New Zealand Legislation: Acts

139AZC Complaints about competence

• (1) A person who wishes to make a complaint about a teacher's competence must first make the complaint to the teacher's employer, unless one of the circumstances in subsection (2)(a) to (d) applies.

  (2) Any person (including a parent, employer, or member of the Teachers Council) may, at any time, make a written complaint to the Teachers Council about the competence of a teacher—

  • (a) if the complaint is about a teacher who is not currently employed by an employer; or

  • (b) if the complainant considers, on reasonable grounds, that the employer will not be able to deal with the complaint effectively because of an actual or perceived conflict of interest; or

  • (c) if the complaint has been made to the employer, but the complainant is not satisfied with the way in which the complaint is being, or was, dealt with; or

  • (d) in any other exceptional circumstance.

  (3) A complaint under this section by an employer or former employer must include a description of the competency issues leading to the complaint and the actions (if any) that the employer or former employer has undertaken in relation to them.

  (4) If the Teachers Council considers that a complaint under this section should have been sent first to the teacher's employer, it must refer the matter to the employer; and in any other case, it must notify the employer (if the teacher is currently employed by an employer) that it has received a complaint about the teacher.

  (5) When the Teachers Council refers a complaint to an employer, the employer must report as required by the Teachers Council.

  (6) If the Teachers Council is satisfied that the employer has not responded, or has not been able to respond, to the complaint in a satisfactory way, the Teachers Council may investigate the complaint.

  (7) When a complaint about competence is made by a member of the Teachers Council, that member may not be involved in any investigation of the complaint.

  (8) If, after investigation, the Teachers Council is satisfied that the teacher has not attained the required level of competence, it may—

  • (a) impose conditions on the teacher's practising certificate or authority:

  • (b) refer the teacher to an impairment process involving the assessment of, and (if necessary) assistance with, an impairment:

  • (c) order that the teacher's registration or authority be cancelled (see section 129(1)).

  Section 139AZC: inserted, on 1 September 2004, by section 37(1) of the Education Standards Act 2001 (2001 No 88).

  Section 139AZC(8)(c): substituted, on 17 May 2006, by section 35 of the Education Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 19).