Your WIL activity

Some partner organisations may require you to complete a Working with Children Check (WWCC) in order to complete a WIL activity with them.The WWCC focuses on specific types of offences that relate to children and assesses a person’s suitability to work with children. It is a legal requirement for those undertaking paid or voluntary child-related work in all Australian states and territories. Similar requirements may be required for placements in other countries.

• You are required by law to list RMIT as the organisation through which you will be undertaking child-related work
• If you already have a WWCC for employment purposes you must add RMIT as a volunteer organisation
• If you pass the WWCC you will be mailed a card that is valid for 5 years unless suspended or revoked
• You should take your WWCC Card to the first day of placement in case you are required to present it prior to commencing with the organisation

Both volunteer and employee WWCC Cards are available. An Employee Card costs around $100 depending on where it is issued but allows you to engage in any paid or voluntary ‘child-related work’. A Volunteer Card is free but can only be used for voluntary child-related work. It is unlawful to engage in paid employment with a Volunteer card.

Negative notice

A Negative Notice is issued when it is considered that an applicant poses a risk to the safety of children. This prohibits the applicant from engaging in any child-related work even if they are directly supervised. If an applicant receives a Negative Notice, they cannot apply for another WWCC for a period of 5 years, unless their circumstances have changed.

A Negative Notice may prevent you from accessing a suitable WIL activity and may delay or prevent you from progressing through your program.

Some partner organisations require you to complete and pass a Police Check before you commence a WIL activity with them.

This may be because you will be in a position of trust such as handling large amounts of money, having access to prescription medication or working with children, the elderly and those with disabilities.

If you are required to complete a police check, you: 

• Must provide your own police check and pay the associated costs 
• Should take your certificate to the first day of placement in case you are required to present it prior to commencing with the organisation

South Australia

Students undertaking WIL activities in South Australian schools are required to complete a Criminal History Screening.

International students

• International students must apply for a National Police Record Check in Australia through the Australian Federal Police
• The partner organisation may require you to provide a police certificate (with English translation) from your home country. This certificate should state any previous criminal history or specify that there are no pending, current or previous criminal charges or convictions. If you are unable to obtain a Police Check for these purposes you can complete a Statutory Declaration stating the same information

RMIT is under no obligation to organise a placement for a student who does not wish to apply for a Police Check.

It is at the discretion of the partner organisation as to whether they choose to accept a student who has been convicted of a criminal offence. If a student is rejected by a workplace, the student will be advised and offered career and program counselling. Further placement options will be discussed.

What is an NDIS Worker Screening Check?

The NDIS Worker Screening Check is an assessment of whether a person who works, or seeks to work, with people with disability poses a risk to them. The assessment determines whether a person is cleared or excluded from working in certain roles with people with disability.

Do I need to apply for it?

Most students undertaking WIL placements do not need this clearance. Only students allocated a WIL placement in a risk assessed role with a registered NDIS provider will need to apply. 

If you have not been contacted by your College or School WIL team instructing you to apply, you should not apply for the NDIS Worker Screening Check at this time.

For more information about the NDIS Worker Screening Check, including information on how to apply, visit NDIS Worker Screening Check.

The Australian Government has temporarily removed the limit on Student visa holders’ working hours across all sectors of the economy until 30 June 2023. This means international students can work more than 40 hours a fortnight while studying.  

It’s important to be aware of your workplace and payment rights and entitlements when working in Australia. The Fair Work Ombudsman provides free information and assistance regarding your rights. Go to Working in Australia for information. 

Please also visit the Work conditions for student visa holders section of the Department of Home Affairs website for more information on your visa conditions.

RMIT rejects all forms of unacceptable behaviour. This always applies, including while you undertake your WIL placement or project. 

Both you and your WIL partner organisation must practice acceptable behaviour throughout your WIL activity. 

The following behaviours are unacceptable – It’s not ok to be treated this way, it’s not ok to behave this way. 

