Module 02 – Types of placement
Placements at RMIT
Beginning in 1973, the Department of Social Work was established at Phillip Institute of Technology. In 1992, Phillip Institute amalgamated with RMIT. Today, the social work programs operate within the College of Design & Social Context. All staff are committed to social justice, social reform and the belief that social change needs to be actively pursued. The programs encourage students to develop the ability to critically analyse the cultural, economic, political, social and psychological factors that help structure human welfare. The programs also offer appropriate skills and strategies with individuals, families, groups, agencies, and communities to facilitate social change.
It's the role of the Field Education team to ensure that you have access to placement opportunities that meet the standards of the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS).
The Australian Association of Social Work (AASW) requires that students undertaking an accredited Social Work program complete two field education placements. The nature, time requirements and other characteristics of these placements must be in accordance with AASW guidelines.
It is essential that students can participate in broad range of learning experiences in Field Education. Students must undertake field placements in at least two different fields of practice and agencies, with different client groups, using different methods of social work practice and with a different field educator for each placement.
RMIT has a long partnership history with the human service industry, and aims to provide you with a variety of learning opportunities during your two placements.
RMIT have built relationships with a diverse list of providers in the following areas/sectors:
- non-government organisations (NGOs)
- community sector
- clinical (hospital)
- schools
- community mental health and support services
- Northern Territory
- Department of Health and Human Services
- overseas placements
- regional/rural placements.
A lot of time goes into planning and preparing agencies for Field Education to ensure that each placement is suitable to meet all your learning requirements.
The following sections identify the nature of the placements and how you can best prepare yourself for placement and specific host agencies.
Field Education @ RMIT
At RMIT students undertake two 500-hour placements.
The first Field Education placement generally focuses upon direct practice with individuals, families and small groups. Field Educators are encouraged to incorporate other tasks and/or small projects as required. Satisfactory completion of the first placement is a pre-requisite to undertaking a final placement.
The second Field Education placement generally has a broader focus, which is likely to involve engagement in a project or projects relating to: community work, social policy, organisational analysis, program development and/or research identified as important to the agency.
Partnerships
RMIT Social Work has forged strong partnerships with human service agencies through Field Education, joint consultancy and research projects. More than half of RMIT Social Work placements are with NGOs.
Click agency name to visit website
- Afri-Aus Care
- Community Information & Support Victoria (CISVic)
- Department of Families, Fairness and Housing (DFFH)
- Doncare
- Doncaster Secondary College
- Good Samaritan Inn
- Good Shepherd
- Griefline
- Housing for the Aged Action Group
- Law and Advocacy Centre for Women (LACW)
- Melbourne City Mission (MCM)
- Neami National
- Peninsula Health
- Sacred Heart Mission
- The Salvation Army
- Victorian Arabic Social Services (VASS)
- Youthlaw
Undertaking a placement at these agencies may provide you with employment once your placement is complete. This is by no means guaranteed, but you may be more likely to gain employment through these agencies rather than through agencies that aren't aligned with RMIT Social Work.
- Strong placement structure – placements are well designed so that students experience a clear orientation, induction, meeting of workers and other students, regular supervision, site visits, and a paced workload.
- Group Supervision – most students who undertake placement at a partnership organisation receive group supervision with other students. These supervision sessions are structured, regular and organised by experienced supervisors.
- Share your experiences with other students – it is very likely that other students will be on placement at the same time. This means you can interact with other students; some students will be in the same department, while others will be in different units undertaking different tasks. Fellow students are often great support while on placement.
- Service visits – most students will visit other departments within the agency as well as other agencies who work alongside the placement agencies.
Other placement opportunities
Alongside the partnerships, RMIT has close relationships with many other agencies in metropolitan Melbourne. These include non-government agencies, legal settings, housing services and community mental health services.
School placements
RMIT Social Work offers placements with state primary, secondary, alternative and private schools. Some of the advantages of placements in schools include:
- no requirement for driver’s licence or specialised knowledge/experience
- the opportunity for significant contact with children and families
- specialised training/workshops offered prior to placement start
- structured group and individual supervision
Social Work students placed in school settings support staff to implement and embed a whole range of wellbeing initiatives, aimed at building community capacity and further developing a strong school culture that values all its members. Field work tasks can include:
- Research – grants and funding
- Transition
- Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)
- Engage at-risk learners
- Life skills and careers
- Parent support groups
- Liaising with students and identifying referral services
- Anti-bullying/social inclusion initiatives
- Mentoring
- Whole school events
- Breakfast clubs
- Parental learning
- Lead social skills/peer support programs
Hospital placements
In recent years, RMIT has worked with clinical providers including Royal Melbourne Hospital, Royal Women’s Hospital, Peninsula Health, and Northern CASA.
When working with client populations of high-risk patients, students need to be sensitive to the potential risk of infection by bloodborne pathogens (e.g. Hepatitis B) and other diseases such as tuberculosis and healthcare associated infections. Clinical placements are therefore likely to be subject to infection control and patient care protocols set by the agency.
