Social work courses

Social workers provide support to people who are facing challenging circumstances or structural disadvantages.

For example, you may work with people who are experiencing mental health issues, family violence or homelessness. You could also work with people with disability or those from a refugee or asylum seeker background, or with First Nations communities.

Your role will be to connect people with the services they need and provide support to help them improve their lives. Social workers play a crucial role in making our society more equal, inclusive and just.

Your social work course will likely cover topics including:

• Sociology

• Mental health

• Human services

• Human rights

• Inequality

• Cross-cultural competency

• First Nations perspectives

• Interpersonal communication

• Ethics

• Social policy

• Law in relation to social work

While you can complete all your theory online, many online social work degrees also require practicum placements in a human services organisation. This workplace learning will help you gain the skills you need to succeed in the profession.

Entry requirements will differ between social work courses, so make sure you check each course page to see if you are eligible.,

The good news is, even if you don’t think you meet the criteria, Open Universities Australia may be able to help you find a pathway into studying social work. Chat with us about how this works.

It depends on the course and whether you choose something short or long-term. Here’s a general guide: 

If you study a degree in social work through Open Universities Australia, you have the flexibility to choose how many subjects you take per term. This means you can complete your qualification at a faster or slower pace than you would on campus.

As social work is a career that has people at its heart, it’s important to gain in-person experience. Many online social work courses enable you to complete all your theory online, and pair this with a practical workplace component.

Courses accredited by the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) require you to complete two workplace placements of 500 hours each. In these supervised placements at a human services organisation, you’ll be able to put your learning into practice and gain vital professional skills.

After graduating from your social work course, you can explore roles such as:

• Social worker

• Counsellor

• Case manager

• Mental health clinician

• Community worker

• Housing worker

• Policy development advisor

• Youth worker

• Child protection officer

• Outreach coordinator

• Community development coordinator

• Domestic violence advocate

Here at Open Universities Australia, we make enrolling online as straightforward as possible. To get started, find the course for you by browsing the options on this page. You can also compare different qualifications using our handy comparison tool, or request help from one of our student advisors.

When you’ve made your choice, click ‘Apply now’ on the relevant course page and follow the prompts to begin your enrolment. We’ll ask you to supply some supporting documentation, including proof of your identity, your tax file number, and a unique student identifier (USI) during this process.

Your university will get in touch with you via email to confirm whether or not your application has been successful.

Please note that enquiries and applications for some courses are handled directly by the university. If this is the case, it will be indicated on the course listing page.  

For more information about enrolment, read our online self-service enrolling instructions. If you get stuck at any time, contact us and we’ll talk you through it.

Consider these related study options, which all require empathy, compassion and care:

• Community services & care courses

• Psychology & mental health courses

• Criminology courses

• Education & teaching courses

• Nursing courses