Educators from Commonwealth nations dominate migrant equivalence test submissions

Educators from the larger Commonwealth nations make up 58 per cent of all applications to have qualifications that are not published on the approved qualifications list to be assessed for equivalence by ACECQA. 

The data, released as part of ACECQA’s online NQF snapshot, highlights just how important the big five Commonwealth countries of the United Kingdom, New Zealand, India, South Africa and Canada are as suppliers of educators to the Australian early childhood education and care (ECEC) workforce. 

If Ireland was also included the proportion rises to 71 per cent, with the top ten ECEC providers accounting for just over 81 per cent of applications to date. 

With workforce constraints still very much a challenge across the early years landscape, providers continue to actively look for any and all avenues to secure quality educators and teachers, with many trying to encourage overseas residents to migrate to Australia.

Rising applications, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, highlight the degree of inward applications of equivalence, but the overall numbers remain low relative to the size of the ECEC workforce and demand for educators. 

In the last quarter of 2023 there were 450 applications made, the largest in recent history, but still well short of the peak levels recorded in 2014. 

Migration pathways for both centre manager and room leader occupations are strong, but the overall numbers are low, with just 92 skills assessments completed in the last three months of 2023 and no equivalent pathways to residency available for educators. 

Against that backdrop approved providers will be forced to focus their recruitment efforts internally until broader reform of migration pathways for ECEC educators is implemented. 

To visit the Online Snapshot click here.