These protocols may require:
- completion of specific immunisations
- completion of agency modules (e.g. hand hygiene)
Please refer to Module 3 – Preparing for placement for more information on these protocols.
Self-sourced placements
Students may source their own placements either through their own workplace or informal professional networks. Some students will have personal contacts that may allow them to negotiate a specific placement option and agencies will occasionally offer a direct application process.
RMIT does not support cold calling as most agencies already have existing partnership agreements in place and prefer going through the established university processes when offering placement opportunities.
To arrange a self-sourced placement, students must contact their Field Education Course Coordinator. Your Coordinator will review any arrangements and partnerships in place with the agency, then advise you if a self-sourced placement can be considered.
Students are then required to complete the Self-Sourced Placement Proposal form which is available via an online form. During this period, students will not participate in the internal nomination process. Students must be aware of the GUSS WIL timelines and cut-off dates for the self-sourced placement process.
Work-based Field Education Placements
Students can undertake one work-based field education placement, provided it meets current ASWEAS (2020) requirements. Students are required to complete the Work-based Placement Proposal, which is available via an online form. It must be confirmed that the student will be located away from their normal employment setting, differentiating their responsibilities as an employee and their placement learning responsibilities. Upon approval of work-based placement by the Field Education Course Coordinator, the Work-based Placement Agreement must be signed by all parties.
It is essential that students have the opportunity to participate in a broad range of learning experiences in Field Education. In particular, students must undertake placements in at least two different fields of practice and agencies, with different client groups, using different methods of social work practice, and with a different Field Educator for each placement.
In order to provide a breadth of experience and to prevent conflicts of interest between employment and education roles, Field Education placements will be undertaken in a different context, agency and field of practice to the student’s place of employment. This requirement may be waived if RMIT is satisfied that all other principles and policies set out in this document can be met. If a placement is undertaken in a student’s place of work, a written agreement needs to be filled in and signed by the agency, university and student. This will include:
- Agreement that the employee is in a student role while on placement and they are able to meet the educational requirements, principles, and policies set out in this document
- Allocation of learning experiences not involving the student’s routine work responsibilities
- Protected time while on placement that is separate from the duties carried out at work and includes time to complete reading, reflective learning and assessment activities related to the placement
- Specification of how the AASW criteria for Field Education are met
- Specification of how the placement will be monitored to ensure the criteria will be met
- Wherever practicable, the supervisor is not the student’s line manager or usual supervisor
Interstate and Rural
Interstate
The RMIT Field Education program has developed partnerships with a number of interstate agencies including the Tangentyere Council in Alice Springs.
Interstate placements are available for second placement students in the Bachelor and Master of Social Work programs. Students must attend a compulsory information session the year prior to the placement occurring. Students will also complete an application process and participate in an interview with the Tangentyere Women’s Family Safety Group staff, prior to allocation.
Please note: Students who have been granted RPL are not eligible to apply for interstate placements.
Previous students who have undertaken their placement at Tangentyere Council have described the placement in different ways:
Rural
Each semester we are approached by agencies based in rural/regional areas looking to host a student on placement. These agencies tend to be based in Ballarat, Bendigo, and Geelong, but often will have sites in other rural areas. Through our network, we may also be able to source placements in other areas; however, this may be a longer process.
There are many benefits and exciting learning opportunities of working in rural areas. Networking, a close sense of community and understanding the challenges experienced by rural communities in the current economic situation, allow for students to learn and meet a range of learning goals.
Benefits of rural placements
- Unique placement setting, often with a health/mental health focus
- Potential for increased career opportunities due to workforce shortages in rural/regional areas
- Opportunity to explore a regional/remote area
- A very strong sense of community and network building
- Contributing to the needs of rural and regional communities
- Applying specific learning such as confidentiality and privacy in close-knit communities
Support for Rural Placements
Going Rural Health
Going Rural Health, run by the University of Melbourne, provides financial or subsidised accommodation support for allied health students at any university (subject to eligibility requirements). Going Rural Health supports placements across the Hume, Ovens, Murray, Goulburn, Ballarat, and Grampians regions. For placements outside of those regions, we recommend using the interactive map feature on the Going Rural Health website, as it will notify you if another university provides support for placements within that region.
Going Rural Health also offers access to their free online training modules, which includes an introductory module on rural practice.
Please note:
- Unfortunately, international students are not eligible under this scheme. Refer to the information below for alternative support
- Students must apply for support before or during their placement
Please refer to their website for a full list of their eligibility requirements: https://goingruralhealth.com.au/
International
We are very excited to announce the opportunity for 4 fully funded placements in India. The placements are funded under the New Colombo Plan, and are open to Bachelor of Social Work students, who will be undertaking their final placement in Semester 2 2025. These placements will take place from September-December 2025.