Resources for Current Students

Throughout your program, you will participate in observation, and placement activities where you will have contact with the general public, work in healthcare facilities, and treat patients. Therefore, it is important to keep up to date with your program requirements, such as immunisations and blue card, etc. 

The prepare for your placement page contains full details of program requirements.

All students have a responsibility to maintain the highest standards of academic integrity in their work. Academic misconduct is a disciplinary offence at UQ, which includes, but is not limited to, cheating, collusion, plagiarism, and falsifying documents. 

The Academic Integrity Modules will enable you to uphold academic integrity throughout your studies at UQ and beyond. All students are expected to complete the module, and some course coordinators may require you to complete the module as part of your assessment. 

Students are also encouraged to read the UQ Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy which makes a comprehensive statement about the University's approach to plagiarism, including the approved use of plagiarism detection software, the consequences of plagiarism, and the principles associated with preventing plagiarism. 

Assessment tasks in many of your courses evaluate students' abilities, skills, and knowledge without the aid of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Students may be advised that the use of AI technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. Please refer to the assessment section of the course profile for more information.  

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (e.g., ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot) are increasingly used in society.

In terms of clinical placements, students are not permitted to use AI unless explicitly indicated by the provider that this use is permitted, and the parameters of use are clear. If these are not explicit, students are expected to consult with their practice educators before implementation to determine the acceptability of generative AI use and ensure that any potential risks associated with the intended use are addressed.

AI is not a replacement of, or substitute for, professional reasoning or clinical skills. Human oversight is essential in its use, and to employ generative AI effectively and responsibly, students must understand how AI works, including its functions, data storage methods, and its impact on adherence to professional codes of conduct. 
  
If used on placement, students are responsible for any outputs generated by AI, such as clinical notes and reports, and will be held accountable for the actions of any AI that is used in clinical practice. This responsibility includes ensuring adherence to the relevant profession's code of conduct and ethical standards. Transparency about generative AI use is essential in placement environments. Students must follow the relevant policies and procedures of their placement provider. Students are reminded that they need to demonstrate their ability to meet the inherent requirements of the relevant profession, operate within its scope of practice, and ensure that client/patient privacy and confidentiality are maintained at all times. Under no circumstances should identifiable clinical information be uploaded to open or external AI platforms, as it is unethical and irresponsible. 

Further information can also be found at my.UQ.  

Students enrolled at UQ from semester 1, 2024 are required to complete the mandatory ‘Respect at UQ’ training module. You can complete the module via UQ Essentials. 

Note: Students who have not completed the module or requested an adjustment by this time will have their access to Blackboard restricted. This means you will not be able to access your course materials, and this will not be grounds to qualify for an extension to assessment if it impacts your studies. 

All students will undertake supervised clinical practice in a range of settings that includes hospitals, educational facilities, other health care organisations, private practices, and UQ's internal clinics. During placements, you will have the opportunity to apply theoretical knowledge acquired through coursework and research to practice and develop clinical skills in real life settings. 

A variety of sessional practical experiences and full-time block placements will be undertaken during your program. You may be required to undertake clinical placements outside of the Brisbane metropolitan area. Students are required to fund any travel, accommodation, and daily living expenses arising from clinical placement activities. 

Students are eligible to apply for a tertiary concession sticker for their current student ID if travelling to regional Queensland for placement. Further details can be found on the Trankslink website.

Clinical placements are organised by the SHRS Clinical Education Unit (CEU), whose contact details are as follows: 

Phone: (07) 3365 4570 or (07) 3346 7468 
Email: ceu.shrs@uq.edu.au
Web: https://shrs.uq.edu.au/ceu 
Location: Level 4, Seddon Central (building 82B), St Lucia campus 

Placement policies and procedures can be found Placement policies and procedures page.  

Go to their website for more important requirements and resources such as the professionalism on placement video. 

Staff and students have a responsibility to abide by policies within occupational health and safety (OHS). Information about OHS requirements can be found on the occupational health and safety website.

Staff and students are required to report all near misses, incidents, and injuries through UQ’s OHS incident reporting database, including those that occur at a non-UQ workplace.  

Students whose studies include a placement or learning activity which involves them in regular contact with children should refer to the Working with Children Policy to find out how to apply for a Blue Card.

All information on how to ensure you meet all your program requirements are available from the HABS Placement Ready team. 

If you have a disability, mental health or medical condition, illness, injury or exceptional circumstance, there are services available to assist you with your studies.  Meet with one of the Student Advisers to discuss your options. 

