Bachelor of Midwifery (Indigenous Cohort)
Course information for - 2025 entry
Domestic
- Domestic
- Domestic
Offered at 1 locations
- Brisbane
- Brisbane
- Duration
- 3 years full-time or equivalent part-time
- ATAR
- New
- Fees (first year)*
- Start dates
-
Semester 1 intake: Beginning February 2025Applications open August 2024Midyear (Semester 2) intake: Not available
Overview
This midwifery course is for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples who want to become registered midwives.
As with the Bachelor of Midwifery, this course prepares Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to work as entry-level midwives in any maternity setting – focusing on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and their families.
Students will enrol in this midwifery course in an ‘away-from-base’ capacity. The ‘away-from-base’ mode enables students to live and work in their local community while studying and attending four residentials of one week each in Brisbane throughout the year. The students will also engage with a minimum of ten women to follow their pregnancy, labour, birth and postnatal care journey called their Continuity of Care Experiences (CCE). This experience involves the student recruiting the woman in early pregnancy and attending appointments throughout. If possible, the student attends the labour and birth and follows the woman after discharge home up to six weeks following birth.
Professional experience
Students will undertake clinical placements at maternity hospitals and community facilities across Australia. The first clinical placement begins in the first year of the program. Our clinical partners are very important to us and range from small maternity units to large tertiary hospitals. In Queensland partners include the Mater Health Service, St Vincent’s Private Hospital and Redcliffe Hospital. There are many more partners including rural health services where students experience placement.
As part of your course, you will be placed in a range of organisations to integrate the theory you learn with practical workplace experiences (placements). Students may also apply to take part in a community engagement elective in the third year of their studies that offers the opportunity to study a number of women during their pregnancies and undertake approved available overseas study. This presents students with the opportunity to experience different cultural health practices and services.
As part of your enrolment, you must complete the Faculty of Health Sciences pre-placement requirements. To ensure you meet these requirements you need to start as soon as possible. Visit ACU’s Work Integrated Learning (WIL) website to view your Pre-Placement Requirements checklist.
Professional recognition
Eligible graduates can apply for registration with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra). Please refer to the Registration Standards for Midwives on the Ahpra website .
Accreditation
The Bachelor of Midwifery (Indigenous Cohort) is accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC). Graduates will be eligible to apply for general registration as a midwife with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) and practice within Australia.
Careers
Graduates can pursue a range of careers including:
- midwife
- consultant midwife
- clinical specialist
- pre-natal educator
- researcher
- family care and child health centre professional
Course details
Course structure
To complete the Bachelor of Midwifery (Indigenous Cohort), a student must complete 240 credit points (cp).
Course map
Graduate statement
AQF framework
Additional course information
The Weemala Indigenous Higher Education Unit at the Brisbane campus provides social, cultural, personal and academic support for Indigenous students undertaking this course. Weemala also assists with the coordination of travel, accommodation and meals whilst students undertake this course.
Entry requirements
An applicant must also comply with the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy.
All students need to meet the English Language Proficiency requirements as defined in the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy.
An applicant must identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
To be eligible for admission to the course, an applicant must have completed the following prerequisites at year 12 level, or equivalent.
| State | Prerequisites |
|---|---|
Queensland | English (Units 3 & 4, C). |
New South Wales | Assumed knowledge: Nil |
Disclaimer: The course entry requirements above are for 2025 Admission.
View transparency admission information
Applicants with recent secondary education
An applicant must identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
To be eligible for admission to the course, an applicant must have completed the following prerequisites at year 12 level, or equivalent.
- Queensland - English (Units 3 & 4, C)
- New South Wales - Assumed knowledge: Nil
An applicant must also comply with the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy.
All students need to meet the English Language Proficiency requirements as defined in the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy.
Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study
You’ll need to meet the minimum entry requirements and subject prerequisites for your chosen course.
For current year 12 students
If you’re a current Year 12 applicant you can be given a selection rank separate from, and in addition to, your ATAR if you’ve completed a competency-based and graded AQF Certificate III or above.
For non-school leavers
If you’ve completed, or are completing a competency-based AQF Certificate IV or AQF diploma you will be assigned a selection rank by your local Tertiary Admission Centre (TAC). This is an entry score based on your individual qualifications and achievements.
ACU has partnerships with TAFE and many private education providers. If you have completed a qualification with one of these partners or with ACU College, you may be eligible for guaranteed entry and/or credit into a related ACU degree. Please apply through your local TAC and then submit a credit application for your previous study.
Applicants with higher education study
You will need to meet the minimum entry requirements and subject prerequisites for your chosen course.
If you have completed at least two units of AQF-recognised study at bachelor level or above, we’ll assign you with a new selection rank that reflects your study level, duration, and grade point average.
