RMIT social work students are required to complete 1000 hours unpaid placement work, with time deductions on their lunch break.

Professionals across many disciplines have acknowledged that Australia's education system has been designed on the premise, that students are able to live at home and are funded by their parents or guardians.
This is simply not the case for many Australian university students, with studies indicating two-thirds of university students are living below the poverty line.

Social work students take time off from their own jobs to contribute to the communities that they value so much.
By taking away a 30 minute lunch break students will need to complete an extra 8 days unpaid placement, that's almost two weeks wage lost.
During lunchtimes students are networking, getting to know the structure of the organisation and building rapport with industry professionals, some of the most insightful information comes from those informal lunch time chats with professionals.

Please sign this petition to ensure students are adequately recognized for their placement hours.

For more information about the financial hardship of university students please see:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-15/majority-of-students-in-poverty2c-research-shows/4821230