Bachelor of Social Work (Honours)

Program code

1416

Available at

Nathan

Gold Coast

Mount Gravatt

Logan

South Bank

Online

Offshore

Other

Duration

4 years full-time
8 years part-time

Credit points

320

Indicative fee

$9,500.00* per year (more)
* 2025 indicative annual CSP fee

Commencing in

Trimester 1 and Trimester 2

Prerequisites

  • NIL

Assumed knowledge

  • Any General or Applied English subject (Units 3 and 4, C)

About this program

Make an impact and give back to your community

Want to help people and drive change at a local, national or global level? Feel passionate about social justice and human rights? Study our Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) and be the change that helps those when they need it most.

In this degree, you'll develop the skills to work with individuals, families, groups and communities in a broad range of roles including counselling and advocacy. You'll develop your critical thinking skills and explore the values and ethics of the profession, including promoting social justice, diversity, equity, and a commitment to the rights and needs of the people with whom you work. 

You'll study human service structures and processes, human behaviour and development, equity and diversity, social work theories, different fields of social work practice, counselling, group and community work, ethics, program evaluation, advanced research and leadership. Graduates of this degree will be highly proficient in all core areas of social work practice and research and feel job-ready to undertake diverse careers in areas such as community development, mental health support, First Nations services, policy development, aged care and youth work.

Practical experience

During your degree, you'll gain first-hand experience of social work practice by completing two field placements.

You'll be supervised by a qualified social worker for the duration of the field placement, which is a valuable opportunity to strengthen your professional helping skills, apply your academic knowledge, and experience social work practice in the real world. You will gain unique industry experience with placements in major government and non-government organisations including in hospitals, child protection, domestic violence, community and mental health fields. 

In some situations, it may be possible to negotiate a workplace-based field placement, and it may be possible to apply for recognition of prior learning for a placement if you are already working in the field. 

Honours

This Honours degree gives you the flexibility to choose between coursework or a dissertation.

If you choose to continue on the professional path (coursework), you'll advance your skills in policy and legislation, practice and leadership, evaluation and outcomes.  

If you choose to undertake a dissertation, and meet eligibility requirements, you will have the opportunity to develop critical research skills, paving the way for further study of graduate research degrees. Research skills are highly valued in the social work field, and graduates with these skills can engage in research and evaluation in many employment contexts.

Whether you choose the dissertation or professional practice option, you will stand out as a competitive social worker with advanced clinical and research skills ready for the future workforce. Your employment prospects will be strengthened by completing an Honours degree.

Attendance information

The Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) is offered full-time on-campus and Online, with mandatory intensive courses on-campus and placements.

All social work students are required to attend at least 20 days on campus throughout their full period of study. This is a non-negotiable requirement of all AASW accredited social work programs in Australia.

Some of the courses in this program may be run in an intensive block format. It is important to check course profiles and your timetable carefully to ensure that all course requirements are fully understood.

Online, with mandatory placements and on-campus courses

Students in the Online offering can enrol in online course offerings with the exception of field placement and four compulsory five-day face-to-face intensive on-campus courses.

Your attendance is in the form of one five-day intensive course per year held at the Gold Coast campus as follows:

  • 1008HSV Interpersonal Skills (offered in T3 only)
  • 2027HSV Group Facilitation (offered in T3 only)
  • 3005HSV Social Work in Health and Mental Health (offered in T2 only)
  • 3020HSV Counselling Individuals and Families (offered in T1 only)

Domestic students studying offshore (that is, outside Australia) will be required to attend the compulsory face-to-face intensives on-campus in Australia as part of designated courses and will also need to complete one of the two field placements in Australia in accordance with professional accreditation requirements.

Trimester 3 Compulsory Study

This program includes compulsory study in Trimester 3 of Year 3.

Placements

Students intending to study part-time should note that the workplace placements are to be completed within a full-time study load. Students will need to be available full-time to attend 1000 hours of professional practice education placements in Years 3 and 4 as follows:

  • 3012HSV Social Work Field Placement 1 (30 credit points)
  • 4012HSV Social Work Field Placement 2 (30 credit points)

The field placements must be completed over two calendar years in accordance with Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (AWSEAS). The two compulsory field placements are completed in full-time mode and students must complete a minimum of 1000 hours of placement through the entirety of the program. In the case of extenuating circumstances only, placement days per week may be negotiated but must still fit within Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) accreditation guidelines. This will not change the number of hours in total that are required to be completed overall - therefore, placement may end after the scheduled University trimester end date.

Student Income Support

To be classed as a full-time student, you are required to enrol in a minimum number of credit points each standard study period. The minimum credit points for full-time enrolment in this program is 30 credit points.

Trimester 1 and Trimester 2 are deemed standard study periods. As Trimester 3 is a non-standard study period, continuing students moving from one year to the next will not be required to study during this trimester to be eligible for student income support.