• Bullying (physical, verbal, psychological or online) – Bullying is a pattern of repeated physical, verbal, psychological or social aggression that is directed towards a person by someone more powerful and is intended to cause harm, distress and/or fear
• Unlawful discrimination (direct and indirect) – Unlawful discrimination is treating, or proposing to treat, someone unfavourably because of a personal characteristic
• Stalking – Stalking is when a person does something repeatedly that causes another person harm or to fear for their safety
• Victimisation – Subjecting, or threatening to subject, someone to something detrimental
• Sexual assault – Sexual activity that a person has not consented to
• Sexual harassment – Unwanted, unwelcome or uninvited behaviour of a sexual nature

If you experience any form of inappropriate conduct during your WIL activity, contact your WIL Coordinator and your Workplace Supervisor immediately.  

If cannot contact them or don’t feel comfortable to do so, contact RMIT Safer Community. 

If you have been harmed or in danger of harm, you should contact the emergency services or ask someone to do so on your behalf.

Where you have access to privileged or confidential information during your placement or project, the partner organisation may require that you sign a confidentiality agreement. After signing the confidentiality deed, you must not disclose the partner organisation’s confidential information except for the “Approved Purposes” in the confidentiality agreement itself.

Both students and workplace supervisors are required to abide by their professional association’s regulations and by relevant organisation rules regarding confidentiality.

You may be asked to sign a specific confidentiality agreement prior to the commencement of the placement.

Supervisors should orientate you with the relevant information regarding organisation’s confidentiality regulations prior to commencement of the placement. 

Ethical and professional practice risks may arise when you undertake WIL activities. These include: 

• Having access to confidential data, research, products and designs
• Interacting with or questioning employees and the public
• Recording, reporting and sharing information as part of coursework and assessments

If you have a personal circumstance or religious or cultural considerations that you believe may impact your placement or project and for which you may require support, it is recommended that you notify your WIL Coordinator well before starting your placement or project.

Speak directly with your WIL Coordinator if you are pregnant or have a temporary injury that may impact your placement or project.

It is important to speak with your WIL Coordinator if you feel that consideration of cultural or religious background or needs may be required during your placement or project. Considerations may be made in relation to prayer times and locations, required clothing and so on. 

Disability, long term illness and/or mental health conditions 

Equitable Learning Services (ELS) is RMIT's confidential service that provides support for students living with disability, long term illness or mental health condition. To register, you need to provide medical documentation about your condition. This information remains confidential. The impact (not the diagnosis) of your condition and the recommended supports (reasonable adjustments) are communicated to the WIL Coordinator via the Accessibility Equity Plan. 

You are under no legal obligation to share the nature of your condition with any other staff within the University. However, it is highly recommended that if you believe your condition could create a risk to yourself or to others during the placement or project, you should discuss this potential impact with ELS and/or if you are comfortable, the WIL Coordinator. 

If you do decide to share personal health related information with the WIL Coordinator in order to discuss the impact of your condition during a placement or project and plan that placement or project, this information should not be released to WIL partner organisations without your written consent. 

Sharing of health-related information is a personal decision. ELS can provide you with information about the pros and cons of sharing personal and health related information. 

Where applicable you should provide a set of instructions for someone to follow in the event of an emergency or deterioration in your health. This should include your doctor’s contact details and any medications (including dosage) to be administered in an emergency. 

For further information refer to: 

• WIL guidelines for students living with a disability, long term illness and/ or mental health condition (PDF, 115KB)
• WIL and Diverse Genders, Sexes and Sexualities Guidelines for students (PDF, 134KB)

Each workplace will have its own unique hazards. Regardless of where you do your placement or project, the best line of defence against injury or illness is to pay attention to what you are doing and be alert to potential hazards. Some of the common hazards to consider may be: 

• Noise – machinery, traffic, music
• Electrical – faulty cords, plugs, equipment
• Manual handling – lifting, pushing, pulling
• Biological – blood, bacteria, viruses
• Psychological – violence, bullying, harassment
• Chemical – cancer drugs, laboratory chemicals, cleaning products 

The way each partner organisation manages and controls its safety will vary. It will also depend to some extent on the hazards present and what control measures are available. Control measures can include: 

• Eliminating the hazard completely
  
• Engineering solutions such as fume hoods
• Administrative controls such as safe procedures
• Wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) such as safety helmets, glasses and boots; high visibility vests; life jackets and even sunscreen

What is PPE? 