• Phone Student Services on 1300 275 870 

• Email: student.services@uq.edu.au 

• Visit Student Central (Building 42, St Lucia campus) 

The programs within our school have inherent requirements which are core activities, tasks and skills that are essential to successfully completing a program or course. They can include: 

• physical and cognitive requirements 

• communication and interpersonal skills 

• professional behaviour 

• ethical conduct. 

Inherent requirements help us to maintain the integrity of our programs, learning, assessment, and accreditation processes. They are based on a program’s learning outcomes, which are designed to reflect professional standards. 

All students must meet their program's inherent requirements to graduate. 

Physiotherapy inherent requirements 

Occupational Therapy inherent requirements 

Speech Pathology inherent requirements 

Audiology inherent requirements 

Students enrolled in programs and courses that include a practical placement component should refer to the University policy fitness to practise for detailed information on issues of competence and on management of concerns relating to patient/client and public safety.

Electronic course profiles contain all the information you need to know about a course, including the aims and objectives and associated learning and assessment activities. They are available online when classes begin.

You can find them by searching for your course on the courses and programs website. Updates can occur up until the end of week 2, always continue to refer to the live course profile. 

Extension of Assessment Due Date  

The School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences uses the following guidelines in the consideration of extension requests. Course coordinators, or the delegated authority, have discretion in deciding whether to grant an extension or not. 

1. Applications must be lodged on or before the assessment due date unless there are extenuating circumstances. 

While your extension request is being considered, you should work towards completing and submitting your assessment as soon as possible. 

A late penalty will be applied if you do not submit your assessment on time or if you do not have a valid reason for an extension. 

Refer to the relevant section in the electronic course profile for additional assessment information. 

2. Students may be asked to submit evidence of work completed to date. Lack of adequate progress on your assessment item may result in an extension being denied. 

3. Subsequent extension requests are considered a new request and subject to the guidelines outlined above. 

4. Appeals against a denied extension request should be lodged through the grievance resolution process. 

5. If the basis of the application is a medical condition, applications should be accompanied by a medical certificate dated prior to the assessment due date.  

          (a) The medical condition should be within the period two weeks prior to the advertised due date of the assessment item; and 

          (b) If the medical condition occurs in the two days prior to the due date, evidence of satisfactory progress should be submitted; and 

          (c) The extension granted will be in proportion to the period of incapacity, and typically as a school guideline no more than two weeks in duration for pedagogical reasons and the nature of your program. If you require more than two weeks, we recommend a meeting with your course coordinator and program director.  

We strongly encourage students experiencing significant interruptions or chronic illnesses of greater than two weeks to contact UQ Student Advisor to seek information and/or assistance. 

6. If the basis of the application is exceptional circumstances, it must be accompanied by a statutory declaration and any other documentation relevant to the request. 

          (a) The circumstances should have occurred within the period two weeks prior to the advertised due date of the assessment item; and 

          (b) If the circumstances occur in the two days prior to the due date, evidence of satisfactory progress should be submitted; and 

          (c)  The extension granted will be in proportion to the period of incapacity, and typically as a school guideline no more than two weeks in duration for pedagogical reasons and the nature of your program. If you require more than two weeks, we recommend a meeting with your course coordinator and program director. 

7. If the basis of the application is a Student Access Plan (SAP) you must attach the assessment extension verification letter. This document can be used in lieu of a Student Access Plan and/or other supporting documentation. An extension will be granted to a total of 7 calendar days initially. Further extension beyond one week will require specific medical documentation for the period requested. 

Resubmission/resit of assessment items 

The School of Health & Rehabilitation Sciences supports the concept of resubmission or resitting of failed assessment items in specific and defined circumstances. The decision on whether this option is to be offered rests with the course coordinator and will be outlined in the course profile under assessment information. 

Re-mark of assessment 

Before submitting a re-mark of assessment request, you must familiarise yourself with:   

• Guide to querying a result 

• Assessment PPL 

• Student Grievance Resolution PPL 

• Academic Administrative Appeals by Students PPL 

• Electronic Documents Submitted by Students PPL 

Guidance notes:  

 A re-mark will be conducted once only on each piece of assessment. 

• A re-mark will only be considered if it is submitted within the timeframes outlined in Assessment PPL. 

• The following reasons are NOT grounds for approval of an assessment re-mark: 

• the desire for extra marks to achieve a higher final grade for the course; 

• sound performance in other courses; 

• comments made by the teaching staff at the time of feedback about the marking; 

• diminished performance due to ill-health or other circumstances such as inadequate examination conditions; 

• the requirement to pass the course to facilitate graduation; 

• the assessment item has already been marked by more than two markers. 

