Social work and counselling placements

The School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work has a number of field work courses which are offered as part of the Bachelor of Social Work (Honours), Master of Counselling, and Master of Social Work Studies.

The School's Social Work Practice Education Team is responsible for organising and matching students with practical placements. The Team strives to provide the necessary balance between support and challenge in order to maximise a student’s learning opportunities whilst on field placement. The Social Work Practice Education Team is available for the duration of a student’s program for consultation and assistance regarding placement and practice education issues.

Placement experience - Rachael Roberts

I feel very fortunate to have been allocated to the Mater Hospital Brisbane for an 18-week placement, where I gained valuable experience to support my journey in becoming a professional in the field. The placement was well structured with a variety of opportunities for experiential learning, weekly education sessions and regular supervision that all helped support my developing practice knowledge and skills.

Throughout my placement, I was predominantly based in the adult’s hospital with half of my time spent in a general medical ward and the other half in the emergency department.

I was also lucky enough to spend a day per week working in the Health Advocacy Law Clinic. This clinic is run by a community based legal service and is unique in the way that it brings together students from a variety of disciplines including Law, Social Work, Nursing & Medical students to help provide legal support and advice to patients and families at the hospital.

Through my experiences on placement I have gained a deeper understanding about the role of Social Work in a health setting and learnt a lot about working within a multi-disciplinary team, particularly noticing the value that Social Work can add to such a team environment.

I am extremely grateful to the wonderful Social Work department at the Mater who were so welcoming and particularly to my supervisors who supported and encouraged me through the challenges, helping me to link theory with practice and gain new insights to inform my own practice framework. I have come away from this placement experience feeling inspired about working in a health focused area and confident that Social Work is a good fit for me. I am curious and exited to find out where this role will take me in the future.

InPlace - student placement management system

Hours of placement and requirements

Semester 1

Placement 1 SWSP3155 (Bachelor of Social Work (Hons)) SWSP7155 (Master of Social Work Studies)	Attend compulsory Pre-Placement Workshop prior to placement Commence Placement two weeks before the start of semester 1 A minimum of 500 hours, 18 weeks, 4 days per week
Placement 1 SWSP7366 (Master of Social Work Studies) #24 unit program only	Attend compulsory Pre-Placement Workshop prior to placement Commence Placement four weeks before the start of semester 1 A minimum of 600 hours, 21 weeks, 4 days per week
Placement 2 SWSP4266 (Bachelor of Social Work (Hons)) SWSP7266 (Master of Social Work Studies	Attend compulsory Pre-Placement Workshop prior to the start of placment Commence Placement two weeks before the start of semester 1 A minimum of 500 hours, 18 weeks, 4 days per week

Semester 2

Placement 1 SWSP7155 (Master of Social Work Studies)	Attend compulsory Pre-Placement Workshop prior to placement Commence Placement two weeks before the start of semester 2 A minimum of 500 hours, 18 weeks, 4 days per week
Placement 1 SWSP7366 (Master of Social Work Studies) #24 unit program only	Attend compulsory Pre-Placement Workshop prior to placement Commence Placement four weeks before the start of semester 2 A minimum of 600 hours, 21 weeks, 4 days per week
Placement 2 SWSP4266 (Bachelor of Social Work (Hons)) SWSP7266 (Master of Social Work Studies)	Attend compulsory Pre-Placement Workshop prior to placement Commence Placement two weeks before the start of semester 2 A minimum of 500 hours, 18 weeks, 4 days per wee

Master of Counselling

The placement component of the Master of Counselling program is undertaken through the year-long placement course, COUN7021, in the second year (or equivalent) of the program.
To be eligible for placement, students must successfully complete the eight first-year courses and demonstrate competency in basic counselling skills, assessed via competency interviews in COUN7001 (Interpersonal Skills) and COUN7006 (Advanced Interpersonal Skills).
Placement preparation begins in semester 2 of the year prior to undertaking placement. Eligible students are required to attend a pre-placement workshop in August of that year and complete their pre-placement compliance items by the due dates outlined on the HABS Placement Ready website. Placements are organised by the NMSW Practice Education Team.
In the placement year, students typically attend placement two days per week from February to October, completing a minimum of 182 placement hours each semester for a minimum total of 364 placement hours, which must include minimums of 60 direct client contact hours and 15 hours of supervision.

Placement guides, manuals and fact sheets

Pre-Placement requirements

There are a number of pre-placement requirements that must be completed prior to placement. Go to the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences (HABS) Placement Ready website for further details. Please note there are generic requirements for all students in the HABS Faculty. Further information regarding specific pre-placement requirements for social work and/or councelling student placements will be made available closer to placement semester.

Deferring placement

Placement opportunities

Rural, remote, interstate and international placements

There are opportunities for students to complete their final placement in a rural/remote area, in another state of Australia, or even in another country. An application needs to be lodged with the Practice Education Team around the time that students are being interviewed for placements in the following semester. Emails will be sent out to all relevant students at this time, setting out the steps to take. Lodging an application does not guarantee that you will be accepted for a rural, remote, interstate or international placement. Certain travel requirements must be completed well in advance of the placement commencing:

Policy on Rural, Remote, Interstate and International Placements (PDF, 114KB)
International Student Placement - Acknowledgement Form - International placements also require a Travel Checklist (Student Placement International Travel Acknowledgement form), which can be downloaded and lodged with the Field Education Unit once completed by the student.
Travel insurance - The UQ travel insure website includes information on eligibility for insurance and how to make a travel insurance claim.

Social work and counselling placements

Placement experience - Rachael Roberts

InPlace - student placement management system

Hours of placement and requirements

Semester 1

Semester 2

Master of Counselling

Placement guides, manuals and fact sheets

Guides and Manuals

Fact sheets

Pre-Placement requirements

Deferring placement

Placement opportunities

Rural, remote, interstate and international placements

Policies, procedures and forms

Recognition of Prior Learning

Placement in Workplace

Contact