Unit rationale, description and aim

The purpose of social work is to promote social change and development, social cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people, through engaging with people and structures to manage multiple and complex factors in addressing life challenges and enhancing wellbeing. This work involves ensuring safety and wellbeing by upholding high standards of competence, accountability, and professionalism across all areas of practice. High level interpersonal skills are required for engaging with confidence and compassion, for applying effective counselling, advocacy, negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution skills, and for building and sustaining relationships with service users, professional colleagues, employers and other stakeholders. In this unit students will develop critical understanding of the skills required to work with people, through applying theoretical knowledge to professional practice contexts, including with people who may identify with cultures, social groups and diverse identities. The experiential component includes exercises in foundational interpersonal communication skills and reflective practice that progress students' development of professional practice and identity. The aim of this unit is to prepare students for social work practice with people informed by social work values, ethics, knowledge and skills.

This unit is one of four social work professional skills units. To meet AASW accreditation criteria, 100% attendance is required.

2026 10

Campus offering

Find out more about study modes.

Unit offerings may be subject to minimum enrolment numbers.

Please select your preferred campus.

  • Term Mode
  • ACU Term 2Campus Attendance
  • Term Mode
  • ACU Term 2Online Unscheduled
  • Term Mode
  • ACU Term 2Campus Attendance

Prerequisites

Nil

Learning outcomes

To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.

Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.

Explore the graduate capabilities.

Evaluate various models and frameworks for practic...

Learning Outcome 01

Evaluate various models and frameworks for practice with people who may identify with diverse cultures, social groups and identities in society.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC2, GC5, GC6, GC10

Demonstrate effective social work practice skills ...

Learning Outcome 02

Demonstrate effective social work practice skills in engagement, assessment, planning, intervention and review
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC1, GC2, GC6, GC7, GC10

Demonstrate high level interpersonal communication...

Learning Outcome 03

Demonstrate high level interpersonal communication skills with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and in diverse contexts
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC4, GC6, GC8, GC12

Apply ethical principles and values underpinning s...

Learning Outcome 04

Apply ethical principles and values underpinning social work practice with people to a range of ethical issues in practice
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC2, GC3, GC7, GC8, GC11

Critically reflect on the influence of personal va...

Learning Outcome 05

Critically reflect on the influence of personal values, professional values and ethics in social work practice with people.
Relevant Graduate Capabilities: GC3, GC7, GC8

Content

Social Work Processes in Working with Individuals

  • Anti-oppressive practice with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and people of diverse ages, abilities, racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, socio-economic-educational circumstances, sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions
  • The influence of personal values
  • Reflective practice and self-care


Social Work Practice Skills

  • Interpersonal communication skills
  • Communication processes
  • Communication for survival, for healing, as power


Client Engagement Skills

  • Engaging with clients
  • Worker qualities that enhance engagement
  • Rapport building
  • Empathy reflective and deep listening
  • Working with involuntary clients


Social Work Assessment

  • Assessment tools
  • Genograms
  • Ecomaps
  • Culturagrams
  • Road maps
  • Stay strong plans
  • Multi-dimensional assessment
  • Biopsychosocial assessment
  • Risk assessment


Intervention Planning Skills and understanding the change process

  • Planning for endings
  • Evaluation and termination


Practice Approaches

  • Strengths perspective
  • Solution focused therapy
  • Crisis intervention
  • Task centred approaches
  • Solution focused approach
  • Empowerment and advocacy approach
  • Cultural responsiveness


Values and Ethics

  • Respect
  • Social justice and human rights
  • Practice competency
  • Social work service and propriety
  • Professional boundaries and dual relationships
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Ethical issues and ethical dilemmas in social work practice
  • Professionalism
  • Information recording and sharing
  • Professional development and supervision

Assessment strategy and rationale

This unit takes an authentic assessment approach that will allow students to demonstrate their social work knowledge and skills for practice with individuals from diverse backgrounds and in diverse practice contexts.

Assessment 1 (Case Analysis): enables students to evaluate and apply a social work assessment framework, drawing on social work knowledge, skills, values and ethics.

Assessment 2 (Skills simulation - Graded Hurdle): is a recorded skills-based simulation that enables students to demonstrate their knowledge and interpersonal practice skills in working with individuals. This is a compulsory assessment which students must pass to demonstrate they are adequately prepared for professional practice placement, consistent with the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards.

Assessment 3 (Critical Reflection): is a detailed written account of the communications between the student and client from the Assessment 2 simulation, using process recording as a reflective tool to analyse their interactions and improve professional skills.