Supplementary assessment 

 A supplementary assessment is designed to give you a second chance at achieving a passing grade for a course, should you receive a final course grade of 3 or N. It is not a repeat of an exam, or a specific assignment – it is designed to test the learning outcomes for the entire course, or specific learning outcomes tailored to you.  

Supplementary assessment can take any form (e.g. oral, written, examination etc.), and the highest grade you can receive is a 4 (or P). Supplementary assessment is not available for every course and is only granted in accordance with the supplementary assessment procedures. 

Please check the course profile to see if your course is fully or partially exempt from supplementary assessment. If you have any questions about supplementary assessment, or if you are unsure whether you qualify, please contact SASU. 

Absenteeism 

Some courses have listed in the course profile a requirement for an absentee process for the purpose of assessing absences from compulsory classes (e.g. tutorial, practical. If you are unable to attend a compulsory learning activity for a legitimate reason (i.e., medical, or extenuating circumstances), you are required to email a completed absentee form to the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Student and Academic Support Unit (enquiries.shrs@uq.edu.au) within three calendar days. The absentee form to complete is located in blackboard/learning resources/course information folder. Please remember to cc your course coordinator into the email and attach your required evidence. With approval, you will be asked to complete make-up activities by the due date. The Student and Academic Support Unit will respond to you via email outlining whether you have been approved and they will inform course staff of the outcome. Failure to complete the make-up activities without suitable medical or extenuating circumstances will result in not meeting the requirements of the course. 

An Absentee form (DOCX, 461.4 KB) must be accompanied by appropriate supporting documentation. 

Request for Deferral of Exams

A request for deferral of an exam must be submitted by lodging the appropriate (online) form with supporting documentation via mySI-net > my Requests no later than five (5) calendar days after the date of the original exam. Students are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the information on deferring an exam available on my.UQ - deferring an exam. 

Alternative Exam Arrangements 

Alternative exam arrangements can be made (and applied to in-semester exams) in specific circumstances. Please see information on circumstances and how to apply at my.UQ - alternative exam arrangements . Exam adjustments are separate to a Student Access Plan (SAP). The SAP does NOT apply to exams. This only covers in-class participation, learning activities, and other assessment.

If you have approved alternative exam arrangements and you have a course with school-based examinations (e.g. in-semester exams, in-class quizzes, online quizzes, tutorial exercises etc.) please advise the course coordinator and examinations of the adjustments and assessments as soon as possible to increase the potential for arrangements to be accommodated on time.  

Occupational Therapy, Physiotherapy, and Speech Pathology students are required to wear a uniform for clinical activities. The uniform consists of a custom made polo shirt and/or tailored shirt to be worn with tailored trousers in navy blue or black with enclosed footwear. In winter, a uniform style cardigan or sleeveless vest may also be worn. Please note that these should be neatly fitting to avoid interference during treatment sessions. Student ID cards are also required.

Physiotherapy students are required to wear suitable clothing during their practical classes, for example, shorts, running shorts, t-shirt (men), singlet or halter neck sports top (women). Student ID cards are also required.

Interruption of Studies 

From 2023, regardless of when you commenced your studies, there is a limit to the length and number of interruptions you can take, and a process to apply for an interruption and/or return from an interruption. 

The requirements and process depend on whether you are a domestic student or an international student. Click the link to find out more: Interruption of studies. 

We encourage you to schedule an appointment with your program director in the first instance. 

Withdrawing from a course or program 

If you decide to withdraw from a course or program, it is essential to understand the potential consequences. Here are some key points to consider: 

1. Academic Consequences: 

• Withdrawing from a course can have academic repercussions. You may receive a failing grade for the course. 

• Academic penalties may impact your overall GPA and progress toward graduation. 

• Your course coordinator needs to be notified as soon as possible as it can have impacts you may not be aware of.  

2. Financial Consequences: 

• The date of your withdrawal determines your financial liability. If you withdraw early in the semester (before census), you may receive a partial refund or owe less tuition. 

• Late withdrawals may result in full financial responsibility for the course. Be aware of any deadlines for tuition refunds. 

3. Visa Implications: 

• International students should be aware of visa implications. Some visas require maintaining a full-time study load. Withdrawing from courses may affect your visa status. 

4. Seeking Help: 

• If you are struggling with your studies, explore available support services. You may be eligible for: 

• Extensions on Assessments: Request additional time for assignments or exams. 

• Deferred Examinations: If you are unwell during exam periods, you can apply for a deferred exam. 

• Supplementary Examinations: These allow you to improve your grade if you narrowly missed passing. 

5. Health and Personal Considerations: 

• If you are facing overwhelming health or personal issues, consider withdrawing promptly. Delaying your decision could lead to unnecessary penalties. 

• Prioritise your well-being and seek advice from academic advisors or UQ student counselling. 

