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Graduate Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety

Course code S72

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About this Course

Do you see yourself in a role saving lives by improving working conditions for people every day? Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) is an extremely valuable function for businesses in Australia and overseas, so your OHS career could take you anywhe

This course offers two streams; the first (OHS Professional) is designed for people who aim to become or are already working as an OHS professional, and the second (OHS Specialist) is designed for people who prefer to design their own study program from a selection units.

The OHS Professional stream provides an introduction to the field of occupational health and health management and has been developed to equip students with the basic skills necessary to function effectively in OHS roles. The 3 units in this stream are core to the Graduate Diploma.

The OHS Specialist stream provides an opportunity to develop skills and knowledge from a selection of our elective units. This course is designed to assist professionals who have a role including OHS or an interest in OHS with an education in a wide variety of related disciplines.

Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level

This course has been accredited by ECU as an AQF Level 8 Graduate Certificate Award.

Course code S72

Entry requirements

ECU admission and English language requirements apply.

See Course Entry for further information.

Fees

Domestic fee paying - estimated 1st year indicative fee AUD $13,200

See Fees and Scholarships for further information.

Duration

0.5 years full-time or part-time equivalent

See Course Details for further information.

Availability & Campus

Location Semester 1 Semester 2
Joondalup
Mount Lawley
South West
Online FT PT FT PT
*FT = Full-time study PT = Part-time study

Course Entry

Admission requirements you'll need to meet for this course.

  • The following course-specific admission requirements are mandatory and must be satisfied by all applicants. These requirements are in addition to or supersede the minimum requirements outlined within the Academic admission requirements band section below.

    All applicants are required to have an undergraduate degree in any discipline, with equivalents considered. Alternatively applicants can apply with an AQF level 5 qualification e.g. Diploma (or equivalent) in Occupational Health and Safety and have at least five years appropriate professional experience.

    Academic admission requirements (Band 6) may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

    • Bachelor degree; or
    • Equivalent prior learning including at least five years relevant professional experience.
  • English competency requirements may be satisfied through completion of one of the following:

    • IELTS Academic Overall band minimum score of 6.5 (no individual band less than 6.0);
    • Bachelor degree from a country specified on the English Proficiency Bands page;
    • Successfully completed 0.375 EFTSL of study at postgraduate level or higher at an Australian higher education provider (or equivalent);
    • Where accepted, equivalent prior learning, including at least five years relevant professional experience; or
    • Other tests, courses or programs defined on the English Proficiency Bands page.

Course Details

Semester availability

Semester 1: Study full-time Online

Semester 1: Study part-time Online

Semester 2: Study full-time Online

Semester 2: Study part-time Online

Course Structure

Students will be required to complete three (3) units listed in either the OHS Professional stream or the OHS Specialist stream as noted below.

OHS Professional stream

Students will be required to complete the following three (3) units:

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
OHS6130Open modal ^Workplace Health and Safety Law20
OHS6131Open modal ^Occupational Health and Safety Risk Management20
OHS6132Open modal ^Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems20

OHS Specialist stream

Students are required to complete the following unit:

Unit Code Unit Title Credit Points
OHS6130Open modal ^Workplace Health and Safety Law20
Plus one (1) unit from:
OHS6131Open modal ^Occupational Health and Safety Risk Management20
OHS6215Open modal ^Leadership in Workplace Health and Safety20
OHS6107Open modal ^Workplace Hazards20
Plus one (1) unit from:
OHS6132Open modal ^Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems20
OHS6110Open modal ^Workers Compensation & Rehabilitation20
OHS6133Open modal ^Human Factors and Ergonomics20
OHS6136Open modal ^Occupational Epidemiology20
OHS6138Open modal ^Occupational Health Management20
OHS6140Open modal ^Systems Safety20
OHS6178Open modal ^Occupational Toxicology20
DER6101Open modal ^Introduction to Emergency Management20

^ Core Option

S72|6

For more detailed unit information for this course take a look at our Handbook. To organise your life for next semester visit the Teaching timetable.

