Work with us
How to become
a tutor in Canberra.
What you need, what the work is like, and how to apply.
How to become a tutor in Canberra.
The honest version, including the parts that rule people out. Canberra Tutoring hires both qualified teachers and strong university students, and the bar is different for each.
What you need before you apply
- A current ACT Working with Vulnerable People (WWVP) registration — or a willingness to obtain one before your first lesson. It is not optional and we will not waive it.
- A NSW Working with Children Check as well if you want Queanbeyan work. The two schemes are separate and neither covers the other.
- Genuine subject depth to at least two year levels above the student you are teaching.
- A car and a licence for in-home work, or a quiet room and a decent connection for online.
- The ability to commit to the same student at the same time each week for a term. Consistency is the product.
What you do not need
A teaching degree. Roughly half our tutors are university students who are excellent at their subject and good with young people. What we will not do is put a first-year student in front of a Year 12 Specialist Methods class and call it a teacher.
Teacher or tutor — which are you?
Qualified teachers
Registered teachers take the work that needs diagnosis rather than practice: senior BSSS unit scores, structured literacy for reading difficulty, and the students where nobody has yet worked out what is actually wrong.
Teachers also carry the fortnightly review of our tutors, which is a paid part of the role and not an afterthought.
Tutors
Tutors take weekly consolidation: the student who understands the concept but needs reps, structure and someone who notices when they go quiet.
Every tutor is reviewed fortnightly by a qualified teacher on staff. That is support, not surveillance — if a placement is not working, you are not left to discover it alone at the end of term.
What the work is actually like.
- One student, one hour, one subject — never a group.
- In the family's home, or online. You choose what you take.
- Sessions never happen in a student's bedroom, and a parent is always home.
- You pick your own availability and we match around it.
- You are paid for the lesson, not for travel time between suburbs.
- You will be asked to write a short note after each session.
- You are not asked to do a student's assessment for them. Ever.
- If a placement is wrong, say so. We would rather rematch than lose the student.
Applying, step by step.
1. Send us your subjects and year levels
Not a formal cover letter. What you can teach, to what level, and when you are free.
2. A conversation
Twenty minutes on the phone or in person. We are working out how you explain things, not testing you on content.
3. Checks
WWVP verified before any placement. NSW WWCC as well if you want Queanbeyan work.
4. Your first match
We match on subject, stage and temperament, and we tell you what we know about the student before you walk in. A first lesson with no context helps nobody.
Ready?
Email admin@canberratutoring.com.au with the subjects and year levels you can teach, and your availability. Or ring 1300 668 103 and ask about tutoring work.
Canberra Tutoring is part of Choice Education Group Pty Ltd, and has been teaching Canberra families since 2004.
Parents: this page is for people who want to tutor. If you are looking for a tutor for your child, the free assessment is the place to start — a full hour with a qualified teacher, in your home, before you spend anything.
Questions about tutoring work
How do I become a tutor in Canberra?
Send Canberra Tutoring the subjects and year levels you can teach plus your availability, have a twenty-minute conversation, and hold a current ACT Working with Vulnerable People registration before your first lesson. A teaching degree is not required; genuine subject depth and consistency are.
What qualifications do you need to be a tutor?
No formal teaching qualification is required to tutor with us. You need subject knowledge to at least two year levels above the student, a current ACT WWVP registration, and a NSW Working with Children Check as well if you want work in Queanbeyan. Registered teachers are employed separately for senior BSSS work and structured literacy.
Can I become a tutor with no experience?
Yes, if your subject knowledge is genuinely strong and you can explain rather than simply answer. New tutors start with weekly consolidation work rather than senior diagnostic cases, and every tutor is reviewed fortnightly by a qualified teacher on staff.
Can I be a tutor while I am still at school or university?
University students, yes — roughly half our tutors are. High school students are not placed with paying families: the WWVP requirement, the insurance position and the responsibility of being alone in a family's home all make it the wrong fit.
How do I become an online tutor?
The same application, and say you want online work. You will need a quiet room that is not a bedroom, a stable connection, a working camera and microphone, and a way to show handwritten working — a document camera or a phone used as a second camera.
Do I need a WWVP card before applying?
Not before applying, but before your first lesson. Canberra Tutoring verifies it and will not make an exception. Tutoring in Queanbeyan additionally requires a NSW Working with Children Check, because the two schemes are separate and neither covers the other.
How much do tutors get paid?
Rates depend on whether you are engaged as a tutor or a qualified teacher, the year level, and the subject. Discuss it directly on the call — we would rather quote you honestly than publish a figure that turns out not to apply to your situation.
Do you need maths tutors?
Maths and the sciences are where demand is most consistent, particularly senior ACT BSSS courses — Mathematical Methods, Specialist Methods, Physics and Chemistry. English and structured literacy are the next most requested.