Students should refer to their student checklist for a comprehensive list of mandatory pre-placement conditional requirements.
All clinical/field placements are arranged by the Course Coordinator and the CPU. Students are not to negotiate their own clinical placements. Please check with your Clinical Coordinator or contact the CPU.
Students should refer to the teaching schedule provided at the time of their enrolment or re-enrolment for details of their clinical placement dates and times throughout the year. These dates and times are set in advance and are not negotiable.
Students are notified of placement details well in advance and are expected to be able to organise personal life commitments and travel arrangements to undertake these as scheduled.
Variations to placement allocations are only considered in specific circumstances. Please refer to the Clinical Placement Policy (PDF 311KB) criteria for requesting a variation to your placement allocation. If you believe you have circumstances that may impact on your ability to attend certain placement locations, then you are strongly encouraged to submit a pre-allocation request to the CPU. This must be submitted, with supporting evidence, at least 12 weeks prior to the placement commencement date.
Student requests for variation to placement allocation must be submitted on the Variation to Placement form (PDF 141KB). The completed form and attachments must be lodged with the CPU within the specified time frame, following the initial notification of your placement allocation unless otherwise advised by the CPU. For details about how to submit/upload documents to the CPU, please refer to your student checklist.
Each request for variation to a placement will be considered by the Course Coordinator. A student may appeal a Course Coordinator's decision by making a written submission. Please contact the CPU for information if you wish to make an appeal. In the case of appeals for Nursing placements, please contact the Program Director ELA, should you wish to appeal the decision.
Students with an Access Plan may need adjustments to their placement, depending on the requirements of the student. The Student Engagement Unit (SEU) recommends that a student with an Access Plan that has a placement requirement meets with their Program Director, Course Coordinator, and Access and Inclusion Advisor, as soon as practical to work through the adjustments that might be required, including if/how disclosure will be made to the host placement provider. This will ensure the best success at placement, and that the student’s needs are catered for in a structured, safe and supportive way.
Nursing and midwifery students are required to complete the Fitness to Practice in Clinical Placement documentation prior to placement.
UniSA reserves the right to change clinical placement dates to suit clinical practice sites' availability if necessary. Students will be notified as soon as possible should such a circumstance eventuate.
Students are strongly advised to read the Clinical Placement Policy (PDF 311KB) prior to placement.
All students must adhere strictly to the requirements around clinical placement practice for their program. The requirements are detailed in the Course Outline and other course documentation.
Students should also refer to the Practicum, Field and Clinical Placements clauses in the current year's Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual, for further information on their rights and responsibilities while on placement.
UniSA students are covered under the University of South Australia's insurance policy while on placement, provided that certain criteria are met.
Information on uniform policy can be found in policies and forms.
Some programs will require students to undertake a rural or interstate clinical placement. All nursing and midwifery students will be required to undertake a rural placement at least once during their program. Medical Radiation Science (all streams) students are also required to undertake a rural placement.
Further information can be found on the Rural Placements page.
Students who will be undertaking a placement interstate will require a current National Police Certificate (NPC). Please note that other states often require a NPC that has been issued within the past 6-12 months. Each state also has its own WWCC requirements for which it is the student’s responsibility to meet. For example, in the Northern Territory this is called an Ochre Card and in Queensland this is a Blue Card. You can find out more here.
To find out more about obtaining your NPC and WWCC, please visit the Criminal history and background checks page.
Victoria Police does not have an expiry date for validity of National Police Certificates. The police certificate is the result of a check of police records only up until the day it is issued. It is up to each organisation (in the absence of any legislation applicable to their industry/profession) to determine how often they require a new certificate to be issued. Some areas do have either direct legislation or licensing requirements which require a police check be conducted at certain intervals. The best source of information in regard to this is the professional or industry governing body which relates to the area. To apply for a National Police Clearance in Victoria, see the Victoria Police website.
The COVID Screening Questionnaire is a university wide complinace requirement and further information about the requirement is available here.
Most students will need to be fit tested prior to placement.
Please note: UniSA’s Fit Test Clinic does not accept any appointments for students who do not have an upcoming placement.
