tell you what documents we need. If you don’t have all your supporting documents yet, you can save your application and come back to it later but do not delay as there are a lot of tasks to complete.

Referees’ report

You will need to ask two referees to submit a character reference about you. Referees must be people who know you well, but they cannot be a family member or friend. Examples of referees include: 

• Teachers
• Careers advisers
• Sports coaches
• Members of organisations you belong to
• Youth group leaders
• Church members

While completing your application to study, you will be instructed to download the referee form, which you can send to your two referees. Your referees will need to send the completed form directly to admission@auckland.ac.nz

You can also access these forms on our website. 

To meet the requirements of the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand you will need to complete two online assessments in literacy and numeracy.

All applicants must take:

A literacy test which will involve reading an article and answering some multiple-choice questions about the article.

A numeracy test which will involve basic mathematical concepts, such as addition, subtraction, finding equivalent fractions, multiplying decimals, understanding place value, and converting common fractions, decimals and percentages.

There are no waivers or exemptions for this requirement.

The test environment (Canvas or LNAAT) will be different, depending on whether you, the applicant, have an NSN number (National Student Number).

About NSN (National Student Number) 

If you have studied in New Zealand (High School or Tertiary Education), you will have an NSN.  If you have never studied in New Zealand, you will not have an NSN. In both cases, you will receive a link that will guide you through the test booking for the correct test platform.
You can find your NSN number by following these steps:

Find your National Student Number (NSN) – NZQA 

https://www2.nzqa.govt.nz/login/national-student-number-nsn/   

You can: 

• Use NZQA’s chatbot, Awhina, to retrieve your NSN. 
• Contact NZQA directly at 0800 697 296. 
• Request your NSN through your current or previous school/education provider. 

It's important to note that most individuals who have studied in New Zealand will have an NSN.  

You will be asked to provide your NSN when you book your literacy and numeracy tests. Please keep your NSN number handy. 

TESTS RULES

Applicants applying for more than one programmes will only need to complete and pass the Literacy and Numeracy once. The test scores will count for each programme they applied for.

A few more things about the Literacy and Numeracy tests: 

• We strongly recommend you book your tests as soon as possible. Leaving the test to be completed at the end of the year may impact your application progress. 
• Please note that applicants who have booked for a test and don’t attend the test on the day, may not be prioritised for another booking. Test no-shows may impact on application progress.
•  Depending on having an NSN or not, you will need to book one or two test sessions: 
  • LNAAT Literacy is a standalone booking 
  • LNAAT Numeracy is a standalone booking 
  • Literacy and Numeracy in Canvas can be booked together into one session 
• Bookings for the Literacy and Numeracy tests are open three weeks in advance. 

You can read more about the new numeracy on the Teaching Council's website.  

Zoom 

Both literacy and numeracy assessments will be done via Zoom and will be supervised. You will need to use a laptop/computer that has a camera. Online Zoom assessment sessions will be run at least twice a week except during the University end of year closure.   

For help with either numeracy test, see Tips and advice for the numeracy test.

For information on the literacy test, refer to the document below:

Steps

1. Submit your application. Upon the initial assessment, you may receive a conditional offer letter with a link to book for a literacy and numeracy assessment time. 
2. Take the assessments online via Zoom using a device that has a camera. Please be on time. 
3. Have photo identification with you as we will need to confirm your identity before the assessment commences. 

All applicants to the programmes listed above will have an interview before acceptance into their programme. This is to get to know a bit about you, your ambitions as a future teacher, and the skills or qualities you could bring to teaching. The interview will be conducted using Kira Talent and will be asynchronous in format. This means that you will submit a recording of yourself responding to a series of questions at a time of your choosing.

Once you have received a conditional offer, we will send you an invitation to Kira Talent with a unique link that is valid for two weeks. You can choose any time that suits you best within that two-week period to record your interview responses. Your responses will then be evaluated by two reviewers (e.g. academic staff, educational specialists, or education sector representatives), resulting in a final score that determines the outcome.

To help prepare you for your interview, we have put together some Interview tips for teacher education programmes.

Please note: 

• You will need to show two forms of identification at the beginning of your interview in accordance with the Children’s Act 2014. 
• Once you have started the interview process on Kira Talent, there is no way to pause or return to edit your answers at a later time. You must complete all parts of the interview in one session. You will have a set number of minutes for each response, and will not be able to re-record or edit your responses. 
• Passing the interview does not guarantee you a place in the programme. It is just one of the conditional requirements you need to meet. 
  

School/centre visit

Before recording your interview on Kira Talent, it is recommended that you visit a school or early childhood centre (depending on the programme you are applying for). This experience will give you an idea of what teaching is like, and your observations may be helpful to refer to during your interview.

If visiting a centre/school is impossible, you should familiarise yourself with some key documents about education in New Zealand. If you are applying for primary or secondary teaching, please look at this Ministry of Education page: The New Zealand Curriculum.

If you have lived in New Zealand for the past ten years, please complete the Police Vetting Service Request & Consent Form, and we will follow through this process with New Zealand Police on your behalf. The process can take 3–6 weeks, so it is best to complete this as early as possible.

If you are an International applicant, this requirement will be temporarily suspended until you enter New Zealand. This will not affect the progress of your application. 

If you have lived overseas for a period of more than 12 months in the past ten years (not including any time under the age of 16), you will need to arrange a police report from that country. Please organise this as soon as possible to avoid delays in your application process.