PPTA wins Judicial Review against changes made by Teaching Council

<h2>A recent High Court decision has found that the Teaching Council did not properly consult with teachers on changes to the issuing of practising certificates&period;<&sol;h2>&NewLine;<p>From February 2021&comma; the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand began issuing practising certificates on a annual basis and also increased the fees&period; This legal decision means that the Teaching Council has reverted to issuing practising certificates for three years at the old fee of &dollar;220&period;80&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>Approximately 12&comma;000 teachers were issued annual practising certificates between February and July 2021&period; Their practising certificates will need to be reissued and will now be for three years&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>The court found further serious errors in the Council’s decisions over basic issues of law and good process&comma; including&colon;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li>wrongly representing to teachers that payment by installment was unlawful<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>misleading the Minister on payment by installment<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>not considering the pros and cons of annual certification<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>imposing a blanket one-year period of certification inconsistently with the Act<&sol;li>&NewLine;<li>setting an unlawful fee which bundled together all costs of the Council’s services<&sol;li>&NewLine;<&sol;ul>&NewLine;<p>The Court rejected explanations offered by the Council’s witnesses that were inconsistent with the documentary record&period; It also quashed the annual certification decision and the fee increase&period; As a result&comma; the Post Primary Teachers&&num;8217&semi; Association &sol; Te Wehengarua &lpar;PPTA&rpar; expects teachers who have certified from 1 February 2021 will be treated as having obtained a three-year practising certificate&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>PPTA Te Wehengarua President Melanie Webber says&comma; &&num;8220&semi;Teachers always knew the Council had acted illegally and this judgment confirms that view&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<blockquote>&NewLine;<p>&&num;8220&semi;The PPTA welcomes the Council’s announcement that it will abide by the judgment&comma; it will continue to work with unions&comma; and it will consult the profession on fees and annual certification&period;&&num;8221&semi;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;blockquote>&NewLine;<p><u><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;teachingcouncil&period;nz&sol;news-advocacy&sol;news&sol;judicial-review-further-information" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank">Teaching Council website<&sol;a><&sol;u><&sol;p>&NewLine;