Student handbook

Course notes

Course learning outcomes

  1. Communicate specialised OHS/WHS knowledge, concepts and skills to a variety of audiences.
  2. Apply independent judgement when investigating and evaluating complex OHS/WHS situations to generate solutions.
  3. Demonstrate management skills by planning, implementing and evaluating substantial OHS/WHS projects.

Fees and Scholarships

Fees

  • AUD $13,200 - Domestic fee paying estimated 1st year indicative fee 1

Note

1 The 'estimated 1st year indicative fee' is provided as a guide only, based on a typical enrolment of students undertaking the first year of this course. At ECU, you pay for the individual units you enrol in, not an overall course fee, so the total cost of your course will vary, depending on what units you choose. An indicative fee will be provided with your course offer, however you can use our Course Fee Calculator to estimate the actual amount you'll need to pay. ECU fees are adjusted annually.

Some units require the payment of a fee for incidental goods or services required to complete those units. For more information and the full list of incidental fees for courses and units, visit What are Incidental Fees.

Scholarships

ECU has a scholarship program that provides many opportunities each year to students undertaking studies here.

Find a scholarship

Career Opportunities

Graduates would be suitable for roles in the mining, oil and gas, construction, government and non-government sectors.

Possible future job titles

Safety Advisor, Safety Officer, Safety Manager, OHS Advisor, OHS Officer, OHS Manager, HSE Advisor, HSE Officer, HSE Manager, WHS Advisor

Courses you can consider if you are interested in progressing further in this area.

Need some help deciding what to study?

Our future student events include a mix of on-campus and online sessions designed to help you decide what to study at ECU.

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Quick guide to uni-speak

    • The Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) is the national regulator of qualifications in the Australian education and training system. The AQF defines the essential characteristics, including the required learning outcomes, of the different types of qualifications issued across the higher education systems in Australia.

    • ATAR is the Australian Tertiary Admission Rank, the primary criterion for entry into most undergraduate university courses in Australia. The ATAR is a percentile score which denotes a student's ranking relative to their state-wide peers upon completion of their secondary education.

    • CRICOS is the Commonwealth Register of Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students. A CRICOS code is allocated to education institutions (like ECU) who are approved to recruit, enrol and deliver education to overseas students. Courses with a CRICOS code are available to international students who meet the entry requirements.

    • A major, or unit set, is your chosen area of in-depth study in an undergraduate course. It usually involves 8 units of study, or one-third of the units in a 3-year degree. Talk to your Student Information Office if you need help choosing a major subject.

    • Minors include between 4 and 6 study units in a specific discipline. Not all courses require you to complete a minor. Your minor subject doesn't appear on your printed degree (parchment), but is part of your academic transcript.

    • If you're enrolled in 3 or more units in a semester this is considered full-time study. To complete most 3-year degrees studying full-time you'll need to complete 4 units per semester, i.e. 24 units over 3 years.

    • If a course is available to study part-time you can generally expect it to take twice as long to complete as it would in full-time mode. Part-time students are enrolled in 1 or 2 units maximum per semester.

      Note: International students who hold a student visa can only choose the full-time study option for our courses. This is to ensure the course is completed within the duration of the student visa.

    • Most courses start in Semester 1 each year, usually in the last week of February. Some courses can be started in Semester 2 (we call this mid-year). There's a week of Orientation before each semester to help you get used to uni life.

    • A lot of our courses start in Semester 2 each year, usually in the last week of July. We call this mid-year. There's a week of Orientation beforehand to help you get used to uni life.

    • We use a points system to make it easier for you to understand your study progress. Most Bachelors degree study units are allocated 15 credit points. If you're studying a 3-year full-time degree you'll need to successfully complete 360 credit points - that's 24 units x 15 points per unit.

    • These are compulsory units you have to successfully complete as part of your course.

    • An elective is a unit you choose to study that counts towards your course requirements, but isn't compulsory. For some courses we recommend elective units. In some situations, a course coordinator may approve an elective unit as a replacement for a compulsory one.

Do you have any questions about the Graduate Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety?

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Course Entry

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