PPE is any clothing, equipment or substance designed to protect you from injury or illness. If you are required to use PPE then ensure it is appropriate for the job, it fits properly and is used correctly. 

While your partner organisation has the ultimate responsibility and duty of care to provide and maintain a safe work environment, including all machinery, equipment and substances, you are expected to do everything reasonably possible to protect your own health and safety and that of others. This means you must: 

• Follow all reasonable instructions
  
• Use any protective equipment provided
• Not put other employees or members of the public at risk of injury or illness
• Not work under the influence of drugs or alcohol

If you do not adhere to the above, you put yourself and others at risk. You also risk being withdrawn from your placement.

At the start of your placement or project, your partner organisation should inform you of relevant workplace and profession-specific OHS issues to help you understand the risks, OHS systems and the part you must play in workplace safety. If you are not provided with this information, you should immediately advise your WIL Coordinator.

If you don’t understand the information provided to you, ask your Workplace Supervisor for clarification immediately. If you remain unsure, seek further clarification or advice from your WIL Coordinator.

For more information visit Occupational Health & Safety Act 2004.

Following occupational health and safety practices and procedures should prevent most injuries, however, injuries can sometimes occur.

If you are physically injured or acquire a health condition (physical or mental) whilst undertaking your WIL activity, it must be appropriately managed. Listed below are steps to follow:

1. Get immediate first aid or medical assistance, if required
2. Tell your Workplace Supervisor and your WIL Coordinator of the situation as soon as possible
3. Make a record of the details of the event and circumstances in which it happened and complete an incident form (partner organisation’s or RMIT’s)
4. It is recommended that you register with RMIT Equitable Learning Services. They can assist you in can assist you regarding how your conditions may affect your placement or project
5. If you feel you need mental health support, contact RMIT Counselling and Psychological Services

You may withdraw early from your placement or project if you feel unsafe or uncomfortable. Concerns about any issues should be addressed at the earliest opportunity. Your WIL Coordinator may be advised of these concerns either by you or your partner organisation. 

RMIT has the right to withdraw a student from a WIL activity for issues such as:

• Consistent failure by the student to perform after guidance has been given
• A health condition which significantly restricts the ability of a student to comply with the partner organisation’s OHS requirements
• Breaches of legal, professional or ethical codes by the student or partner organisation

You must not withdraw from your placement or project without sufficient reason. Withdrawing from your WIL activity includes:

• Un-enrolling in your WIL course
• Not arriving at your WIL activity at the agreed time

 

You must contact your WIL Coordinator as soon as possible if you have any concerns.

You must attend your WIL activity for the hours agreed with your partner organisation and RMIT. 

Before you start your WIL activity, your WIL Coordinator will inform you of any discipline or School specific procedure related to absence. You may be absent due to illness, caring duties (anything which prevents you from attending your placement or project). 

If your School does not have a specific absence procedure, and you wish to request an absence, you must contact your workplace supervisor by phone (if not possible, by email) within the first two hours of your shift. 

Depending on your program, you may be responsible for securing your placement for your WIL course. Your WIL Coordinator will tell you whether your placement must be paid or unpaid. See Fair Work’s Student Placement Factsheet for information about unpaid placements.

If your placement or project is unpaid, you must ensure you do not work more hours than agreed. It is illegal and you will not be insured – if you need to change your schedule, check with your WIL Coordinator.

If your placement must be paid, you MUST be paid at least the minimum salary as stated by the Fair Work Australia Ombudsman. See Fair Work’s Minimum Wage Factsheet.

