Phillips Institute’s extensive industry connections and regular consultations ensure you will be trained the way that employers expect. Most Phillips Institute training courses require a practical placement component – this page includes further information about these requirements.

2023 Placement hours and specific requirements

The document below provides further information for 2023 about the minimum required hours for each qualification, examples of appropriate placement organisations according to each qualification, specific requirements and general requirements for all health and community services programs:

Who organises your placement?

If your course requires a practical placement as part of your training, then we will assist you to source a suitable placement and to organise it for you*, an opportunity that may result in a job offer. This means it is especially important that you treat this valuable opportunity as a chance to secure employment or as a good reference for your next job application.

We guarantee that, as part of your training, we will source one placement opportunity for each student enrolled in any of these courses:

  • Certificate III in Health Services Assistance
  • Certificate III in Individual Support (ageing or disability)
  • Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
  • Certificate IV in Ageing Support
  • Certificate IV in Mental Health
  • Certificate IV in Disability
  • Certificate IV in Leisure and Health
  • Diploma of Leisure and Health

These placements will be organised in the Melbourne metropolitan area. Rural and interstate students should consider whether they can source a local placement opportunity themselves prior to enrolment.

For the following courses, your trainer, together with our placement coordinator, will support you to source a local placement:

  • Certificate IV in School Based Education Support
  • Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care
  • Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care

As most students in these programs are keen to work locally, they are often successful sourcing their own placement opportunity with a registered school or early childhood centre (as relevant) in their local area, therefore we do not currently offer to source these unless a student is encountering difficulties.  Your trainer will provide further information to assist you to locate a suitable placement opportunity for your course.

Please see the below information about sourcing your own placement to ensure you will be able to meet all assessment requirements.  If you are intending to study early childhood education and care, or school based education support, please consider whether you are able to source a suitable local placement opportunity yourself with our support.

What if I organise my own placement?

Well done!  Just be aware that, as you are enrolled as a student of Phillips Institute, there are important processes to be followed and documents that must be completed by all parties. This will ensure that the hours you complete can be credited towards your course units.  If you have sourced your own placement organisation, you must advise us at the earliest possible opportunity so that we can make the necessary arrangements for you prior to starting your placement.

I am already working in a relevant role.  Can I do my placement while I work?

Yes you can, as long as the workplace meets our standards for placement.  We still need you to complete the same placement tasks as any other student, and the logbook to verify that you have completed the required hours.  We may also ask you to attach copies of payslips with your logbook to verify the hours.  If you are interested in enrolling as a current worker, feel free to talk to us to clarify these requirements.

Your personal presentation when on placement

As you will be doing your placement in a health, community services or educational organisation, you must ensure that your grooming and presentation is of the highest professional standard.  You are representing Phillips Institute and the placement organisation, and will be working in close contact with other people, so your personal cleanliness and grooming is especially important.

  • What you should wear:
    • freshly laundered, clean and neat Phillips Institute student uniform (one polo shirt is supplied) with black or navy trousers
    • your Phillips Institute name-tag (supplied)
    • dark socks and closed-in black rubber-soled footwear – not sport shoes
    • no jackets, hoodies or cardigans with this uniform during your shift
    • hair longer than your collar must be tied back securely
    • shower or bathe at least daily, and do wear underarm deodorant, as body odour may offend
    • wash your hair frequently, brush your teeth everyday and ensure your breath is fresh
  • What you should not wear:
    • highly perfumed body sprays, perfume or aftershave, heavy makeup
    • coloured nail polish or artificial nails
    • jewellery or wrist-watches, including necklaces, hanging earrings and rings  – a plain wedding band is acceptable
    • open-toed footwear, sandals, thongs, high heels, sports shoes

Police Checks

As part of the enrolment process, we will advise you of the requirement for a clear, current national police check for your placement.  You must apply for this yourself, so that you can provide it directly to the host placement organisation.  If we are organising your placement, you will need to provide our office with a copy of your national police check.  We recommend you apply for your national police check at least two months prior to your planned placement to avoid delays.

Working with Children Check

Health services, disability, childcare, schools and educational organisations all require staff, volunteers and students undergoing practical work placements to hold a current Working with Children Check (WWC). Students in Victoria need to apply online as a volunteer (no charge), and you must make the application yourself as we are not able to make this application for you.  Students in other jurisdictions must check their state or territory requirements.  If we are organising your Monash Health placement, you must apply for an employee version and provide our office with a copy.

You can find out more about how to get your WWC and check the fee for an employee WWC here.

NDIS Worker Screening Check

Students who are studying courses relating to aged care, disability or mental health, are likely to require an NDIS Worker Screening Check in addition to other screening checks.  Talk to your trainer about what is required and ensure you apply for this check well in advance of planning your placement, as there are potential delays in gaining these checks which may delay your placement.  Students in other jurisdictions must check their state or territory requirements.  For more information, Victorian students can check here.

Immunisations and Placements

Many placement organisations now require mandatory reporting of your immunisation status.  At orientation and induction into your course, you will be supplied with further information about the vaccinations you may need to have before you can commence your placement.

For example, some placement organisations may require students, with their application for placement, to adhere to the organisation’s immunisation schedule and provide a record of vaccination status and immunity to infectious diseases prior to their employment or placement.

These placement organisations may reserve the right to refuse students a placement if they are not vaccinated in accordance with their guidelines and if it is deemed that the person will be at risk of contracting or transmitting vaccine-preventable infectious diseases. All persons who have only partial or no demonstrated immunity to vaccine-preventable infectious diseases may be expected to declare this prior to commencement of their placement with these organisations.

More information about immunisations in relation to occupational areas can be found here.

Applicants should consider their ability to meet these requirements prior to enrolment.

The Australian Aged Care Quality Agency in 2017 and 2018 undertook a nationwide online survey of residential aged care services to review infection control practices. During influenza seasons, the elderly and people with chronic diseases are more at risk from influenza than the general population. In 2017, there was a high number of influenza cases in the community and an increased number of influenza deaths reported in residential aged care services (RACS). Annual influenza vaccination is recommended for residents of aged care services (care recipients) due to high rates of influenza transmission and influenza-related complications during outbreaks in such facilities. Vaccination of staff is also recommended to protect staff from influenza and to reduce transmission to care recipients. (Report on review of infection control in residential aged care in Australia April 2018: accessed 18/06/2018 at http://www.aacqa.gov.au/publications/infection-control/ReportonreviewofinfectioncontrolinresidentialagedcareinAustraliaApril2018.pdf)

Your trainer can provide further information about immunisation.

^Placement Guarantee

It is the intention of Phillips Institute to ensure that every student has the best learning opportunities and to be fair, flexible and reasonable in providing these valuable opportunities. This is why we have provided at least one placement per student per course, with the exception of the course areas as described above, since the RTO began in 1998.  However, in the unlikely event that we have organised a placement for a student but the host organisation is unable to, or refuses to, accommodate the student, Phillips Institute cannot guarantee to provide the placement for that student. In such a situation, we will make every endeavour to find at least one alternative placement opportunity for the student, subject to the student not breaching their obligations as described in the Student Handbook and as agreed at time of enrolment.  Where a student refuses a placement that has been organised by Phillips Institute, the RTO reserves the right to transfer the cost of the placement and the obligation to organise a further placement to the student.