Master of Social Work

2025 Deakin University Handbook

Year	2025 course information
Award granted	Master of Social Work
Deakin course code	H703
Faculty	Faculty of Health
Campus	This course is only offered Online. Attendance at a minimum of 20 days of face to face time delivered during the two-year degree.
Online	Yes
Duration	2 years of full-time study or 4 years part-time study
Course Map - enrolment planning tool	This course map is for new students commencing from Trimester 1 2025. Course maps for commencement in previous years are available on the Course Maps webpage or please contact a Student Adviser in Student Central.
Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition	The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 9

Course sub-headings

Course overview

With a Master of Social Work, you will have the skills, experience and platform to protect the vulnerable, fight social injustice and help those from disadvantaged circumstances turn their lives around. Seek membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) when you graduate and set yourself up for senior roles in a rapidly growing sector.

Want to discover how your care for others, compassion and empathy can translate into a rewarding and successful career?

You will study this course alongside a group of students that, while diverse, all share a common passion for helping others. Many join the course after completing a bachelor degree in a cognate discipline, such as psychology, allied health and nursing. Master of Social Work students who are working in the field are looking to develop advanced skills – skills that allow them to address more complex issues and have an even more profound impact on the people they work with. No matter where you come from, you will be joining a group that shares your values, and you will be given a platform to do more of what you love each and every day.

Choosing social work at Deakin means you get to study specialised units that focus on the most significant social challenges in the world today. These include:

Addressing Violence and Abuse
Responding to Trauma, Grief and Loss
Challenging Poverty and Social Exclusion

Your studies will extend to other key areas of social work that give you a national and global perspective of the work currently being done in the field, such as:

social and community development
race and gender issues
critical social work perspectives
equity, power and diversity issues
anti-oppressive and empowerment approaches to social work practice and policy.

Another benefit of the course is our unique unit, Collaborative Practice in Healthcare. The unit includes students from social work, nursing, psychology, occupational therapy, optometry, medical imaging and medicine, giving you the chance to work alongside health professionals from different areas. Not only is this a great networking opportunity, it also provides a blueprint of what it takes to work effectively in a healthcare team. Develop skills in leadership, interprofessional conflict resolution, communication and patient-centred care, and graduate ready to thrive in team environments.

The course is delivered on our flexible online learning platform, but that doesn’t mean you will miss out on practical learning opportunities. In fact, you will undertake at least 1000 hours of professional placement preparing you for all the challenges you will face in your future role. You can take on placements at a variety of organisations, broadening your experience and professional networks, and you will be supervised by qualified social work practitioners who can give you feedback and expert guidance along the way.

The Master of Social Work is accredited by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) and has even been recognised by the AASW for its commitment to ‘critically reflective practice’. That means you will graduate with a sought-after qualification and all the right skills for a rewarding career built on helping others.

Indicative student workload

As a student in the Faculty of Health you can expect to participate in a range of learning activities each week. This may include a combination of self-paced study, lectures, seminars, simulations and online interactions. You can refer to the individual unit details in the course structure for more information. You will need to study and complete assessment tasks in your own time.

Attendance requirements

As part of the AASW accreditation you must attend 20 days of on-campus face-to-face learning. Intensive dates can be found on the Master of Social Work intensives webpage. If you feel for any reason you cannot attend these intensives you must contact your units chair as soon as possible.

Attendance requirements can be found on the Master of Social Work webpage.

Professional recognition

The Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) has fully accredited the Master of Social Work. The AASW has also singled out Deakin for our ‘critically reflective practice’, setting us apart from other social work programs in Australia.

Note: All information regarding professional recognition is accurate at the date of publication. Enquiries regarding accreditation and professional membership should be directed to the School of Health and Social Development in order to ascertain the current status of accreditation at any future point in time beyond publication. Representations about accreditation apply only to the course, and the AASW retains discretion as to who they admit as members of their association. Deakin University cannot exercise any control over membership of an external body.

Career opportunities

The Master of Social Work prepares you for work in a broad range of areas, from mental health and human rights, to family violence and disability services. Within these areas, you will also have options around the types of roles you explore. You can work one-on-one with clients, building lasting relationships and providing guidance at a very personal level. Or you can help shape policies, services and health systems that impact whole communities and even countries. The health care and social assistance industry is Australia’s fastest-growing*, so you will have no shortage of opportunities once you graduate.

Passionate about helping others but not sure which role is right for you just yet? The 1000 hours of professional placement you undertake throughout the course allows you to sample the many different facets of social work before making your choice.

