RMIT is a global university, recognised for leadership and innovation. RMIT has been teaching social work for over 40 years and our programs continue to reflect up to contemporary ideas and social work and its place in a changing world. Our students are resilient, outspoken members of society who advocate for a fairer world for all and are taught by passionate educators. The RMIT Social Work Field Education (FE) program is based on the reciprocal relationship with agencies and includes benefits for agencies who supervise our students in field education.

As an RMIT Field Educator, your agency would be eligible for:

• Free Field Educator briefings / workshops
• Free Professional Development Invitations to RMIT University seminars
• Tailored staff training opportunities for agencies
• Participation in social work teaching
• Research / evaluation opportunities
• Consultation with Field Education Liaison Officer or RMIT Field Education Coordinator regarding student learning or support issues

For an agency to host a social work student for placement, an agency must fulfil a number of requirements. An agency must have sufficient appropriate work and space for the student for the 500 hours of the placement. It is important to consider where a student will be located, the resources they will require and to whom the student will be accountable and supervised by on a day to day basis. It is also important to identify what type of placement the student will undertake. Each placement has a different focus that may be suitable for your agency.

Field Education 1 (FE1)

Focus is on direct practice with individuals, families and communities. A social work student will be expected to undertake tasks in case management, interviews, assessment, intake, counselling, referral processes, advocacy and emergency relief assistance. Placements can include small projects.

Field Education 2 (FE2)

Has a broader focus on social issues and systemic change through project work, research, community development, evaluation and policy or program development. If this placement is direct service or mixed placement that requires a final year student, it would also fall under FE2.

The placement goes for 500 hours, or approximately 70 days. The start date is determined by the agency however the majority of our placements go from February–June and from July–December. We will also have students in several flex semester so placements can be all year round. Please take into account how many days you would like student to be on placement as this will determine how long it will go for.

*Please note if 2 days per week, students need to undertake two blocks of 5 days during the placement.

To meet the accreditation standards of the Australian Association of Social Workers, at least 1 out of 2 placements each student undertakes must have supervision provided by the host agency. Depending on circumstances and the learning opportunities, RMIT may be able to provide the social work supervision for a student on placement at your agency if you are unable to do so. You can email guss.wil@rmit.edu.au to find out more about how this might work.

Every placement requires a task supervisor within the agency to provide day-to-day supervision and answer a student’s questions, regardless of whether there is a social worker to provide field education supervision within the agency.

RMIT Field Education placement process is a multiple step process. The process can take between 3 to 4 weeks. If you require a student to start sooner or if there are any questions during this process, contact guss.wil@rmit.edu.au.

1. Agency completes a Placement Offer Form (POF)
2. Information about placements provided to students
3. Students nominate for placements
4. RMIT tentatively allocates students to agencies
5. Agencies and students informed of allocation
6. Student contacts agency to organise an interview
7. Agency confirms placement with student
8. Student completes online Student Undertaking
9. GUSS WIL sends confirmation email
10. Placement begins

The information provided on the Placement Offer Form will go out directly to students so they can understand what will be expected of them while on placement and how that work will contribute to the work of the agency. It is important to include key information in the POF. These details include:

• Brief outline of the agency
• Information about the program/team/unit the student will be working with
• Any pre-requisites such as immunisations and checks
• Details about the project the student will be working on
• Learning opportunities for the student
• The day-to-day tasks of the role
• It is also important to include any specific criteria that is desirable in the student. For example if there is a preference for female students, preference for a specific language, additional checks, preferred previous experience or specific days placement must/cannot be on.

Students will have to successfully complete core subjects before commencing placement, as well as placement readiness tasks, one-on-one mock client interviews, working with interpreters and acquiring national checks.

Please see below the core subjects the students will have completed:

Field Educator

A qualified social worker who has been in the field for more than 2 years, the Field Educator is the person with primary responsibility for facilitating the learning and educational progress of students’ field education. This person is also responsible for assessing students’ performance and making recommendations to the University. This person provides the student with onsite social work supervision.

Social work field educators must be able to provide a minimum of 1.5 hours formal supervision per student for each 35 hours of placement. At a minimum, half of this supervision must be provided on a one-to-one basis.

Task Supervisor         

The Task Supervisor is a staff member at the agency who comes from a discipline other than social work, or a social worker who has less than 2 years practice experience whom students are responsible to on a day to day basis. Where students are primarily supervised by a Task Supervisor, the agency and University have a responsibility to ensure that a qualified, experienced social worker provides regular supervision to help them link what they are doing (practice) with the social work theory studied in the social work program (to reflect, critically review, learn and link).

When there is both a Field Educator and a Task Supervisor, it is important that all parties have clearly negotiated their responsibilities and that the student is clear about supervision arrangements. This relates to the writing of assessment comments and a final rating for the student’s performance in each of the nine key learning areas. RMIT recognises a task supervisor’s prerogative in the offer, withdrawal or termination of a placement.

External (Offsite) Supervisor      

The External (Offsite) Supervisor is an RMIT staff social worker responsible for providing students with supervision when no onsite social work supervisor is available at the agency. As a qualified social worker, they have been in the field for more than 2 years. In this situation, the student has a Task Supervisor (not a social worker) onsite and an offsite social worker to provide supervision.

Field Education Liaison Officer

The Field Education Liaison Officer is an RMIT staff member whose primary responsibility is to ensure that students are meeting the school’s educational objectives and requirements. The Field Education Liaison Officer is the first point of contact for students and agency/Field Educators for information, queries, concerns, etc. There will be a minimum of three contacts, which will usually include two liaison visits to the agency. The initial contact should be within the first 10-15 days of placement. Shortly after placement commences, Student and/or Field Educator should contact the Field Education Liaison Officer to negotiate a suitable date and time for the first liaison visit.

Students are expected to provide preparatory material, including the Learning and Assessment Report, to the Field Education Liaison Officer before each visit (e.g. summaries of work undertaken, reports or case summaries). A draft Learning and Assessment Report should be sent to the Field Education Liaison Officer within the first few weeks (by day 10-15) of commencing placement and/or at least three days prior to the first liaison visit. The Mid Placement Review is required by the Field Education Liaison Officer prior to their second visit.

Field Educators and students are expected to be involved in the planning of each liaison meeting and to prepare any relevant material beforehand. The liaison reports will be provided to Field Educator/s and student upon request.

RMIT students can work from home while on placement if an agreement is in place between the agency, student and RMIT.

Public holidays do not count towards placement hours. This may mean that finishing dates will change through the duration of the placement.

Any activity the student does as a set task for the host agency should be provided by the agency as you would for an employee. RMIT will not reimburse any costs incurred if the student has been using transport, phone or stationary use to complete a set task by the host agency nor do we expect this cost to fall on the student.