CQUniversity
Graduate Diploma of Mental Health Nursing
- Delivery: Online
- Study Level: Postgraduate
- Duration: 12 months
Delivered online in a flexible format, this course is part of three mental health nursing courses. It will equip you with the advanced skills and knowledge necessary to practice in this nursing specialisation.
Course overview
The Graduate Diploma of Mental Health Nursing is a self-paced, hyper-flexible online course ideal for busy, emerging health leaders interested in practising as a qualified Mental Health Nurse.
Our Graduate Diploma of Mental Health Nursing is nationally accredited by the Australian College of Mental Health Nursing. You’ll graduate with specialist mental health nursing skills and knowledge from this course. After completing this course, you can apply to become a credentialed Mental Health Nurse through the Australian College of Mental Health Nursing, provided you meet the other requirements.
Delivered as part of a suite, the Graduate Diploma incorporates a nested Graduate Certificate in Mental Health Nursing. The first four units you complete comprise the Graduate Certificate and will build your skills and knowledge in undertaking mental health assessments, risk assessments and formulations, psychotropic medications and recovery. The final units of this course will be extended. With a focus on providing safe, person-centred, recovery-oriented mental health care, particular attention is given to exploring a range of therapeutic interventions that you can use to enhance your practice. After completing the Graduate Diploma, you may like to continue your studies in the Master of Mental Health Nursing.
The assessments you complete for the Graduate Diploma require you to be working in mental health. This way, you can employ your mental health nursing skills and apply what you have learned to your clinical practice.
Developed with industry and lived experience academics, we’ve ensured our mental health nursing courses are evidence-based and clinically relevant so that your studies truly reflect current and emerging mental health nursing matters. Add to this the hyperflexible online delivery, where you set your own pace and affordable tuition fees and you have a suite of mental health nursing courses that allow you to fit study around your life, not the other way around.
CSP Subsidised Fees Available
This program has a limited quota of Commonwealth Supported Places (CSP). The indicative CSP price is calculated based on first year fees for EFT. The actual fee may vary if there are choices in electives or majors.
Key facts
What you will study
To earn the Graduate Diploma of Mental Health Nursing, you must complete these eight core units:
- Contextual Foundations of Mental Health Nursing Practice
- Mental Health Nursing Assessment and Formulation
- Creating Meaningful Relationships
- Clinical Foundations for Practice
- Recovery Into Action
- Mental Health Promotion
- Advanced Mental Health Nursing Skills
- Alcohol and Other Drugs
Entry requirements
To be eligible for entry into this course, applicants must supply:
- Current registration as a Registered Nurse (Division 1) with the Australian Health Practitioners Regulatory Authority (AHPRA).
- A letter of employment demonstrating current employment in a setting requiring mental health nursing skills.
Letters of employment must be presented on a company letterhead and be signed and dated by a delegated authority. Please ensure the letter contains your full name, position title, duties performed, hours per week and length of service.
Recognition of Prior Learning
You may be able to get credit for your course based on prior formal, non-formal or informal learning. To apply, you will need to provide supporting documentation outlined by the university. Contact the university for more information.
Outcomes
Career outcomes
On the completion of this course, you will receive the award of Graduate Diploma of Mental Health Nursing.
Students who complete this course of study will be able to seek employment in the mental health field as a career pathway.
Fees and CSP
Indicative first-year tuition fee in 2025: $3,858 (Commonwealth Supported Place)
Indicative first-year tuition fee in 2025: $17,616 (domestic full-fee paying place)
The indicative first-year fee is the approximate cost of enrolling in this course for one academic year depending on the type of place you are offered, for example, a Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP) or full-fee paying (FFP) place. For a graduate certificate, this is usually four units studied full-time over one term or part-time over two terms.
A student’s annual fee may vary in accordance with:
- The number of units studied per term.
- The choice of major or specialisation.
- Choice of units.
- Credit from previous study or work experience.
- Eligibility for government-funded loans.
Student fees shown are subject to change. Contact the university directly to confirm.
Commonwealth Supported Places
The Australian Government allocates a certain number of CSPs to the universities each year, which are then distributed to students based on merit.
If you're a Commonwealth Supported Student (CSS), you'll only need to pay a portion of your tuition fees. This is known as the student contribution amount – the balance once the government subsidy is applied. This means your costs are much lower.
Limited CSP spaces are offered to students enrolled in selected postgraduate courses.
Your student contribution amount is:
- Calculated per unit you're enrolled in.
- Depending on the study areas they relate to.
- Reviewed and adjusted each year.
HECS-HELP loans are available to CSP students to pay the student contribution amount.
FEE-HELP loans are available to assist eligible full-fee paying domestic students with the cost of a university course.
