Social Work Inherent Requirements

Social work is a demanding profession and the core curriculum requirements outlined in the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) are challenging for many students.

You must be able to work collaboratively during the course and establish working relationships with other students, university staff and placement providers, including participating in meetings and presenting to groups in professional contexts. You must be able to demonstrate the capacity for critical reflection on your own practice and on the practice of others, respond professionally to feedback and engage in professional supervision.

The AASW (2013, p7*) has identified eight graduate attributes for Australian social workers that are based on the profession’s Practice Standards, and are underpinned by knowledge, values and skills that students develop through their social work degree:

1. Values and ethics
2. Professionalism
3. Culturally responsive and inclusive practice
4. Knowledge for practice
5. Applying knowledge to practice
6. Communication and interpersonal skills
7. Information recording and sharing
8. Professional development and supervision.

Inherent requirements are skills, values and behaviours that you need to complete a program of study. These requirements are non-negotiable, but there may be a range of ways in which you can demonstrate them.

The following are the inherent requirements for studying Deakin’s:

• Bachelor of Social Work (H330)
• Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) (H430)
• Master of Social Work (H703)

Professional behaviour

Students are expected to act in accordance with the AASW’s Code of Ethics as well as comply with the academic conduct policies of Deakin University and relevant Australian legislation.

Progression through the course and graduation is contingent on demonstrating professional attitudes and behaviour throughout the course, and certain assessments are linked to this expectation, as these are essential for social work practice. For example, in all aspects of their professional life, social workers must refrain from displaying any discriminatory behaviour.

Any adjustments to course requirements for individual students must not compromise the Code of Ethics and result in unethical behaviour. For example, students requiring assistance to collect or work with confidential agency information may require permission from a placement provider to utilise the assistance of a learning support worker.

Adjustments to course requirements must also not compromise academic policies of Deakin University or result in illegal behaviour.

Learning skills

Social work education is a continuum of professional development beginning with entry into a degree program leading to a formal qualification as a social worker then continuing professional education to maintain currency as a lifelong progression.

Social work degrees are demanding and students require cognitive skills to solve complex problems. Social work practice requires the ability to conduct comprehensive and focussed assessments, and plan, implement and evaluate interventions and programs which seek to serve the needs of individuals, families, groups and communities. Consequently, the ability to process complex verbal, written and other forms of information is essential.

Behavioural and social skills

Social work practice occurs in challenging and unpredictable environments and involves working with people experiencing crises. Therefore, social work students must be able to develop and maintain professional relationships with service users and colleagues.

Students must also be able to complete demanding workloads under stressful conditions in which they are required to effectively adapt processes according to the presenting circumstances. While students are expected to be compassionate and emotionally robust, they should also be able to recognise situations where their emotional or physical state precludes effective delivery of services and manage these in a professional manner.

Students should endeavour to ensure the consequences of any physical or mental health problem, and/or the treatment associated with any health condition, are well controlled, such that they are able to deal with the rigours of a demanding and, at times, inflexible course curriculum.

Students must recognise that participation in, and travel to and from, placements is a requirement of the course, and that professional interactions with both service users and colleagues is expected and required at all times.

Any adjustments should aim to support students to sustain professional behaviour in academic and/or placement settings for a negotiated period of time.

Communication and interpersonal skills

Social work practice in Australia requires advanced oral and written communication skills in the English language. Practitioners need to communicate effectively and sensitively with service users and carers from all walks of life, irrespective of ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, religious beliefs or physical or psychological disability.

An ability to gather, synthesise and apply information by verbal, written, and non-verbal means of communication is essential. Social workers must also be capable of delivering concise, comprehensible written and verbal advice to individuals or groups of services users, carers and professional colleagues.

Any adjustments must not compromise the clarity and accuracy of the information provided and must be effective and timely.

Social work knowledge

Social workers need to be able to identify relevant knowledge and utilise appropriate theories and skills in order to effectively understand and respond to the situations of individuals, families, groups and/or communities.

The ASWEAS specifies a range of knowledge and practice approaches which all social work graduates are expected to be familiar with. Consequently, students cannot be exempted from being exposed to particular knowledge or approaches on the basis that these will not be needed in their anticipated fields of work.

Any adjustments must ensure that graduates have all the relevant skills and knowledge expected of a social worker.

Some other issues may impact your ability to complete your social work degree.

Students with a criminal record

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.

Most agencies require students to obtain a police check and/or a Working with Children Check and may decline to accept a student on placement due to the nature of the information about their offending and the timing of the last offence.

In particular, 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.

Students without a driver’s licence

Deakin 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.

NDIS worker screening check

Students may be required to undertake an 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 an 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.

Deakin is committed to providing access to learning for all students. Apart from the mandatory inherent requirements that every student needs to demonstrate, Deakin and placement agencies may be able to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate the needs of students without compromising the academic integrity of the program.

These may include adjustments to learning and teaching activities, assessment tasks and other course requirements. If you have a health condition or impairment that might impact your participation in this course, the Disability Resource Centre (DRC) can provide advice and support to Deakin students.

With advice from the DRC, some reasonable adjustments can be made to teaching, learning, assessment, practice education (placements) and other activities that address the impact of your health conditions and impairments on your study.