To: Professional Accreditation Bodies (AASW, AHPRA, Psychology Board, etc.), Universities Australia, Department of Education, State/Territory Governments, and Placement Host Organisations

We, the undersigned, call for urgent reform of unpaid student placement requirements across ALL professions that require mandatory work placements, including, but not limited to, social work, nursing, midwifery, teaching, psychology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy, medicine, dietetics, speech pathology, and other allied health professions.

 
Executive Summary

The Crisis:

Students in nursing, teaching, social work, psychology, and allied health professions must complete 420-2,300+ hours of mandatory unpaid placements to qualify. Many cannot work during these full-time placements, creating severe financial hardship that forces talented students to abandon their degrees.

The Inequity:

Trade apprentices receive $533-854/week while learning on the job. Placement students doing equivalent workplace learning receive $0-338/week. If we pay people to learn plumbing, we should pay people learning to care for our sick, educate our children, and support our vulnerable.

The Impact:

• 80% of placement students experience mental health decline

• 70% face food insecurity

• 79% know someone who withdrew due to financial barriers

• Low-income, mature-age, regional, and single-parent students are systematically excluded

The Solution:

Extend the apprenticeship wage model to all mandatory student placements OR provide flexible placement structures, living allowances, and employer-paid options.

The Demand:

Immediate government action and accreditation body reform to ensure these essential professions remain accessible to all skilled and passionate individuals—not just the financially privileged.

 The Problem

Unworkable Placement Requirements:
Students across multiple professions face mandatory unpaid placement requirements ranging from 420 to over 2,300 hours. Many accreditation bodies require these placements in single continuous blocks—social work students must complete 500 hours (12-13 weeks), teaching students 60-80 days, nursing students 800+ hours, and psychology students 1,500+ hours of full-time unpaid work. This makes it financially impossible for many students to complete their qualifications.

Inadequate and Discriminatory Financial Support:
While the Commonwealth Prac Payment (CPP) exists, it is deeply flawed:

Only 4 professions are eligible: Social work, nursing, midwifery, and teaching students can access CPP. Psychology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy, medicine, dietetics, speech pathology, and other allied health students receive NOTHING.

Restrictive eligibility: Even eligible students must EITHER be receiving Centrelink income support payments, OR meet a “Need to Work” test (working 15+ hours per week while earning less than $1,536 per week during the four weeks before placement).

Inadequate payment: $338.60 per week is below the poverty line and insufficient to cover basic living costs.
Result: Most students undertaking mandatory placements receive NO financial support. Even those who qualify receive payments well below minimum wage.
 
Why This is Unjust

Financial Hardship

Students across all placement-based professions face impossible choices:

Unable to maintain part-time employment during 12-13 weeks of full-time unpaid placement
Must cover rent, mortgages, childcare, and living expenses with no income
Forced to accumulate significant debt or defer studies indefinitely
Many abandon their qualifications due to financial barriers.
The CPP payment is inadequate:

$338.60 per week is below the poverty level and insufficient to cover basic living costs
Excludes students who don’t meet Centrelink or “Need to Work” criteria
Requires students to already be financially disadvantaged to access support
Comparison to Paid Apprenticeships

The treatment of placement students stands in stark contrast to how Australia supports trade apprentices:

Apprentices (Trades) 

·         Earn $533-$854 per week (first year, age-dependent)

·         Receive superannuation contributions

·         Recognised as workers contributing value

·         Access up to $25,983 in government support over the training period

·         Can work and train simultaneously

·         Paid for 3-4 years while learning

 Placement Students (All Health/Caring Professions)

·         Receive $0 (or $338.60/week if on Centrelink AND in an eligible profession) |

·         Receive no superannuation

·         Treated as free labour

·         Access maximum $338.60/week only if already disadvantaged AND in 1 of 4 eligible professions

·         Cannot maintain employment during placement

·         Unpaid for 420-2,300+ hours while accumulating HECS debt|

This creates a two-tier system where trades (often male-dominated) receive comprehensive financial support for workplace learning, while caring and health professions (often female-dominated) require unpaid or minimally supported labour.

 

The exploitation is systemic: Students are regularly used as free labour to fill staff shortages in organisations. Research shows more than half of educators report that placement organisations won’t take students unless they already have the skills to perform the required work—meaning students aren’t just learning, they’re working.