Some of the roles you will be ready to thrive in include:

social worker
policy officer
community development worker
case manager
counsellor
human rights advocate.

With a Master of Social Work, after further training and supervised practice, you may be eligible to apply for Accredited Mental Health Social Worker status with the AASW and then apply for a Medicare provider number, which allows you to offer mental health counselling services in a private practice setting. The course also sets you up for research opportunities.

*Industry Employment Projections 2019 Report, Department of Employment, Skills, Small and Family Business

Participation requirements

During the academic and placement components of a social work degree, students are expected to attend seminars and classes, and/or participate in online learning activities. In-person attendance for some activities, including placement, is compulsory for all students including those enrolled as online students.

In accordance with the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards (ASWEAS) online students are required to attend on campus intensive seminars for a minimum of 20 days throughout their course. Intensive seminars are linked to individual units of study. Refer to the individual unit details in the University Handbook for more information about attendance requirements for specific units.

Reasonable adjustments to participation and other course requirements will be made for students with a disability. Any adjustments need to reflect the understanding of social work and requirements for social work education as spelt out in the ASWEAS. For example, it is not possible to exempt a student from all group work activities in their degree as students must be able to demonstrate their ability to work collaboratively with others. However, there may be scope to make adjustments to this requirement on particular occasions, provided there are sufficient other situations when the student has the opportunity to demonstrate this requirement. More information available at Disability support services.

Mandatory student checks

In accordance with the policies of health and human services organisations, all students are required to undertake a Police Record Check prior to professional placements in each calendar year that they are enrolled in a placement unit. Students who fail to obtain a Police Record Check prior to the commencement of a professional placement will not be able to undertake their mandatory placement units and this will impede progress in the course.

Students with a criminal record are not precluded from enrolling in social work degrees at Deakin but may face difficulties in obtaining placements which are required to complete the degree. Many agencies are reluctant to place students whom they perceive may place service users, staff or the organisation itself at risk, e.g. when offending has involved crimes of violence against children or adults, or crimes of deception such as fraud and embezzlement.

Working With Children Check (or State/Territory equivalent)

In accordance with the Worker Screening Act 2020, all students are required to undertake a Working with Children Check at the commencement of their course. Students who fail to obtain a Working with Children Check prior to the commencement of professional placement will not be able to undertake their mandatory placement units and this will impede progress in the course.

NDIS Worker Screening Check

Students may be required to undertake a NDIS Worker Screening Check to comply with any requirements as specified by a particular placement organisation. This is an assessment of whether a person poses risk to NDIS participants. A placement organisation may refuse to accept a student for placement if they fail to obtain a NDIS Worker Screening Check. This may impede progression in the course.

Immunisation Status

Students are a potential source of infection for service users and colleagues and may be required to comply with any requirements for immunisation as specified by a particular placement organisation. Students are required to declare their immunisation status to satisfy the requirements of health and human service organisations where they will be undertaking their professional learning experience. A placement organisation may refuse to accept a student for placement if the student’s immunisation status is not satisfactory to the placement organisation. This may impede progression in the course.

Pathways

This course provides a pathway to higher degree by research courses.

Course Learning Outcomes

Deakin Graduate Learning Outcomes	Course Learning Outcomes
Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities	Critically apply understanding of the histories, aims, values, ethics, theories and practice approaches of social work in contemporary Australian contexts, across all domains including working with individuals, families, groups, communities, management, research education and social policy. Practice social work reflectively in line with the code of ethics and professional practice standards of the Australian Association of Social Workers.
Communication	Evaluate and apply appropriate communication and interpersonal skills in a broad range of social work practice contexts and with a diversity of people, communities and organisations.
Digital literacy	Use digital technology in social work practice ethically and appropriately, including service provision and management, information acquisition and dissemination, and research and evaluation.
Critical thinking	Critically analyse, synthesise and apply knowledge of social work theories, methods and skills to promote positive social change. Engage in reflective and responsive practice that considers the social context, and the positioning of self and others. Evaluate and apply knowledge and understanding of a range of research paradigms and methods to the design and conduct of research relevant to the practice and evaluation of social work.
Problem solving	Apply social work knowledge and intervention skills to appropriately and creatively respond to the needs of individuals, groups and communities in diverse settings, client groups and geographic locations.
Self-management	Demonstrate a sense of identity, integrity and self-management as a professional social worker in all areas of practice. Demonstrate the capacity to engage in professional supervision, be accountable for professional decisions and actions, and recognise the need to engage in on-going professional development, including supervision.
Teamwork	Work and learn respectfully and inclusively in collaborative intra and inter disciplinary settings. Work and learn across diverse social, cultural and political locations.
Global citizenship	Enact acknowledgement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Australians into social work practice. Evaluate and apply local and global knowledges of the social, political, cultural, legal and economic contexts of social work practice to respond effectively within a human rights and social justice framework.

