Diploma in Community Welfare and Wellbeing

Upon completion of this course, graduates will be able to:

1. synthesise and apply foundational knowledge and skills to facilitate optimal outcomes for individuals and communities;
2. demonstrate a range of skills in inter-professional and/or transcultural health contexts to meet individual and community requirements;
3. work collaboratively and ethically with individuals or groups to implement socially inclusive and culturally appropriate strategies in a range of welfare and community sector settings; and
4. use strategies to maintain their own well-being when working in challenging situations.

This course is ideal for those coming direct from school or interested in building on existing industry experience and vocational qualifications in welfare and community service work and healthcare. The course explores the context of welfare and community service and health work and provides students with the foundational academic abilities and theoretical understandings necessary for a further qualification and career in health, social care and community service work.

Recommended study pattern

Complete 8 core units.

Award requirements

A candidate who completes all 8 core units shall be awarded the Diploma in Community Welfare and Wellbeing.

Exit points

Subject to meeting Advanced Standing rules, candidates who apply to discontinue their studies in the course may be eligible to exit with the Undergraduate Certificate in Health and Social Care upon completion of 24 credit points comprising units HLTH101, HLTH102, HLTH103 and HLTH104.

Subject to meeting Advanced Standing rules, candidates who apply to discontinue their studies in the course may be eligible to exit with the Undergraduate Certificate in Youth and Community Work upon completion of 24 credit points comprising units HLTH102; HDCW114; HDCW125 and HDCW126.

Candidates who apply to discontinue their studies and exit with the Undergraduate Certificate in Health and Social Care or Undergraduate Certificate in Youth and Community Work must apply for re-admission and will be subject to current course requirements for the Diploma in Community Welfare and Wellbeing.

In the absence of a nominated exit pathway, or where a candidate is unable to complete the requirements of either the course or the nominated pathway, an alternative award may be able to be identified in consultation with the Course Coordinator.

Open Universities Australia is a not-for-profit organisation. You will not pay any fees for using our services.

Indicative total fee $13,529

The amount shown here is indicative for an Australian citizen studying full-time, which is typically 8 subjects per year.

Fees may vary depending on:

• the subjects you choose
• credit from previous work experience
• your eligibility for government funding loans or subsidies such as HECS-HELP or a Commonwealth supported place.

To learn more, go to Fees or contact a student advisor.

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You can apply for this course if you have undertaken any of the following qualifications with an appropriate Grade Point Average (GPA):

• Undergraduate Certificates
• Diplomas
• Advanced Diplomas/Associate degrees
• Bachelor degrees
• Postgraduate degrees

You can apply for this course if you are currently studying Year 12 (school or TAFE) or have done so within the past 2 years. Guaranteed ATAR is 45.

You can apply for this course if you have undertaken VET studies. When assessing your application, we will look at the following factors:

• Level and type of qualification (Certificate III or above)
• Graded or ungraded (competency-based)
• Complete or incomplete.

Professional Experience: If you have completed at least one year of paid professional experience, we can assess you for admission on this basis. Simply provide a resume and a Statement of Service from your employer/s in your application.

Mature Age Special Entry: Tell us more about your work and life experience, demonstrating why you believe you will be successful in the course you are applying for. Simply complete the Mature Age Special Entry form and upload it in your application.

Skills for Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT): The STAT is a test that assesses a range of competencies considered important for successful tertiary study. UNE accepts the multiple-choice component provided you have completed it within the three years prior to course commencement.

All applicants must meet a minimum of one of the following criteria:

1. English is the applicant's first language; 
2. Satisfactory completion, within five years of the date of application for admission to UNE, of at least one year of full-time or equivalent full-time study at senior secondary, post-secondary or tertiary level in a country in which English is the primary official language or co-official language and in which English was the sole medium of instruction and assessment for the particular period of study claimed. The time limits for the currency of qualifications do not apply where the applicant has successfully undertaken the above study and since completion of that study held continual residence in a Group A country listed under Section 4 of this Policy; 
3. A pass grade or better in an English language subject at an Australian Year 12 level (or domestic or international equivalent):
   1. A pass grade or better will be applied to mean 50% or better in the English Year 12 subject or the equivalent band result that indicates a pass (in cases where Year 12 subjects are assessed in bands for example band 3 in English in the NSW Higher School Certificate);
   2. The subject ‘English as an Additional Dialect’ (or a subject to the equivalent of same) is NOT considered an equivalent for a Year 12 English subject for the purposes of this clause.
4. An International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic overall score of at least 6.0 with no sub-band less than 5.5+*; or
5. Equivalent Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of at least 213 in the computer-based test or at least 79 in the internet-based test with no less than 22 in the written component*; 
6. A Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic minimum overall score of 57 with no skill less than 50*;
7. Satisfactory completion of the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program:
   1. at the University of New England English Language Centre; or
   2. an equivalent EAP program at an Australian university National ELT Accreditation Scheme (NEAS)-accredited English Language Centre (subject to certification from the university concerned that satisfactory completion of that university's EAP program would entitle the applicant to be accepted into a comparable award-bearing program at that university); or
   3. at a non-university NEAS-accredited English Language Provider that has a formal agreement with UNE under which it provides an equivalent EAP Program; or
   4. a NEAS-accredited TAFE NSW EAP Program;
8. Satisfactory completion on a prior or concurrent basis of an appropriate English communication skills program approved by the Executive Principal Education Futures, on the joint support of the relevant Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning and Director, UNE International, or equivalent;
9. Demonstrated current registration with an accrediting body that has English language requirements equivalent to, or higher than, the minimum standard required by the University of New England, recognised registrations can include:
   1. Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) registration other than Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Health Practice registration;
   2. NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Teacher registration;
   3. Australian Medical Council (AMC) registration;
   4. Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC); and
   5. Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) registration.

Multilingual applicants with two or more first languages, where English is one of their first languages, will be deemed to meet the clauses of this Policy or the English Language Requirements Higher than the University Minimum Requirement Annex that require that English is the applicant’s first language.

If you are admitted into this course and believe you have already completed the equivalent of one or more of the units in your Course Structure (Program of Study) within the last ten years, you can apply for Individual Unit Advanced Standing.