If you want to work as a School Support Officer (SSO) for the South Australian Department for Education, you are going to need to get an Authority to Work.
What is an Authority to Work?
An Authority to Work is a letter that you can apply for that will enable you to work in a public school in Adelaide or South Australia. You will need to get an Authority to Work if you want to work in any public school in the state.
An Authority to Work is essentially a letter that will tell any South Australian public school that the Department for Education has cleared you to work in their schools. In order to get an Authority to Work, you will need to apply for it through Edujobs (the South Australian Department for Education’s jobs advertisement board) and upload a range of different documents and clearances.
Once you have your Authority to Work letter, you will be able to show this to any public school in South Australia as proof that you have met all of the requirements to work for the South Australian Department for Education.
Do I need an Authority to Work?
If you want to work for the South Australian Department for Education as an ancillary staff member or School Support Office (SSO), you will need to have an Authority to Work.
According to the South Australian Department for Education, anyone who works in a South Australian public school who is not a teacher is considered an SSO. This means that the term SSO covers all of the following:
- Admin staff
- Finance staff
- Student support
- Tech support
- Youth workers
- Social workers
- Media and advertising staff
- Laboratory technicians
If you are employed by a South Australian public school and you are not a teacher, you will be considered an SSO.
If you are a qualified and registered teacher who has an Authority to Teach, you do not need an Authority to Work as well. The Authority to Teach has additional requirements such as Teacher’s Registration and proof of tertiary qualifications that allow you to teach in South Australia.
How do I apply for my Authority to Work?
To apply for an Authority to Work letter, you will need to apply to be put on the Department for Education’s Employable Ancillary Register. This is a list of people who have their Authority to Work and are employable as ancillary staff by the South Australian Department for Education.
If you go to the Ancillary Jobs section, you will see an application to be put on the Employable Ancillary Register. Click on this link to begin filling out the online form to be put on the Employable Ancillary Register and receive your Authority to Work.
You will need to include a range of information and attach additional documents to this online form. These can include police checks and other clearances, so it is worth going through the online form as soon as you decide that you would like to work for the South Australian Department for Education so that you can be confident in exactly what documentation you are going to need.
How long do I need to wait for my Authority to Work?
How long you will need to wait to receive your Authority to Work letter depends on a lot of different factors.
The most important factor is how many other applications the Department for Education is receiving at the time. If you apply for your Authority to Work at the end of the calendar year or when there is a sudden increase in the number of advertised positions for ancillary staff, it is likely that it is going to take a lot longer for your Authority to Work to be approved.
If the South Australian Department for Education are desperately seeking ancillary staff in a particular area, then it may be that your Authority to Work will be approved and emailed to you quicker than at other times.
The time that it takes for your Authority to Work to be approved and sent to you can vary significantly, but if you are concerned about how long it is taking to get approved, you can always call HR. The details for a range of departments within the South Australian Department for Education (including HR) can be found here.
