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Defining the Role

Desired student skills

The most commonly advertised internship opportunities are ‘Communications Assistant’ (School of Media and Communication) or ‘Design Assistant’ (School of Design). An overview of the range of skillsets across all our programs can be found at What Our Students Can Do.

​When defining a role, think about what skills you would like / expect from a student or graduate, these may include both role-specific and generalist professional skills.

Once we receive your overview, we circulate it to the specific cohorts with the relevant skillsets that best match your position description.

Paid or unpaid?

Work Integrated Learning (WIL) internships can be unpaid if they meet our Schools’ requirements of relevant expert supervision, appropriate tasks, and a typical duration of 80 to 120 hours. 

However, we strongly encourage you to consider offering a payment to interns. Payment options can include an hourly or daily rate, or a meal or travel allowance. Remember, students already pay course fees, and they may need to take a break from existing paid work to complete an internship. Offering payment can make your organisation more attractive to potential interns and increase the likelihood of receiving applications. 

Please ensure students do not incur additional expenses without reimbursement. For example, students should not be required to cover travel expenses for attending multiple locations or travelling between sites. 

When submitting your role via our request form you will select from one of the following types: 

• Unpaid Internship: A WIL internship with relevant supervision, tasks, and hours, without any form of payment. 
• Unpaid Internship with Stipend: A WIL internship with relevant supervision, tasks, and hours, that includes a nominal payment e.g. a meal/travel allowance.
• Paid Internship: A WIL internship with relevant supervision and tasks that is paid at, or above, Fair Work award rates.
• Paid Internship or Paid Role:  Same as a paid internship, except that the role could be taken up by a student or graduate who is not enrolled in a WIL placement subject.
• Paid Role: A job for a student or recent graduate that is paid at, or above, Fair Work award rates. 

For more information on Fair Work guidelines regarding unpaid work, please refer to the Unpaid Work Factsheet. 

Timings

You can advertise an opportunity year-round, including summer.

You will have the highest number of students applying during these periods:

• Late January to mid-March
• Early June to end July

You will have the lowest number of students applying for your opportunity in:

• April
• September
• Mid December to early January Xmas period

​Most students responding to opportunities advertised between November to March will need to complete their hours by mid May. Most students responding to opportunities advertised between April to July will need to complete their hours before mid October.

You may make arrangements with your selected student for a start and finish date, which the student will record on the RMIT WIL Agreement and provide to you to sign prior to their commencement.

Hours of availability

Students have a maximum number of unpaid WIL placement hours that are covered by RMIT insurance policies. These are typically between 80-120 hours (depending on the student’s program requirements) and the unpaid hours cannot be extended.

The placement hours can be allocated in blocks or spread out on a part-time basis. A typical arrangement would be 10-14 hours per week. You and the student can negotiate a work schedule that is mutually agreeable.