Professional Experience and WIL

The Professional Experience Unit (PEU) manages the professional placements for the School of Education and the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The PEU is actively involved in ensuring that students enrolled in education, social work and speech pathology programs have the best professional experience to prepare them for the workplace.

Student placement information

Students must ensure they adhere to the University of Newcastle Student Professional Experience Policy and Code of Conduct.

Interstate or international placements

Students who have permission to undertake their professional experience placement outside of New South Wales or in an international setting need to meet that state or country's relevant compliance requirements.

Students should be aware that they are required to meet ALL costs incurred for the interstate or international placement including, but not limited to, any transport, airfares, accommodation and living expenses.

Students who are specifically undertaking an international placement should read the following:

• UON Travel Policy
• Student Insurance
• Managing health and safety risks
• Global Assistance Program
• Study overseas, internships and placements
• Risk Assessment Process - International Travel
• Health and Safety - International Travel FAQ (PDF, 445.84 KB)

OS-HELP loans

Students may be eligible for an Australian Government OS-HELP loan. These loans are available to eligible Commonwealth Supported Students who want to study overseas (exchanges, study abroad, short courses and other approved overseas study experiences). For more information visit Financial assistance.

IMPORTANT: To meet the University's Travel Policy requirements, students must register their placement travel details into SOS Personal Travel Locator (PTL) (International SOS) prior to leaving Australia.

Please note: Requests to travel to high-risk countries require an additional layer of University risk-assessment approval. Students should be aware that applications to high-risk countries may not be approved. A high-risk country is any country to which the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) advisories warn travellers to "reconsider" or "advise not to" travel to. Refer to smartraveller.gov.au for up-to-date ratings.