Field education
Field education is at the heart of social work and community welfare education. It's also a core component of Australian undergraduate and postgraduate social work and community welfare degrees here at Southern Cross University.
Industry standards and compliance
Our field education policies and procedures are underpinned by industry standards outlined here.
Social Work
Practice Standards for field education in social work are established by the AASW (Australian Association of Social Workers). Please refer to AASW website for more information.
Community Welfare
Practice Standards for field education in community welfare are established by ACWA (Australian Community Workers Association). Please refer to the ACWA website for more information.
Field placements
Field placements are structured learning experiences where a student is placed in an agency or community organisation working on particular tasks under the supervision of a social worker.
As a condition of any type of field placement, you are required to provide evidence of your compliance and health protection before participating in any of these activities.
Student compliance
We encourage Bachelor of Community Welfare and Master of Social Work students to familiarise themselves with this important information.
- Student compliance is a mandatory, legislative and regulatory requirement
- To be able to attend field placement, you must be compliant
- You must meet the requirements of both Southern Cross University and the external organisation. This will ensure the safety of yourself and others.
SONIA
SONIA is the professional placement database for students. This is where you will upload your compliance documents. It’s also where you can view your placement allocations.
View the list of Pre-Placement Compliance Requirements.
Travel and other costs
Students are responsible for any accommodation and travel costs associated with field experience activities. Here are some useful links and information.
- Some compliance requirements may incur a fee, eg National Police Certificate (NPC).
- Unistays - Southern Cross University off-campus accommodation
- Scholarships and grants
- Student Loans
Other policies and guidelines
- Clinical placement Information: NSW Health
- Occupational assessment, screening and vaccination against specified infectious diseases: NSW Health
- Vaccination Requirements for student placements: QLD Health
- Community Engaged Learning Policy: Southern Cross University
- Community Engaged Learning At-Risk procedures: Southern Cross Unversity
- Code of Conduct: Southern Cross University
Contact us
The Field Education Team in the School of Arts and Social Sciences is here to help you in preparation for and during your field experience.
Email the Field Education Team. Or call Field Education Team, via the Hub at the Gold Coast campus, on +61 7 5589 3001.