In order to pass this unit students must:

  • Demonstrate achievement of every unit learning outcome, and
  • Obtain a minimum mark of 50% for the unit, and
  • Achieve a mark of 50% or greater in Assessment 2 which is a graded hurdle, and
  • Meet the attendance requirements


Where students achieve a cumulative mark of 50% or more for the unit, overall, but do not achieve a mark of 50% or greater in Assessment 2 they will be offered one further attempt in Assessment 2. If students pass this further attempt, they will pass the unit, and their original mark will be the final mark. If students fail the further attempt, they will fail the unit.

Overview of assessments

Assessment Task 1: Case Analysis : Students ide...

Assessment Task 1: Case Analysis : Students identify a social work assessment framework, and critically assess their approach in applying this framework, drawing on social work knowledge, skills, values and ethics.

Weighting

30%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5
Graduate Capabilities GC1, GC2, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC10

Assessment Task 2: Skills Simulation : Is a recor...

Assessment Task 2: Skills Simulation: Is a recorded skills based simulation that tests the knowledge and skills students have developed in the unit. Graded Hurdle (must pass)

Weighting

40%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Graduate Capabilities GC2, GC3, GC4, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC11, GC12

Assessment Task 3: Critical Reflection: A detail...

Assessment Task 3: Critical Reflection: A detailed written account of the communications between the student and client from the Assessment 2 simulation, using process recording as a reflective tool to analyse their interactions and improve professional skills.

Weighting

30%

Learning Outcomes LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
Graduate Capabilities GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4, GC5, GC6, GC7, GC8, GC10, GC11, GC12

Learning and teaching strategy and rationale

This unit involves 150 hours of learning with a combination of lectures online learning materials, interactive tutorials and self-directed learning. Teaching and learning activities include reading, role plays reflective and critical thinking exercises, small group and class discussions. The unit promotes experiential learning methods to enable students to develop interpersonal communication skills. Strategies are designed to scaffold students’ learning through observation, demonstration and live methods (role play and feedback) into self-reflection on the following dimensions of practice:

  • The use of self in the practitioner role
  • The stages of the social work process from engagement to completion
  • The micro-skills of counselling with individuals
  • The use of theory and ethics in practice with individuals


Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively in class activities. This unit has a prescribed attendance requirement deemed necessary to achieve the intended learning outcomes and skill development.

Students enrolled On-campus are required to attend all on-campus classes.

Students undertaking the unit Online are required to attend a compulsory 5-day on-campus intensive.

Representative texts and references

Representative texts and references

Bolton, G. (2018). Reflective practice: writing and professional development (5th Ed.), London: Sage.

Carruthers, J., & Jefferies, G. (2024). Critical beyond reflection: Simulation-based learning in social work. Advances in Social Work and Welfare Education, 25(2), 90-104.

Connolly, M., & Harms, L. (2023). Social work from theory to practice.(4th ed.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Davies, K., & Jones, R. (Eds). (2016). Skills for social work practice. London: Palgrave.

Egan, G.,Reece, R. (2018) The Skilled Helper (11th edition). Engage Learning EMEA and workbook

See  https://au.cengage.com/c/the-skilled-helper-11e-egan-reese/9781305865716/

Fook, J. (2007). Practicing critical reflection: a resource handbook. Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Harms, L. (2015). Working with people: communication skills for reflective practice. (2nd ed.) Sydney: Oxford University Press.

Harms, L. (2021). Understanding human development: A multidimensional Approach (3rd ed.). Australia: Oxford University Press

Healy, K. (2014). Social work theories in context creating frameworks for practice (2nd ed.). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Milner, J., & O’Byrne, P. (2009). Assessment in social work. (3rd ed.). New York: Palgrave, Macmillan.

Parker, J., & Bradley, G. (2017). Social work practice: Assessment, planning, intervention and review (6th ed.). Poole: Learning Matters.

Saleebey, D. (2012). The strengths perspective in social work practice. (6th ed.).Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Trotter, C. (2023). Working with involuntary clients: a guide to practice. (4th ed.). St. Leonards, Australia: Allen and Unwin.

Watts, L. (2018). Reflective Practice, Reflexivity, and Critical Reflection in Social Work Education in Australia. Australian Social Work, 72(1), 8–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2018.1521856

 

Locations
Credit points
Year

Have a question?

We're available 9am–5pm AEDT,
Monday to Friday

If you’ve got a question, our AskACU team has you covered. You can search FAQs, text us, email, live chat, call – whatever works for you.

Live chat with us now

Chat to our team for real-time
answers to your questions.

Launch live chat

Visit our FAQs page

Find answers to some commonly
asked questions.

See our FAQs