The damning Teaching Council review
I have just read the review by a KC into how the Teaching Council allowed Timothy Fisher (note there are two teachers called Timothy Fisher – the one still teaching is not the one being referred to) despite numerous red flags.
This was not a case of potential harm, but actual harm, Fisher was convicted of “indecently assaulting nine of his students, attempting to make four intimate visual recordings of students, possessing thousands of objectionable publications depicting child exploitation, and making objectionable video recordings including of his students”
So Fisher is a paedophile and sexual abuser. But was this predictable and should he have been a registered teacher. Let’s look at the timeline.
- 2002 – convicted of indecency offences
- May 2011 – applied for teacher registration. Police vet was clear, as Clean Slate Act prevented Police from disclosing his convictions to the Council. TC did not ask for any reference or character checks – only the Police vet.
- July 2014 – application for renewal of registration. TC ignored school principal saying he doesn’t meet the requirements for full registration and also ignores that Fisher left unticked the box about whether he was under investigation (he was)
- Jul 2014 – Police advised TC “Police recommend this person does not have unsupervised access to children, young people, or vulnerable members of society”
- March 2015 (8 months later!!) – TC asks Police for info on recommendation. Informed it related to alleged events in 2010
- March 2015 – Fisher tells TC about his 2002 convictions for indecency. He also informs them he had taught at two schools without a practising certificate – which is a criminal offence
- April 2015 – TC Complaints Assessment Cmte decided to take no action about either the indecency convictions or the teaching with a certificate (a criminal offence)
- 2016 – TC renews Fisher’s practising certificate again
- 2017 – Fisher resigns from his teaching role following complaints. School informed TC that they had concerns over both competency and conduct. TC investigated and did nothing for four years except gather info – until 2021, when they censured him!!
- 2018 – Fisher still a registered teacher and teaches at carious schools
- 2019 – Fisher hired by a private education facility on the basis of his teacher registration and practising certificate
The report goes well beyond the timeline. It shows the Teaching Council did almost no actual investigations. It didn’t seek more info from principals or ask them to appear. It had no sense of any urgency at all over the fact it had a teacher with indecency convictions, who admitted working illegally, and had a report from a school that he resigned after inappropriate behaviour.
What this makes clear is that the Teaching Council was not focused on child safety as its prime mission. I suspect it was far more focused on making sure no teachers had an “incorrect” view of the Treaty. Their failure did not just increase risk – it actually led to nine students being indecently assaulted.
The KC concluded:
The Council is required to cancel registration if satisfied on reasonable grounds that the requirements for registration are no longer met. …
By March 2015 the Council had a sound basis to reasonably conclude it was satisfied that Mr Fisher no longer met the requirements for registration. Assuming it reached that conclusion (which in my view it should have) it was required to follow the statutory process for cancelling registration.
So they are required to cancel registration where there are grounds to do so. There were grounds a decade before they did, and they failed to do so. Again the end result was offending in 2020 that created a huge number of young victims.
And people wonder why Erica Stanford is referring the Teaching Council, and some sector groups saying it is an overreaction! How could it be more serious?
A reader e-mailed in:
With Timothy Fisher now sentenced and the independent review released, I wonder whether there is another story worth investigating.
Who was governing the Teaching Council when the warnings were raised, and why has the Minister made such significant changes?
In March 2016, Fisher was granted a provisional practising certificate despite previous convictions and serious red flags.
Look at some of the governing members at the time:
- Claire Amos – Convenor of the Complaints Assessment Committee, now involved with AEC and publicly critical of the Minister’s Teaching Council reforms.
- Ripeka Lessels – Council member from 2015, later Deputy Chair, and now NZEI President. In June 2026, she publicly criticised the removal of elected teacher representatives.
- Lynda Stuart – Risk, Audit and Finance Committee member, former NZEI President and now involved with AEC.
These are just three names I’ve come across. I’m sure others have roles and involvement over the years that warrant closer examination.
Interestingly, I found the original June 2015 Beehive announcement confirming their appointments. It explicitly states that the new Council would take responsibility for teacher registration and disciplinary matters from 1 July 2015.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/membership-new-education-body-announced
Ripeka’s continued involvement is also documented in subsequent Beehive announcements, including her 2019 appointment and appointment as Deputy Chair in 2022:
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-teaching-council-appointments
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/new-chairs-appointed-teaching-council-and-te-kura
These people present themselves as respected voices in education, yet shouldn’t their own governance records face the same scrutiny they apply to the Minister’s reforms?
I’m not suggesting they personally approved Fisher’s application. But what collective accountability existed, what has been overlooked, and are we looking to the right people for independent advice about the future of education?
The reviews raise serious questions about whether protecting the profession took priority over protecting children. Surely this deserves further investigation.
The reader raises some fair points. I should stress that I am sure all those involved are shocked with the offending by Fisher, and no one should think they in any way condone or minimise what he did. But what is relevant is they were governors of an organisation that failed terribly to protect kids, and when they also stridently claim that changes to the education are not necessary, then their own records as governors is legitimate to consider.