Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Driver License Rule Changes in NSW for Overseas Visitors

 


If you are on student visa and arrived in NSW before 1 July 2023, you can continue to use your Philippine driver license for the duration of your stay as temporary resident provided that your Philippine driver license remains valid, and: you have not accrued 13 demerit points or you are not convicted of a serious driving offence.

Your Philippine driver license is valid if it has not expired, it has not been suspended, or you have not been disqualified from driving.

If you are on student visa and arrived in NSW on or after 1 July 2023, you can only use your Philippine driver license for the first 6 months. If you are staying for more than 6 months in NSW, you have to obtain a NSW driver license.

For more information, refer to the NSW Government website (click here).

YOU DO NOT NEED THE SO-CALLED INTERNATIONAL DRIVER LICENSE (which is just an English translation of a driver license written in a language other than English). Since the Philippine driver license is in English, your Philippine driver license is acceptable under the conditions mentioned above.

Tuesday, July 6, 2021

Free food hampers for international students in NSW



To help international students in these trying times of the pandemic, Study NSW partnered with Foodbank NSW & ACT to provide free food hampers to international students in NSW. The hampers will be available in Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, Armidale, Lismore, Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour. 

To avail of the hampers, international students can call Food Bank on (02) 9756 3099 or complete this form. If calling, identify yourself as an international student. You will need to indicate your suburb, then ask for the distribution point closest to you. 

When collecting the hamper, the student visa and student card may need to be sighted. Please note that there is a limited number of hampers available.

6:21 PMEditorial Staff

Thursday, September 17, 2020

Audible Streams Story Books for Free

Audible, an Amazon company, has made available audio-story books streaming for free. According to Audible, for as long as schools are closed (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), kids everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across eight different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids. 

All stories are free to stream to a desktop, laptop, phone or tablet. There is no login needed, just head on to the Audible landing page or click here to explore the titles directly




DISCLAIMER:

This information is being provided as public service so people would know of this free resource. We are not in any way connected with Amazon Audible and make no representation of any kind that we are. 


3:33 AMEditorial Staff

Saturday, August 29, 2020

How to Work as a Teacher in Australia

 


Lately, there has been an increase in forum questions about teaching in Australia, or indirectly, what are the prospects of a teacher or of a graduate of an education degree in Australia. If you are an overseas-trained teacher or prospective teacher and you are interested to teach in Australia, you might find this article useful.

What do you need to work as a teacher in Australia?

To work as a teacher in Australia, you need two things: (1) registration as a teacher and (2) visa with work rights. Before even considering obtaining a work visa, you probably should ask first if Australia is in need of teachers.

Are teachers needed in Australia? 

The public and private school system all over the world seems to be in need of teachers. Australia is no exception. Based on the Skilled Occupation List (SOL) that the Australian Government publishes regularly to indicate skilled occupations that Australia needs, teaching has always been listed. The Migration (LIN 19/051: Specification of Occupations and Assessing Authorities) Instrument 2019, the following teachers are needed in Australia:  

241111 Early Childhood (Pre-Primary School) Teacher
241411 Secondary School Teacher
241511 Special Needs Teacher
241512 Teacher of the Hearing Impaired
241513 Teacher of the Sight Impaired
241599 Special Education Teacher (Not Elsewhere Classified)
241213 Primary School Teacher
241311 Middle School Teacher

242111 University Lecturer
249211 Art Teacher (Private Tuition)
249212 Dance Teacher (Private Tuition)
249214 Music Teacher (Private Tuition)
249299 Private Tutors and Teachers (Not Elsewhere Classified)
249311 Teacher of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)

The 6-digit number beside the teacher classification is called the ANZSCO Code. ANZSCO stands for Australia-New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations. The ANZSCO Code is a unique identifier of specific occupations.

If the visa you are applying for requires you to nominate an occupation from the SOL, you need to know the ANZSCO Code or the occupation name that corresponds to the code. Generally, nominating an occupation in the SOL will require that you have been assessed by an assessing authority. For teachers, there are two assessing authority designated by the Australian Government for purposes of a visa. These are: the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) and the Vocational Education and Training Assessment Services (VETASSESS). The first set of teaching roles in the list above is assessed by AITSL, while the second list is assessed by VETASSESS.

It is important to note that even if the AITSL or the VETASSESS has given you a positive assessment, (and assuming you obtain a working visa) it does not mean that you can already teach in the Australian school system. The exception is private tuition, teaching in a tutorial centre or teaching as a private tutor.

How do you obtain a teacher accreditation?

The AITSL and VETASSESS do not register teachers. There is no national registration of teachers in Australia. Registration is done at the state level. You get registered in the state where you want to teach and you register with the state teacher regulation agency. In addition, if you are teaching in the Catholic education system, you may also need to be classified.

Below are the teacher regulation agencies in the Australian states and territories:

To be registered as a teacher, you must meet the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.  Each state and territory will have a slightly different process or set of requirements for registration, but once registered with one, transferring to another state is easy.

Most overseas-trained teachers may need some bridging course to be able to register as a teacher in Australia. If you are planning to study in Australia to obtain a teaching qualification, see to it that you enrol in an accredited program of study. The AITSL lists the accredited teacher training programs in its website, or click here.

How do you obtain a working visa?

To obtain a working visa, apply for the appropriate visa at the Department of Home Affairs. Click here for more information on the visa that is suitable for the work that you intend to do. Meanwhile, if you need to obtain a suitable Australian teacher qualification first, send us a message and we'd be glad to assist.




8:35 AMEditorial Staff

Entire catalogue of courses for FREE at US Institute of Peace



The United States Institute of Peace has made its entire catalogue of online courses FREE from now until the end of 2020. According to the Institute, it is trying to meet the increased demand for resources and training created by the current responses to COVID-19 and the structural racism around the world. By making the courses free, it aims to help today's peace builders transform violent conflicts in their communities and to assist people who are seeking non-violent change around the world.

Here's an excerpt from the US Institute of Peace (USIP) Academy:

"The USIP Academy provides a wide range of education and training opportunities to fit the needs of any person working to resolve global conflict. Utilising technology and expert human capital, our mission is to help the global peace-building community share knowledge, develop skills, and grow both professionally and personally, in order to better contribute toward building sustainable peace. Since 1997, the USIP Academy has helped more than 65,000 individuals build peace in their communities." 

The full catalogue of English courses is as follows:

DISCLAIMER: Manny Diaz IIEC and brightidiaz.com are not affiliated in any way with the United States Institute of Peace. This article is published only for information purposes as there may be readers that are interested in courses on non-violent conflict resolution.



3:10 AMEditorial Staff