If students receive a reminder to be fit tested, and evidence has been uploaded to InPlace - you do not need to book another appointment.
Open Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome and type in the following InPlace web address: https:\\unisa-prod.inplace.com.au. Please note that InPlace is not optimised for Internet Explorer.
For information about password security and resetting your password please visit the Ask IT website.
During the preferencing period you can still log in to make changes. Once the preference period closes, you will no longer be able to view your agency preferences. If you want to keep a record of the preferences you submitted - take a screenshot or write them down.
Complete and save the form and supporting evidence as one file to your desktop and then continue to upload as outlined below. *Note file upload size should not exceed 5MB.
Supporting evidence documentation can include medical certificates, proof of being a primary carer, and other medical documents. Importantly, you should aim to provide supporting documentation that will support your application.
Once you upload compulsory conditional evidence, it will need to be verified by the CPU. InPlace automatically notifies the CPU of your upload. Please allow two business days for your documents to be verified.
It is your responsibility to ensure your documents are verified and have not been rejected. Please read the Verification Comments section on the home screen, which will display if your document has been rejected.
Once you upload compulsory conditional evidence, it will need to be verified by the CPU. InPlace automatically notifies the CPU of your upload. Please allow two business days for your documents to be verified.
It is your responsibility to ensure your documents are verified and have not been rejected. Please read the Verification Comments section on the home screen, which will display if your document has been rejected.
Initial Upload
The initial upload of a document will appear as blue status bar. InPlace will automatically set the status to ‘Submitted’ meaning the document is awaiting verification by the CPU Office.
Approved Upload
If your document is approved the verified status bar will be set to ‘Verified’ and turn green. The student requires no further action.
Rejected Upload
If your document has not met the requirement standards, or you have failed to attach the appropriate documentation, the verified status bar will be set to ‘Rejected’ and turn red.
You are required to note and action the CPU comment ‘Verification Comments’ provided in the home screen.
There are certain circumstances in which a ‘rejected’ status is not a barrier to placement. It is important to read the verification comments and if you have any questions contact the CPU office.
Home Screen – To Do – Verification Rejected
Once you log into InPlace the ‘To Do’ widget will alert students when their upload does not meet the appropriate requirement. You are required to action the ‘Verification Feedback’ provided by the CPU.
Home Screen – To Do – Placement Requirements Required
Once you log into InPlace the ‘To Do’ widget will alert students that there are outstanding placement requirements that require action.
Note: If you have not met all of your pre-placement conditional evidence requirements, you will not be able to view your allocated placement site.
On your confirmed placement page, there is a greyed out area that will display your Supervisor details. This area will be updated with supervisor information when a Clinical Facilitator/Supervisor has been assigned to you. Please check this area two weeks prior to your placement start-date to obtain this information.
Please check the ‘Shared Documents’ tab to access venue specific documents or additional requirements that you may need to be meet prior to your placement. First day orientation details may also be stored here. To view shared documents follow the steps below and ensure that you are proactive about completing additional pre-placement requirements, where applicable. Student conditional evidence documents can also be accessed from this area.
Note: Not all venues have shared documents.
Note: Students that do not complete pre-placement venue requirements, may have their placement cancelled by the venue.
If you have not met your conditional evidence requirements for placement, you will not be able to view your allocated placement. Please upload your conditional evidence to InPlace (login required) and allow 3 - 5 working days for CPU staff to verify and update the status.
If your venue has specified first day orientation details, follow the steps below:
If your venue has specified additional requirements that you will need to meet prior to placement and first day orientation details, follow the steps below
To acknowledge you have uploaded a document click the ‘View’ link to download the document. InPlace will automatically record a date (Access Date) and the notification count on the student document repository tab will be reduced.
Please allow up to five business days for your conditional evidence documents to be verified and updated by CPU staff. After this time we recommend that students login to InPlace to ensure that documents have been recorded correctly, verified, and set to yes. If your document has been rejected, read the comment entered by CPU staff and follow the instructions provided.
To contact the Clinical Placement Unit, email cpuoffice@unisa.edu.au or call (08) 8302 2214
Office Hours are 08:30 - 4.30pm Monday to Friday.