Overview

Career Outcomes

This course can enhance your employment prospects by preparing you for work within a wide variety of mental health/alcohol/other drugs counselling settings. Typical occupational titles include:

• Alcohol and drugs worker
• Community rehabilitation and support worker
• Community support worker
• Mental health outreach worker
• Mental health rehabilitation support worker
• Mental health support worker
• Mental health community worker
• Dual diagnosis worker

Pathways/ Articulation and pathways/ Career pathways

TAFE courses can be credited towards your OUA degree

Many OUA courses provide pathways through the qualifications needed to develop your career from TAFE Diplomas through to undergraduate Bachelors degrees and then on to the postgraduate qualifications:  Graduate Certificates, Graduate Diplomas and Masters degrees. Your TAFE qualification may provide you with the eligibility to apply for a higher level course or can provide you with unit exemptions and credit towards your university degree.

Eligibility

Applicants must demonstrate their eligibility for this course to GippsTAFE before enrolling in any units through OUA.

Academic

• Completed Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs

OR:

• Completed Certificate IV in Mental Health

Pre-requisite entry (for students who don’t meet the above academic criteria)

• For students who do not fulfil the above Academic criteria entry into the CHC50408 Diploma of Community Services (Alcohol, Other Drugs and Mental Health) requires completion of the CHC40408 Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs Work which is open entry.

Work experience

• Sufficient current or previous work experience in the Health and/or Community Services industry
• Be recently appointed or currently working in a community support mental health and/or alcohol and other drugs work role
• Have sufficient work experience in the relevant sector to indicate likely success at this level of qualification

How to Apply

Entry into the CHC50408 Diploma of Community Services (Alcohol, other drugs and mental health) requires completion of the CHC40408 Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs Work (Level 1 and 2) which is open entry.

Upon completion of the pre-requisites (Level 1 and 2) students can enter the Level 3 which contains the remaining units required for the award CHC50408 Diploma of Community Services (Alcohol, other drugs and mental health), As these pre-requisites are an entry requirement students will need to complete the restricted application form below to enable Gipps TAFE to determine eligibility.

Applications for the Diploma of Community Services (Alcohol, other drugs and mental health) are due by Friday two weeks prior to the close of enrolment.

GippsTAFE_VET_Restricted_Application_Form (PDF, 172 KB)

PDF applications should be emailed to: apply@open.edu.au or faxed to: +61 3 8628 2989.

Special Requirements

Students will need access to a computer and an internet connection (broadband is preferred) and a headset (with microphone) to attend online classes.

You will need the internet to access the 'TAFE Virtual Campus' online learning platform and 'Elluminate', a virtual conferencing tool.

Assessment

Assessment will incorporate a blend of discussion boards, Elluminate, assignments and voluntary workplace assessment.

Award Requirements

Students who meet academic entry requirements and are granted direct entry into CHC50408 Diploma of Community Services (Alcohol, other drugs and mental health) will only need to complete 20 units (marked with an asterisk*)

For students who do not meet academic entry requirements the CHC50408 Diploma of Community Services (Alcohol, other drugs and mental health) requires completion of the CHC40408 Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs Work. There is significant duplication of units between these qualifications, therefore students completing the course in the recommended study pattern sequence will graduate with both qualifications when they complete 25 units.

Exit Points

Students can exit the course with the CHC40408 Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs Work qualification upon completion of the units specified in Levels 1 and 2. 

Recommended Study Pattern

CHC50408 Diploma of Community Services (Alcohol, other drugs and mental health) requires completion of the CHC40408 Certificate IV in Alcohol and Other Drugs Work. There is significant duplication of units between these qualifications, therefore students completing the course in the following sequence will graduate with both qualifications when they complete 25 units.

Students granted direct entry into CHC50408 Diploma of Community Services (Alcohol, other drugs and mental health) will only need to complete 20 units (marked with an asterisk*).

Recognition of Prior Learning / Credit

Recognition of Prior Learning is a process that assesses the individual’s formal and informal learning to determine the extent to which that individual has achieved the required learning outcomes, competency outcomes or standards for entry to, and/or partial or total completion of, a qualification.

Applicants with relevant on-the-job experience or with successful completion of part of relevant units may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning. If you believe you may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning you will need to provide details of your relevant qualifications or experience in the Application form for the course.

The Recognition of Prior Learning/Credit section on each of the university course pages on the OUA website has information about credit or unit exemptions for your previous study at TAFE. The Eligibility section of some courses lists TAFE qualifications required before you can apply to be admitted to the course.

Further information is available from Credit for previous study

Course Structure