Barriers

Extended unpaid placements discriminate against:

• Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds without family financial support
• Mature-age students with mortgages, children, and financial responsibilities
• Single parents who cannot afford childcare without income
• Regional and rural students who must relocate for placements
• Students with disabilities who face additional costs
• International students with visa work restrictions
  The result: These professions are becoming accessible only to those with financial privilege, not to those with passion, skills, and a commitment to serving their communities.

Mental Health and Wellbeing Crisis

• 80% of students report their mental health was adversely affected due to financial hardship during placement

• 79% of students know others who have deferred or withdrawn from their degree due to placement requirements

• 70% of students experience food insecurity during placements

• 50% rely on government or family financial support to survive placement periods

• Students report sleeping in cars, parking in unsafe locations, and choosing between food and transport

• Financial stress severely impacts academic performance and learning outcomes

• Students report anxiety, depression, and burnout from juggling impossible financial pressures

 

The cruel irony: Students training to support vulnerable populations, provide healthcare, and educate children become vulnerable themselves in the process.

 
Our Demands

We call on ALL professional accreditation bodies, universities, placement organisations, and the government to immediately:

1. Make Placements Flexible Across All Professions

• Allow long placements to be split into multiple manageable blocks

• Enable part-time placement options that allow students to maintain employment
• Remove requirements for continuous single-block placements
• Recognise that learning outcomes can be achieved without forcing students into financial hardship
2. Introduce Fair Payment for Placement Work

Establish paid placement models equivalent to apprenticeship wages.
Recognise that students provide valuable professional services to organisations.
Mandate placement stipends that cover actual living expenses
3. Reform and Expand the Commonwealth Prac Payment

• EXPAND CPP to ALL professions requiring mandatory placements (psychology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy, medicine, dietetics, speech pathology, and all allied health)
• Remove restrictive Centrelink eligibility requirements
• Provide UNIVERSAL access to CPP for ALL students undertaking mandatory placements, regardless of Centrelink status
• Increase payments to liveable amounts (minimum $850/week to match apprenticeship rates)
• Extend payment duration to cover all required placement hours
• Include international students who contribute to Australia’s workforce after graduation.
4. Provide Additional Financial Support

Establish emergency grants for students in financial hardship during placements.
Create university-funded placement support schemes.
Partner with placement organisations to provide student wages or stipends
Offer interest-free loans specifically for placement periods.
5. Hold Placement Organisations Accountable

• Organisations benefiting from student labour must contribute to student support                                 

 • Establish industry-funded placement support schemes
• Create paid placement positions where students provide valuable services
• The government should fund organisations to pay students for placement work
• End the practice of using students as free labour to fill staff shortages

6. Review Accreditation Standards

ALL accreditation bodies must revise placement requirements to reflect the financial reality students face
Consult with students about workable placement structures.
Prioritise accessibility and equity in accreditation standards.
 
Alternative Solutions We Support

Flexible block placements: Two 250-hour blocks instead of one 500-hour block
Part-time placement options: 2-3 days per week over extended periods
Paid placement partnerships: Government and organisations co-fund student wages
Placement allowances: Mandatory stipends from host organisations
Universal CPP access: Remove all eligibility restrictions for mandatory placements
Apprenticeship-style model: Students earn wages while completing placement hours
Recognition of Prior Learning: Credit relevant work experience toward placement hours
 
The Bottom Line

Students in ALL placement-based professions deserve the same support as trade apprentices.

Professional education must be accessible to all qualified students, regardless of financial circumstances.

Current placement requirements are not just difficult—they are discriminatory, inequitable, and unsustainable. 

The apprenticeship model demonstrates that Australia can provide financial support for workplace-based learning. This same support MUST extend to nursing, teaching, social work, psychology, allied health, and ALL professions requiring mandatory placements.

 
Take Action

Sign this petition to demand:
✓ Flexible placement structures that allow students to work
✓ Fair payment for placement work equivalent to apprenticeship wages
✓ Universal access to financial support for ALL professions (not just nursing, teaching, social work, and midwifery)

✓ Remove Centrelink requirement for CPP eligibility

✓ Reform of ALL professional accreditation requirements
✓ Equity between trades and professional education

Share this petition:

We encourage you to share this message across your networks, including friends, colleagues, employers, and family. By collaborating across sectors and working as a united front, we can drive meaningful improvements. Only through industry-wide partnerships can we effectively address these challenges and create lasting change.

By working together, we can end placement poverty and create fair pathways into all caring and health professions.

Prepared by: Gregor Poole
Date: January 2026