Course rules

To complete the Master of Social Work students must pass 16 credit points and meet the following course rules to be eligible to graduate:

DAI001 Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0-credit-point compulsory unit) in their first study period
16 credit points of core units

Students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements. See the enrolment codes and terminology to help make sense of the University’s vocabulary.

Note:

Students must complete 2 practice education units as part of the core units, each involving a minimum of 500 hours (across a minimum 65 days) of practicum (field placement) in a social or community service agency or program. Please note that all students will need to undertake the required field placements in order to qualify for the degree. These field placements are unpaid. It is recommended that students have planned for these periods of unpaid placement time prior to commencing the course.
Failure of a practice education placement in the Master of Social Work will normally lead to exclusion.

Inherent requirements

Students should also be aware of the inherent requirements of the course.

Course structure

Core units

Course structure applies for students who commenced in 2017 onwards. Students who commenced prior to 2017 should refer to previous online Handbooks or consult a student advisor.

Level 1 - Trimester 1

DAI001

Academic Integrity and Respect at Deakin (0 credit points)

HSW701

Australian Social Work in an International Context

HSW702

Understanding Care and Risk

HSW703

Becoming a Social Worker

HSW705

Challenging Poverty and Social Exclusion

Level 1 - Trimester 2

HSW714

Professional Practice in Social Work A (3 credit points)

HSH725

Research Literacy

Level 2 - Trimester 1

HSW707

Addressing Violence and Abuse

HSW709

Practicing Social Work with Communities and Groups

HSW711

Responding to Trauma, Grief and Loss

HBS745

Collaborative Practice in Health and Community Care

Level 2 - Trimester 2

HSW704

Reconstructing Professional Practice

HSW715

Professional Practice in Social Work B (3 credit points)

Work experience

Practice Education

All students are required to complete two field education placements, each involving a minimum of 500 hours (across at least 65 days) of practicum (field placement) in a health or human service organisation or program.

Students must also attend and participate in the associated pre-placement preparation seminars at the Geelong Waterfront campus in the trimester prior to the placement being undertaken. Dates for 2025 are available here.

Recognition for Prior Learning (RPL) is possible for the first placement only (HSW714 Professional Practice in Social Work A) for students who are able to demonstrate that their prior work experience has provided them with the knowledge and experience that would normally be provided in the first placement. Applications for RPL are due 31 March of the year students are due to undertake their first placement. Late applications cannot be accepted.

Further information is available in the RPL Guidelines.

Deakin University does not require any student to have a driver’s licence but encourages students to obtain one if possible. Many placement providers expect students to hold a full driver’s licence and students who do not have this may be limited in the placement opportunities available to them. Organisations which require students to drive as part of their placement work should provide access to an agency vehicle and not expect students to have their own car.

Course duration

Course duration may be affected by delays in completing course requirements, such as failing of units or accessing or completing clinical requirements.

Fees - CSPs

There are limited Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP) in the Master of Social Work. Therefore CSP are not guaranteed and are allocated according to time of receipt of a completed application

Applications for CSP usually closes in mid-late November each year. Applications received after this time are considered for full-fee places only.

Eligibility

This course is suitable for students who hold a related undergraduate degree (please refer to the entry requirements). If you do not hold an undergraduate degree or if your undergraduate degree does not meet the entry requirements please see our Bachelor of Social Work.

Please note: Graduates of the Bachelor of Social Work and Bachelor of Social Work Honours will not be admitted to the Master of Social Work. Graduates of that course are already eligible to apply for membership of the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) and can practice professionally throughout Australia.

Income support

Domestic students enrolled in this postgraduate coursework program may be eligible for student income support through Youth Allowance and Austudy.

Further information can be found at Deakin University's Fees website.

Further information

Student Central can help you with course planning, choosing the right units and explaining course rules and requirements.

Contact Student Central

Fees and charges

Fees and charges vary depending on the type of fee place you hold, your course, your commencement year, the units you choose to study, and their study discipline or your study load.

Tuition fees increase at the beginning of each calendar year and all fees quoted are in Australian dollars ($AUD). Tuition fees do not include textbooks, computer equipment or software, other equipment or costs such as mandatory checks, travel and stationery.

Estimate your fees

For further information regarding tuition fees, other fees and charges, invoice due dates, withdrawal dates, payment methods visit our Current students website.