Graduate Certificate in Contemporary Care of the Older Person

Entry requirements

• Bachelor's degree.
• Equivalent prior learning, including at least five years of relevant professional experience.

English language requirements

English competency requirements may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

• IELTS Academic with a minimum overall score of 7.0 and a minimum score of 7.0 in each of the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking).
• Occupational English Test (OET) with a minimum score of B in the four components (listening, reading, writing and speaking).
• Pearson English Test (PTE) Academic with a minimum overall score of 65 and a minimum score of 65 in each of the four communicative skills (listening, reading, writing and speaking).
• TOEFL iBT with a minimum total score of 94 and the following minimum score in each section of the test:
  • 24 for listening
  • 24 for reading,
  • 27 for writing
  • 23 for speaking
• Bachelor's degree from an approved country.
• Completed 0.375 EFTSL of study at postgraduate level or higher at an Australian higher education provider (or equivalent) OR, where accepted, equivalent prior learning, including at least five years of relevant professional experience.

Note: English tests must be completed within 2 years of the proposed course commencement date, and additional requirements may apply regarding the acceptable number of test sittings.

Course-specific entry requirement

All applicants must have a Bachelor's degree or equivalent prior learning, including at least five years of relevant professional experience. They must also submit a current curriculum vitae including two professional references.

Recognition of Prior Learning

You can get credit for your course based on prior formal, non-formal, or informal learning. Please provide supporting documentation outlined by the university for applying. Please contact the university for more information.

Outcomes

Career outcomes

This course allows you to work in residential aged care, hospitals, or home care settings. It’s also a pathway to leading specialised teams focused on caring for older people and their needs. You’ll also have opportunities to advocate for older adults' rights in government agencies or non-profit organisations and to develop and assist with social programs and community initiatives.

Possible future job titles:

• Clinical Nurse
• Staff Development Nurse
• Clinical Nurse Educator
• Clinical Nurse Consultant
• Clinical Nurse Specialist
• Facility Manager
• Carer
• Case Manager
• Therapy Assistant
• Therapy Manager

Learning outcomes

• Communicate specialised knowledge, concepts and skills to various audiences in older adult care and service delivery.
• Apply independent decision-making skills in analysing and evaluating complex problems to generate innovative solutions for older adult care and service delivery.
• Demonstrate leadership skills by initiating, planning, implementing and evaluating activities in older adult care and service delivery.

Fees and CSP

Estimated first-year indicative fee in 2025: $2,350 (Commonwealth Supported Place)

The estimated first-year indicative fee is provided as a guide only. It is based on a typical enrolment of students undertaking the first year of this course.

A student’s annual fee may vary in accordance with:

• The number of units studied.
• Choice of courses.
• 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 course 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.