• Please find more information in the support services section. 

For more detailed advice, visit withdrawing from a course or program. 

Reduction of Study Load 

Students need to apply to change their study load from full time and this is only permitted in exceptional circumstances. Students would need to provide a case to the Associate Dean (Academic) as to why the full-time enrolment rule should be waived for them. Please contact the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences to do this or if you require more information.  

P: +61 7 3365 7487 or 1800 656 157 

E: habs@enquire.uq.edu.au 

There is an extensive list of supports available to students and SASU can assist with referring you to these either by phone, at the counter or email. 

The supports include but are not limited to: 

Emergencies (Call 000) 

UQ Security  (07) 3365 3333 

Keeping safe on campus 

Safe zone app 

After-hours safety bus 

Crisis support 

Sexual misconduct support unit 

Counselling 

Health and wellbeing 

Finacial support 

Accommodation support 

Orientation and settling in 

Student advice and welfare 

Mentoring 

Study skills and learning advice 

Diversity, disability and inclusion 

Student union 

IT services 

SHRS First Aid Officers 

Emma Taylor – Level 1 therapies annexe building 84a 

Yudi Cui – Level 3 therapies annexe building 84a 

Katrina Kemp – Seddon central building 82b 

UQ Ally Network 

The UQ Ally Network is an award-winning program that provides a visible network of well-informed staff who create a safe, welcoming, and inclusive space for sex, gender, and sexuality diverse people at UQ and in the broader community. 

SHRS Ally’s include: 

• Adele Venter
• Karime Mescouto 
• Rebecca Nund 
• Claire Reilly 
• Jenny Setchell 
• Kathryn Bulmer 
• Georgina Clutterbuck 
• Sjaan Gomersall 
• Freyr Patterson 
• Felipe Retamal-Walter 
• Nerina Scarinci 
• Jessica Sinclair 
• Yudi Cui 

First Responder Network  

The First Responder Network is made up of members of the UQ Community. First Responders provide a safe and supportive environment for survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment to receive information on the support services that are available. 

Please note that First Responders are not counsellors and cannot provide counselling support. For counselling support, support making a report, academic, accommodation or financial support, along with other forms of support, please contact the Sexual Misconduct Support Unit (SMSU).   

SHRS First Responder is Jessica Sinclair located in reception on level 3 of the therapies building 84a. 

If you want to work overseas after graduating, SASU can assist you with the compilation of your academic information and clinical placements for professional registration with overseas bodies or boards. It is the student’s responsibility to identify the minimum requirements for overseas registration boards and provide SASU with a list of documents to be prepared by the university. 

Submit the overseas registration request form to connect with SASU and finalise the information required to support your overseas registration. The typical documents prepared by SASU includes the course information, clinical mapping, verification of study term and completing relevant registration forms.  

There is a fee of AUD$165.00 which can be paid via credit card (you will be directed to a payment page upon completion of the form). Note that the fee is waived for recent graduates (less than one year of graduation) returning to their home country. 

Retrieving the course information and clinical placement hours prior to 2007 is not always possible as the archived information may no longer be available or that there may be significant information gaps due to archiving policies. 

Students are covered by various University insurance policies while undertaking approved UQ activities. 

Clinical placements and fieldwork 

Students undertaking an activity as a compulsory requirement of their course or program are automatically covered by UQ insurance, and further details can be found here. 

Making a claim: please report any incidents immediately to the SHRS Clinical Education Unit at ceu.shrs@uq.edu.au. 

Unpaid work experience 

Students undertaking unpaid work experience, a non-compulsory but relevant activity for their course or program, are not automatically covered by UQ insurance. If you have been offered unpaid work experience, there are forms to complete and approvals required as seen here. Please contact SASU at enquiries.shrs@uq.edu.au for further information. 

Travel 

Automatic travel insurance coverage applies to currently enrolled UQ students undertaking a journey within Australia – which is more than 50km from their normal place of residence or business premises – and is either: 

1. Approved University travel as per Travel policy; or 

2. Approved work off campus as per Work Off-Campus and Fieldwork Procedure. 

To be covered while undertaking University-approved overseas travel, students must: 

3. Complete a travel notification form, and  

4. Complete the International student placement form.  

Submit your Travel Notification Form and Travel Checklist to ceu.shrs@uq.edu.au. These details will be passed on to the UQ's Insurance Office and you will receive a travel notification number. 

Making a claim: please report any incidents immediately to the SHRS Clinical Education Unit at ceu.shrs@uq.edu.au. A Travel Insurance Claim Form is to be completed and submitted to Insurance Services within 30 days of the occurrence/event, along with relevant supporting documentation.