International students: it is important to be aware of your visa conditions regarding work. See Fair Work's International Student Factsheet for more information. You can also download FairWork’s Working in Australia community presentation package which explains Australia's Workplace Laws and how they protect you.

In order to undertake certain WIL activities (e.g. clinical placements in healthcare settings) you may be required by the partner organisation to complete immunisations or health screenings.

Sometimes placements outside Australia may require vaccinations and other medical precautions.

Some common examples of required immunisations include: Hepatitis A, Influenza, Whooping Cough, Tetanus, Diphtheria, Measles, Mumps, Rubella and Chickenpox.

 An example of a common health screening includes a Mantoux test, a screening tool for Tuberculosis.

• You are responsible for all costs associated with meeting the immunisation and health screening requirements and must confirm the specific requirements of your partner organisation before starting your placement or project
• RMIT recommends you are immunised in accordance with the guidelines in the current edition of the Australian Immunisation Handbook
• If you do not meet the partner organisation immunisation requirements, your WIL Coordinator will make a reasonable attempt to allocate you to another organisation (if available). If no alternative placement is available you may experience difficulty progressing through your program

Before you commence your WIL activity, you’re legally required to complete documentation such as WIL agreements and schedules. Your WIL coordinator will provide these to you, and you must complete and return these to your WIL coordinator before you commence your WIL activity. 

RMIT, your partner organisation and students sign these documents for each placement or project. This ensures that all roles, responsibilities and learning outcomes are agreed upon and documented. 

Completing the documentation means you are covered by RMIT’s off-campus accident insurance coverage while undertaking your placement or project. Coverage under this policy is only for ‘an unforeseen event resulting in injury’. The policy provides no coverage for sickness or pre-existing injuries. 

If you fail to complete the documentation, you will not be insured, putting yourself, partner organisation and RMIT at risk. You will not be allowed to begin your WIL activity.  

When you undertake a WIL activity, you may produce intellectual property. If you have any questions about the ownership of intellectual property, contact your WIL Coordinator before signing the documentation referred to above.

A potential partner organisation may ask to see proof of insurance or ‘certificate of currency’ which you can request from your WIL Coordinator.

Find out more about Student accident insurance, including how to make a claim.

Your WIL coordinator can advise you if you can do your placement or project overseas. You must register your approved placement or project at least four weeks prior to departure with the Global Experiences (GE) team on the online application portal, Mobi, so that you can: 

• Gain access to pre-departure support offered by GE
• Access RMIT’s complimentary travel insurance
• Receive free access to the e-learning module for travel and risk awareness. The module is designed to help lower the chance of a health or security issue happening while you are studying, living or travelling overseas
• Receive a mobility confirmation letter where applicable (e.g. for submission to Centrelink to continue receiving allowances, to support your visa application)
• Register with RMIT’s Global Assistance Program (provided via International SOS) which is a 24/7 resource on call, online and even on the ground to help with any medical, security and logistical questions, concerns and situations that may arise whilst overseas on placement or project

If there is no dedicated Mobi portal (facilitated by your WIL coordinator), students and staff can refer to the Other Short Programs Mobi registration.

Your registration will be reviewed by GE and if complete, your status in the system will be changed to 'Accepted by RMIT'.

• You must agree to the terms and conditions of an outbound student mobility program (click on the Commit button)
• You must complete the In Country or Host Country Essentials questionnaire on Mobi to confirm your new details in your host country
• You must download the International SoS assistance app to receive up-to-date travel security analysis and medical information

Australian citizens should read carefully the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Smart Traveller guidance. For other passport holders, follow the available advice of your respective government travel registration service. 

Financial support options

Get information about financial assistance for your global experience through scholarships, grants, OS-HELP loans, continuing Centrelink payments while you’re overseas and estimated living expenses. 

Overseas programs

Short term programs and study tours are often offered in the Australian summer and winter breaks. RMIT offers places in partner university programs on an exchange (no fees) or study abroad (tuition fees payable to host) basis.