If your prior study or relevant work experience has provided you with knowledge, skills or experience aligned with the learning outcomes of units in your new course, you may be eligible to gain credit for study or have your prior learning recognised. This means you may be able to complete your ACU course in a shorter timeframe.
You can use our credit search tool to see what you might be eligible for. For more information about credit and recognition of prior learning at ACU, follow the link below.
Applicants with work and life experience
You’ll need to meet the minimum entry requirements and subject prerequisites for your chosen course.
If you have no formal education qualifications you may be eligible for a selection rank based on your work, life or service experience.
- If you’ve been in paid employment, relevant to the course you’re applying for, for a minimum of six months full-time (or equivalent), this work may be assessed for your selection rank.
- If you’re 21 years or older you can sit the Skills for Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT) through your local TAC.
- You can apply for an ACU bridging course. Our bridging courses allow you to transition back into studying and can give you a head start on the relevant undergraduate degree.
- If you have served in the defence force, your rank and time in service may contribute to your selection rank.
English language requirements
Applicants for Midwifery courses should carefully review the details outlined in the Admission to Coursework Programs Policy to check how they must demonstrate their English Language Proficiency.
Adjustment factors
If you’re currently completing Year 12 you may be eligible for adjustment factors that can boost your rank and help you get into your desired course.
Adjustment factors may be applied to your TAC application if you study particular subjects, attend schools geographically close to our campuses or in certain regional areas, apply as an elite athlete or performer or meet certain other criteria.
Inherent requirement
There are essential components of a course or unit that demonstrate the capabilities, knowledge and skills to achieve the core learning outcomes of that course or unit. You will need to be able to meet these inherent requirements to complete your course.
Learn more about inherent requirements for your course and how they affect you
Pathways
Pathways into course for current or recent Year 12 students
If you can’t meet the ATAR requirement for your choice of course and you’re currently completing Year 12 or finished Year 12 in the two years previously, we have entry programs to get you where you want to be.
Pathways into course for applicants with previous study and/or life experience
Are you applying to ACU as a non-school leaver?
By that we mean, you’re not currently completing Year 12 and haven’t completed it in the two years previously. If the answer is yes and your selection rank isn’t enough to meet the requirements for your desired course you still have a number of options to help you achieve your study goals.
If you’re over 21, you can sit the Skills for Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT), or you can complete a diploma or bridging course relevant to your desired course.
Further study
An honours year is available to meritorious students, with a grade point average of 5.5, who meet the admission requirements for the Bachelor of Midwifery (Honours).
The Faculty of Health Sciences also offers a suite of postgraduate coursework degrees with specialties including mental health, clinical education, health administration as well as leadership and management in health care.
Fees
Course costs
*This is an indicative first-year fee based on the tuition fee rates for a full-time student, using unit enrolment data from domestic students who studied the course in the previous year.
A student’s annual fee will vary depending on factors including:
- Number of units studied per year
- Choice of major or specialisation
- Elective units
The University reviews fees annually.
You can view current course costs and domestic tuition fee rates by unit.
Payment options
You should be able to concentrate on getting good marks instead of worrying about how you’ll pay your fees. We have a number of options that can help you ease the financial burden, including government assistance, scholarships and income support.
Scholarships
You could be eligible for one of the hundreds of scholarships we award each year to help students from across the university with the cost of studying, accommodation or overseas study opportunities. Some of our scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit, but these aren’t just for the academically gifted; ACU also recognises excellence in community engagement and leadership. We also offer a range of scholarships for those who may be struggling financially or who have faced other barriers to accessing education.
How to apply
Deferment
Deferment is available for one year. Find out more about deferment: Deferment Information.
Staff Profile
Mrs Machellee Kosiak
Lecturer, Midwifery Course Co-ordinator of the Indigenous cohort, School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine
Mrs Machellee Kosiak is a proud Wiradjuri Woman, and practicing midwife working clinically. She is also a lecturer in Midwifery ACU and the Co-ordinator of the Indigenous cohort ‘away from base’ Bachelor of Midwifery, which enables students to live and work in their local community whilst studying.
She has a passion to increase the number of midwives and especially the Indigenous Midwifery workforce. Mrs Kosiak aims to strengthen families and communities by increasing the quality and cultural appropriateness of maternal and newborn health care provided for all woman regardless of their cultural backgrounds.
A passionate educator, with a strong background in innovative teaching practices and programs aimed at providing culturally appropriate support for students, Mrs Kosiak was awarded the prestigious Australian Award for University Teaching (AAUT) - Neville Bonner Award in 2021. This awarded an AAUT Citation "For leadership that empowers Indigenous midwifery students by connecting communities and higher education: connecting two worlds".