Placement poverty: better, not fixed
The Commonwealth Prac Payment was a real win. It still leaves many social work students behind.
A promising start
Since 1 July 2025, eligible students on placement can get a weekly payment. In 2026 it's $338.60 a week, matched to the single Austudy rate (Department of Education). The AASW welcomed it as "a promising start" (AASW, 6 May 2024). Check if you qualify in Claiming what you're owed.
372 students. Four universities.
said placement put a strain on them financially.
of those had to give up or sharply cut paid work.
worked alongside study. Some worked 60 to 80 hours a week across placement and jobs.
Students described debt, skipped meals, food relief, redrawn mortgages, early super withdrawals and moving back home. Hidden costs added up: petrol, parking, transport and childcare. One parent was more than $600 a week out of pocket. Some lost jobs or secure hours and never got them back.
Source: Morley, Hodge, Clarke et al. (2024), Social Work Education, 43(4).
Six gaps in the payment
Not everyone qualifies
You must be a domestic student in a Commonwealth supported place. International and full-fee students miss out.
Part-time placements miss out
Placements must average 30+ hours a week, so students who spread placement to keep working or caring get nothing.
It's not a wage
$338.60 is about a third of the minimum wage. It's taxable, and counts as income for Centrelink.
Other professions moved ahead
In July 2026 the payment was extended to ten more courses, including psychology, OT and physiotherapy. Nothing changed for social work (Prime Minister, 23 July 2026).
1,000 hours hasn't changed
Social work still needs 1,000 hours, usually across two placements.
Hardest on those we need most
Mature-age students, parents and carers, First Nations students, students with disability, first-in-family and rural students carry the heaviest load.
Placement hours required
Source: Morley et al. (2024).
What else the community is raising
Supervision falls short
In a survey of 284 Queensland students, "only just over half" got the supervision the standards require.
Zuchowski, Cleak & Cleaver, 2021Students used as free staff
A student was given 12 young people with disability to support alone after a short induction: "I was basically a new hire working for them for free."
ABC News, 2 March 2024Exhaustion
16-hour days, months without a day off, and no room for the self-care social work teaches.
Morley et al., 2024Safety at home
Some students stay in abusive relationships or return to unhealthy family homes to afford placement.
ABC News, 2 March 2024International students
No Prac Payment, fewer job and placement options, and extra barriers without a car.
Morley et al., 2024Worse off after placement
Lost shifts, contracts switched to casual, secure jobs given up.
Morley et al., 2024Dropping out
The ASU says more than 1 in 5 community services students withdraw due to financial stress. The ASU doesn't cite a source for this figure.
ASU NSW & ACTA barrier to entry
The Universities Accord found placement requirements can act as "barriers to entry".
ABC News, 2 March 2024
What educators, researchers and unions propose
- Pay placements at the industry minimum rate, funded by government.
- Expand work-based placements and recognition of prior learning.
- Allow part-time placements over a longer period, so students can keep working.
- Focus on learning outcomes rather than a fixed count of hours.
- Make more use of simulated and remote learning.
Back the campaigns already running. Students Against Placement Poverty, the ASU's End Placement Poverty campaign and the AASW's advocacy all push the same way. We'd rather add voices than compete.
Sources
- Morley, C., Hodge, L., Clarke, J. et al. (2024). 'This unpaid placement makes you poor'. Social Work Education, 43(4), 1039–1057.
- Zuchowski, I., Cleak, H. & Cleaver, M. (2021). Social work placement supervision: a snapshot of student experiences. Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 23(1).
- ABC News (2 March 2024). It's known as 'placement poverty'.
- ABC News (2 June 2026). Minimum wage increase.
- Department of Education. Commonwealth Prac Payment student guide.
- Prime Minister (23 July 2026). Government expands paid prac to strengthen Medicare.
- AASW (6 May 2024). AASW recognises government efforts to address placement poverty.
- ASU NSW & ACT. End unpaid placements for community services degrees.
Links checked 25 September 2026. General information, not legal or financial advice.