Bachelor of Social Welfare

In line with ACWA requirements, students undertake 400 hours of supervised on-the-job training. This is completed in two separate organisations in different fields of practice so that students gain a diversity of experience.

Placements may include working across a variety of client groups, such as older people, or young people and families at the individual, group, organisational or community level of practice. The social welfare settings such as child protection, drugs and alcohol, criminal justice, community education, housing, emergency relief, family interventions and domestic violence.

Majors available are:

Ageing enables social welfare students to gain knowledge and skills for effective practice with older people in a range of organisational settings. An emphasis is placed on opportunities for practitioners to facilitate healthy ageing and to support older people’s independence living in the community. Topics include advocacy, social planning, healthy ageing, aged care services, volunteering, and legal issues impacting on older people.

Children and Young People provides students with a comprehensive introduction to social welfare practice with children and young people in a range of organisational settings including government and non-government agencies. Students explore the latest research to understand the ways in which children and young people are conceptualised and identified for human service practice. Topics include advocacy, social planning, youth work, engaging with children, children’s rights, and supporting young people’s emotional and social wellbeing.

Health and Disability examines health and wellbeing as they impact on people and their life opportunities, as well as issues for social welfare workers negotiating the health and disability care systems. Topics include advocacy, social planning, the sociology of health and illness, working with people with disabilities living in the community, complementary medicine, and the mental health of Australian Indigenous people.

Indigenous Studies assists students to gain a deeper understanding of Indigenous world views and history, as well as identifying culturally appropriate ways of working with Indigenous communities. Students gain an appreciation of the origins and effects of trauma across generations and within particular communities. Studies include advocacy, social planning, and healing responses to trauma as experienced by Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

Please note that some units in this course are only available to study by distance education.