Placement requirements

Getting ready for placements

Pre-placement requirements are necessary for health professionals working with government, private practice, and health organisations, ensuring they can safely practice in the workplace. As a student undertaking a placement in these settings, you will be required to complete immunisation and health screening requirements to meet the contractual agreements with the organisation and the university’s pre-placement requirements before you can start their placement.

The university calls this compliance - it is compulsory for all students. You will not be able to commence their placement until they are compliant, as such, you should start this process as soon as you are enrolled in your course, as some requirements can take many months to complete.

Changes in placement allocation

The sourcing of placements can be difficult and competitive, with many host organisations prioritising 
students studying at local universities. This means you may be offered a placement outside of the 
CDU semester dates if this is the only placement available in your location (you may be expected to 
travel up to 120 minutes each way to attend their placement). The faculty is also aware that sometimes, 
for various reasons, you may need to change your placement arrangements once they have been 
allocated. In these circumstances, students can request a ‘Change in Placement Allocation’. This allows 
you to have your placement reviewed and possibly changed, ensuring a fair and equitable process.

Requests for a Change in Placement Allocation will only be granted for significant extenuating 
circumstances (including compassionate or circumstances outside of the student's control) and will be 
determined on a case-by-case basis at the sole discretion of the Associate Dean Work-Integrated 
Learning (ADWIL), in consultation with the Unit and/or Course Coordinator.

Extenuating circumstances

Examples of situations that will be considered as significant extenuating circumstances include, but are 
not limited to:

• Conflicts of interest - having a relative in the host organisation (as a patient or staff member).
• Unforseen acute illness, injury, or surgery of self or immediate family.
• Compassionate or circumstances outside of the student's control.
• Other extenuating circumstances outside of the student's control (such as jury duty).
• Unexpected Emergency Services, Country Fire Authority, or Australian Defence Force 
  commitments.
• National & local emergencies.

The following are examples of situations that will not be considered as a valid reason for changing 
placement allocations:

• Pre-existing work or business commitments, including scheduled working hours or study.
• Travel and accommodation requirements, including any previously agreed requirements outside 
  of the 2-hour expectation.
• Weddings or other celebratory events.
• External activities such as clubs and organisations.
• Moving house.
• Preference or previous experience with a host organisation.
• Any other situation that the Faculty of Health deems is not sufficient to grant reallocation.

Each request will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and only approved if there are extenuating 
circumstances. Submitting a request does not guarantee that you will have your placement changed,
and students should therefore make all reasonable efforts to attend the allocated placement. 
 

Failure to attend placement

The FoH will source placements for you based on your unit enrolment. However, the sourcing of 
placements can be challenging, with many host organisations prioritising students studying at local 
universities. The WIL team successfully manages this challenge, allocating student placements to ensure 
you can continue your studies as planned. Unfortunately, not all students attend their allocated 
placement. Some students are excused from their placement due to extenuating circumstances, 
however, some are not and do not attend, causing additional work for the WIL team in sourcing and 
formalising placement arrangements in InPlace. 

Additionally, most Host Organisations accommodate students on placement from multiple universities
and need to maximise their placement opportunities to meet the growing demand. If a student does not 
attend a placement, it is both unprofessional and can impact the reputation of CDU, making the sourcing 
of future placements even more challenging.

Placement fees

Starting in 2026, the Faculty of Health may charge you a fee for not attending your allocated placement without an approved reason. The following situations for non-attendance may result in you being charged a placement fee:

• Refusing or failing to attend the allocated placement.
• Refusing or failing to attend orientation (resulting in you being unable to attend/remain on the placement site).
• Failing to submit required compliance documents, resulting in the cancellation of the placement.
• Withdrawing from the placement outside of the cancellation period.
• Failing to attend with appropriate identification, documentation, or uniform while on placement.
• Failing to comply with the university and/or Host Organisation's policies and procedures.
• Demonstrating unprofessional conduct while on placement, resulting in you being unable to attend/remain on the placement site.
• Providing less than 8 weeks' notice that you will not be attending your allocated placement.

You may not be charged a placement fee if you fail to attend your allocated placement if:

• You received less than 8 weeks' notice that you have been allocated a placement, and you have not discussed the placement with the WIL team/academic.
• The placement was cancelled due to circumstances outside the control of the WIL team (by the Host Organisation).
• Your request for a Change in Placement Allocation was successful.
• You are able to demonstrate extenuating circumstances.

Any fees you may be charged are due to administrative costs experienced by the Faculty of Health and/or the costs charged to the university if you fail to attend your allocated placement. Failure to pay the fee in the required timeframe will result in an academic encumbrance being applied.

Things to note

The below compliance information should be used as a guide to help you become compliant to undertake a placement within the Faculty of Health at Charles Darwin University (CDU). In becoming compliant, it is important to know:

• Student contact details (especially their address) need to be correct in ‘My Student Info’. This information is used to allocate a student a placement.
• All pre-placement documents must be current for the entire duration of a student’s placement. If these documents are due to expire while a student is on placement, they must be renewed before the student starts their placement.
• Students need to allow time to complete all of the pre-placement requirements.
  • Police, Children, and Vulnerable People clearances may take up to 3 months.
  • Immunisations may require multiple doses and can take up to 8 months before the student is considered compliant.
• Students need to provide evidence of their immunisation status. This needs to be completed by a medical practitioner or immunisation provider (where students have this evidence, they can upload directly).
• Students need to keep their vaccination and serology documents safe. The host organisation can ask to view these documents during their placement.
• Students may be required to complete additional organisation-specific placement requirements. These will need to be completed before a student can start their placement.
• These pre-placement requirements are stipulated by the Faculty of Health, CDU.

The approval process

Pre-placement documents need to be verified by the Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) team before you can commence their placement. If the appropriate documents/evidence is not provided, the WIL team will mark the compliance as ‘rejected’ and provide details as to why. You will need to upload the correct/additional documents to be verified. If rejected again, you are encouraged to contact the WIL team for assistance.

You should not ignore any requests from the WIL team regarding their compliance as it may result in their placement being cancelled. It is a student's responsibility to make sure they check their CDU email account, as this is how the university communicates with you. Students should allow up to 5 business days for their documents to be verified by the WIL team. Placements are generally confirmed 8 weeks before the placement start date; hence, the verification process is based on allocated placement dates.