Teacher Exchange

VIEU has operated an international teacher exchange program for the last five years. The teacher exchange program is open to VIEU members with a full-time teaching position and a minimum of five years teaching experience at the time of the exchange. For further information on the teacher exchange program, please contact Angela Villella at VIEU.

Eligibility

The VIEU teacher exchange program is offered as a member benefit. If you are not currently a member of the union, go here to find information on joining. Your application for the teacher exchange program cannot be activated until you are a financial member of the union. You will be expected to maintain your membership whilst overseas.
Our agreement with exchange authorities overseas requires applicants to have at least five years teaching experience at the time of the exchange to be eligible for our exchange program.

General Information

• Teacher exchange generally involves a reciprocal exchange of teaching position and accommodation.

• As an exchange teacher you would still be paid by your home school / employing authority and would accrue all entitlements whilst on exchange.

• Wages are paid to your account in Australia to allow transfers (rent, loans, direct debits, etc).

• If you do not own your own home and are renting you must ensure that the lease remains in your name and continues until your return to Australia. You would continue to pay the rent for your current accommodation and the overseas teacher would pay their overseas accommodation.

• You would also need to advise your landlord that you are involved in a teacher exchange program and provide full details of the exchange teacher for the landlord's records, specifying the dates the exchange will take place etc.

• Swapping accommodation including household appliances, furniture etc is generally one of the conditions of teacher exchange. It is not feasible for you or your exchange partner to have to move to a new country and then purchase furniture, kitchenware, linen etc, in addition to finding and paying for new accommodation.

• Trust is very important in an exchange as you would be living in someone else's home and using their belongings for twelve months and vice versa.

• Your application should provide as much information as possible. A good rule is to remember to provide the type of information you would like to receive from  an overseas applicant, ie. photos of house, floor plan. school prospectus, department details, etc.

• We cannot guarantee an exchange with a teacher in an independent school. Therefore you should be prepared to accept a placement in an overseas state or county school. Past exchange teachers have been placed in state/county schools and benefited from the experience.

• The application requires your principal's signature to endorse your application. We also require a reference from your current principal and any other recent references you wish to enclose.

FAQs

1. What destinations are available?
Teachers from VIEU tend to go to three destinations: the United Kingdom, Canada and International Schools. The United Kingdom and Canada offer the most likely possibility of an exchange. Both programs have been operating for some years with great success. The pool of overseas teachers is large and Australia is attractive in that it provides a real contrast to their home countries. Although there are many International Schools around the world, the number of teachers wanting to exchange is small. This is partly because those teachers have already left their home country to work overseas, so the idea is not novel. Although these schools may be your first choice, you are advised to allow yourself other options as well to enhance your chances of an exchange.

2. Is there an age limit for teachers applying for an overseas exchange?
Age restrictions do not apply to teachers applying for an exchange. However you must have taught for a minimum of five years at the time of the exchange to be eligible for the VIEU Teacher Exchange Program (as required by the overseas exchange and registration authorities).

3. What are my chances of getting an exchange?
VIEU cannot guarantee that every applicant will be offered an exchange. The chances of obtaining an exchange are totally dependent on whether a teacher on the other side of the world who teaches the same subjects and age groups as our applicant wants to exchange to a school in Victoria. Obviously this is an area we have absolutely no control over.
As a general rule, at least ¾ of the teachers who apply for an exchange are made an offer in the first year of their application.

4. Can teachers with a family apply for an exchange?
Single teachers, teachers with partners and teachers with children are all encouraged to apply for an exchange. It is a wonderful chance for teachers and their families to experience another culture. Many families have had very successful exchanges. Recently members on exchange in Scotland became new parents whilst on exchange. Their new son has joint citizenship.

5. Do I still get paid from my home employer while on exchange?
Yes. Whilst on an exchange your home employer is responsible for payment of your salary. Arrangements need to be made to access these funds from overseas for the duration of the exchange.

6. I share a house with another teacher. Can I still be considered for an exchange?
While we recommend that teachers offer accommodation for the sole use of their exchange partner, it is possible that the overseas teacher may also share their house and be willing to share whilst on exchange. However, if the teacher has their own accommodation and is not prepared to share while on exchange the teacher here must be prepared to offer a house or unit for the sole use of the exchange teacher.
We recommend that teachers in this situation stipulate the types of accommodation they are prepared to offer on their application forms.

7. When will I find out if I have an exchange?
In the majority of cases, applicants can expect to receive an offer from March onwards. Where available applicants have generally received an offer from overseas before the end of the Northern Hemisphere school year (late to mid July). This timeframe enables each party sufficient time to consider the overseas application and for the respective schools to approve the match.
It is possible to receive an offer at a later stage in the year, but this lessens the time available to approve and organise the exchange. This can also cause problems with obtaining visas or entry clearance from the relevant authorities.

8. Can I say no to an exchange if it's not what I want? Will I still be considered for other exchanges after I say no to an offer?
There are many circumstances where more information is required from the overseas applicant before an offer can be accepted by either of the parties. The applicant's principal has the right to accept or decline an exchange proposal but will generally discuss the proposal with the applicant before making this decision.
The applicants ultimately have the right to accept or refuse an exchange proposal. However unless there is a problem with the proposed exchange position or accommodation that cannot be renegotiated (for example unsuitable accommodation - where there is a family involved and the accommodation is inadequate) applicants are recommended to accept the exchange proposal.

9. What if I go on exchange and find out that I don't like the school? Can I return to Australia if I want to?
Once a teacher has committed themself to an exchange, the option of returning home part of the way through is not recommended. As a condition of accepting the exchange, if one of the parties wants to return home before the completion of the exchange year and their exchange partner wants to stay, the teacher returning home would be on leave without pay for the remainder of the exchange period. They would be required to find alternative accommodation as their exchange partner would be entitled to remain in the accommodation provided.
The teacher's home school would be required to finance a replacement teacher in the overseas school. A significant amount of communication and negotiation between the parties is required before this option can be considered.

10. Is it possible for a husband and wife (both teachers) to obtain a "double" match?
Yes. It is difficult to obtain a double match, but it has happened in the past. The major difficulty is finding two teachers on the other side of the world who teach the same subject areas and age groups as the Victorian applicants.
It is advisable that teachers applying for a double match stipulate whether they would consider a single match for one of the partners at the time of submitting their applications. As a general rule, a spouse accompanying a teacher on exchange would be granted a work permit and would be eligible to teach overseas.