Domestic students who commence in Trimester 3 may be eligible for student income support from the onset of study provided they are enrolled full-time in this study period.

Please refer to the Australian Government website for more details.

Managing Study Interruptions
Leave of Absence

Taking a leave of absence from this program is permitted, subject to conditions outlined in the [[ENRPRO_URL]].

Work-integrated learning

Commonwealth Prac Payment

The Australian Government will establish a new Commonwealth Prac Payment which will provide financial support to eligible students while undertaking a mandatory placement. Find out more: Commonwealth Prac Payment

In this degree you will spend time in the work environment undertaking placements at various locations. Placements may be outside of the Brisbane metropolitan/Gold Coast area including northern New South Wales and (by negotiation) interstate or overseas.

Workplace placements are to be completed within a full-time study load 

You will need to be available full-time to attend 1000 hours of professional practice education placements in Years 3 and 4 as follows:

  • 3012HSV Social Work Field Placement 1 (30 credit points)
  • 4012HSV Social Work Field Placement 2 (30 credit points)

The field placements must be completed over two calendar years in accordance with Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (AWSEAS)*. The two compulsory field placements are completed in full-time mode and students must complete a minimum of 1000 hours of placement through the entirety of the program. In the case of extenuating circumstances only, placement days per week may be negotiated but must still fit within AASW accreditation guidelines. This will not change the number of hours in total that are required to be completed overall - therefore, placement may end after the scheduled University trimester end date.

You will be supervised by a qualified social worker for the duration of your field placements.

In some situations, it may be possible to negotiate a workplace-based field placement.

Placements will be sourced in your area of choice where possible.

Students living in remote or rural areas may have limited choices depending on the availability of organisations within their local area and may have to travel.

Total work placements (hours): 1000.

* In accordance with Section 4 of the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS) 2020 "Placements will be undertaken over at least two years of the professional social work program of study".

My career opportunities

Social workers make an impact on the lives of others through professional practice, working with individuals, families, groups and communities. 

Graduates of the Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) are ethical and innovative thinkers, effective communicators, problem solvers, change facilitators and leaders. This degree has a strong focus on critical reflection and ethical practice, which will enhance your employment opportunities.

You'll be prepared for a wide range of social work roles including community work; advocacy, research, planning and policy development, management and administration. 

Fields of practice include child and family welfare including child protection, health and mental health, counselling, youth and adolescents including school social work, youth and adult offending, hospital and community health settings, working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and people from diverse cultures including migrants and refugees, LGBTIQA+ individuals and communities, disability and neurodiversity, alcohol and other drugs, housing and homelessness, aged care, palliative care and end-of-life, employment and income support.

Other career options may include community development, family support, foster care services, disability services, environmental and disaster work, international social work and humanitarian work, multicultural services, services for women and many other social welfare organisations. Many social workers are employed in policy roles within government, and can engage with political processes, including work in rural, regional and remote areas.

If you complete an Honours disseration, you¿ll have the opportunity to develop critical research skills, paving the way for further study of graduate research degrees.

Program accreditation

The Bachelor of Social Work is accredited by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW).

Professional recognition

Graduates of this program will be eligible to apply for registration with the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) subject to meeting any additional requirements that may be stipulated by the AASW. As these requirements may change from time to time, students should contact the AASW to confirm registration requirements.

Professional Practice requirements

There are placements associated with this program and before undertaking professional experience placements, all students in this program are required to have completed the following by the end of their first trimester of study:

  • Vaccinations and Health Tests
  • Licenses and Certificates
  • Online Training
  • Health Placement Requirements

Students should refer to the checklist of professional practice requirements for their Health discipline on the Health Placement Support Hub for full details of the requirements regarding professional placement to ensure that they meet eligibility for placement.

Commonwealth supported students

  • The indicative fee represents the expected average fee for an annual full-time study load (80 credit points). This is based on average study patterns across courses and the Australian Government's broad discipline areas (student contribution bands). A student's actual annual fee may vary in accordance with his or her choice of majors and electives. The Australian Government sets student contribution amounts on an annual basis.
  • Find out more...

Fee-paying undergraduate (domestic) students

These fees are only applicable to domestic students who are not Commonwealth supported including:

  • Full-fee paying domestic students who commenced their program prior to 2009.
  • International students who have been approved to pay domestic tuition fees after obtaining Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent residency or a permanent humanitarian visa and who have not obtained a Commonwealth supported place.
Tuition fees
  • A fee-paying undergraduate student pays tuition fees.
  • Students are liable for tuition fees for the courses they are enrolled in as at the census date.
  • The tuition fee is charged according to the approved program fee for the trimester in which the student is enrolled.
  • Find out more...

Program fees for the Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) (1416)


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FEE-HELP

Eligible undergraduate fee-paying students may defer their tuition fees by taking out a FEE-HELP loan which is part of the Higher Education Loan Program (HELP). Payment of the loan is via the taxation system when income reaches a specified level.

Further information