Diploma in Community Welfare and Wellbeing
UndergraduateUNE-CWW-DIP2025
Nurture individuals and communities
Follow, or build upon, your natural urge to protect and nurture those around you. Develop skills that form the core of care professions. Gain a pathway into a degree in nursing, social work or community services.
2025 applications have closed but you can start studying now with single subjects.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Start dates
- 20 Oct 2025
- Credit available
- Yes
- Duration
- 1 year full time or part time equivalent
- Total subjects
- 8
- Available loans
- Australian Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
Diploma in Community Welfare and Wellbeing
About this degree
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
- synthesise and apply foundational knowledge and skills to facilitate optimal outcomes for individuals and communities;
- demonstrate a range of skills in inter-professional and/or transcultural health contexts to meet individual and community requirements;
- 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
- use strategies to maintain their own health and 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 the following Core subjects:
- HLTH101 Information and Evidence in Health and Social Care
- HLTH102 Interprofessional Practice in Health and Social Care
- HLTH103 Communication for Health Professionals
- HLTH104 The Context of Health and Community Services
- HDCW114 Introductory Client Centred Health Care
- HDCW125 Foundations of Community Health Work
- HDCW126 Children and Young People at Risk
- OORA200 Working with Aboriginal People
To access the course rules and plans go to the UNE Course Handbook.
Award requirements
To qualify for the award a candidate must pass units to the value of 48 credit points from the OUA Program.
Degrees are usually made up of core subjects and electives. Some degrees include a choice of majors, so you can focus your studies on a specialisation.
This list is a general overview. Download the full Degree Guide for more information.
Students must contact UNE with their intent to graduate.
Transition arrangements are changes that occur when courses are updated or phased out. This happens regularly as part of continuous improvement. It may affect you if you are currently enrolled in this course, or if you plan to use credit from previous study towards it.
This program will be withdrawn in 2026. Final application intake was Trimester 1 2025.
- OUA students enrolled in the Diploma in Community Welfare and Wellbeing have up to four years to complete the course requirements from their date of commencement.
- For students admitted in Trimester 1, 2025, they will have until end Trimester 1, 2029 to complete the course requirements.
- All core subjects in the program will remain on offer with OUA until this date if there are students still required to complete.
Open Universities Australia is a not-for-profit organisation. You will not pay any fees for using our services.
Indicative total fee $18,808
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.
The University of New England is the only Australian public university to be awarded the maximum 5 stars for Overall Experience by the Good Universities Guide, 13 years in a row. UNE has delivered distance education since 1955—that’s longer than any other Australian university. Perhaps that’s why students continue to rate UNE so highly for student satisfaction and teaching quality. With over 170 degrees offered online, and more than 22,000 students, UNE is an expert in online education.
Learn more about UNE.
Explore UNE courses.
- QS World University Ranking 2025, within Australia:
- 36
Entry requirements
Start small with no entry requirements
Yes, you can get into this diploma!
Gain entry through single subjects, regardless of your ATAR or study history. Here’s how:
Single subjects
Start with subjects
Enrol and pass subjects from this diploma. You can get access to HELP loans if you’re eligible. This enrolment option is only available through Open Universities Australia.
We’ll recommend the next available subjects for you when you enrol.
Enrol in single subjectsContinue to the Diploma in Community Welfare and Wellbeing
Enter the degree with full credits from your subjects. You’ll study for the same amount of time as students who go straight into the degree.
With the exception of the open enrolment subjects, this is a restricted degree. Continuing enrolment is only available to students who have been accepted into this degree.
Students will be required to successfully complete 2 subjects from the list below to be eligible for admission to the Diploma in Community Welfare and Wellbeing.
- HLTH101 Information and Evidence in Health and Social Care
- HLTH102 Interprofessional Practice in Health and Social Care
- HLTH104 The Context of Health and Community Services
Students will be required to successfully complete 2 subjects from the list below with a minimum GPA of 4.0 to be eligible for admission to the Diploma in Community Welfare and Wellbeing.
- HLTH101 Information and Evidence in Health and Social Care
- HLTH102 Interprofessional Practice in Health and Social Care
- HLTH104 The Context of Health and Community Services
GENERAL
(5)When an IELTS (International English Language Testing System), TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or PTE (Pearson Test of English) score is used to demonstrate English proficiency, that score must have been attained within two years of the date of application for admission.
STANDARD MINIMUM ENGLISH LANGUAGE REQUIREMENT
(6)At least one of the following criteria must be met:
- English is the applicant's first language; or
- 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, resulting in an AQF award or an award recognised by the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition (NOOSR); or
- A pass grade or better in an English language subject at Australian Year 12 level or overseas equivalent; or
- An IELTS (Academic) overall score of at least 6.0 with no sub-band less than 5.5; or equivalent 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; or a PTE Academic minimum overall score of 57 with no skill less than 50; or
- Satisfactory completion of the English for Academic Purposes (EAP) program:
- at the University of New England English Language Centre; or
- an equivalent EAP program at an Australian university 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
- 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
- a NEAS-accredited TAFE NSW EAP Program.
More detailed information regarding these requirements can be viewed at: English Language Requirements.
Students admitted to the degree with prior tertiary studies that satisfy part of the academic requirements of this degree may be eligible for advanced standing. For more information on Advanced Standing or Recognition of Prior Learning, please visit: Advanced Standing
Career opportunities
Graduates of the Diploma in Community Welfare and Wellbeing will have knowledge to enhance their opportunities for work and employment in community, welfare and health sectors.
Australian job snapshots
Data sourced from Australian Jobs 2023.
| Role | Earnings | Employment change |
|---|---|---|
| Community Workers | N/A^ | N/A^ |
| Disabilities Services Officers | N/A^ | N/A^ |
| Health and Welfare Services Managers | Over $120K | Up 56.6% |
| Welfare Centre Managers | N/A^ | N/A^ |
| Welfare, Recreation and Community Arts Workers | $75K to $93K | Up 29.8% |
| Youth Workers | N/A^ | N/A^ |
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