#14 in the world for nursing
ANMAC accredited course
856 clinical practice hours
Why choose midwifery at Deakin
Deakin’s Graduate Diploma of Midwifery gives registered nurses the knowledge, skills and clinical experience to become registered midwives. Over 18 months, you’ll build your capability in woman-centred care across pregnancy, labour, birth, postnatal care, complex midwifery care and neonatal special care.
This course is accredited by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) and approved by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA), giving graduates a recognised pathway to apply for registration as a midwife.
You will complete at least 856 hours of clinical practice, with placements beginning in trimester 1 and continuing throughout the course. You will study online, benefitting from campus intensives and simulation activities, alongside clinical placement experience with approved maternity service partners. Deakin’s School of Nursing and Midwifery is ranked #14 in the world for nursing, giving you the confidence to learn with a globally recognised school.
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World-ranked school
Study with Deakin’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, ranked #14 in the world for nursing.
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Professionally recognised
Graduate from an ANMAC-accredited and NMBA-approved course, supporting your path to apply for midwife registration.
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Clinical from the start
Begin clinical practice in your first trimester and complete at least 856 hours in maternity settings.
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Practice-ready learning
Build your skills through online study, intensives on campus, simulation and supervised practice with maternity service partners.
Connected to industry
Deakin’s strong industry connections help shape your learning. Build practical experience in real workplace contexts through work-integrated learning, mentoring and networking opportunities. Industry advisory boards also help shape our degrees, which means what you study is current, relevant and aligned to what your future employers need.
Deakin puts employability first
Career outcomes
Build the specialist midwifery knowledge and clinical capability to support women, babies and families through pregnancy, birth and beyond.
Midwife
Support women and families through pregnancy, labour, birth and early postnatal care, providing evidence-based clinical care.
- 14.6%
Projected job growth in 5 years for midwifery and nursing professionals
- $105K
Typical annual salary in Australia
Other jobs
- Antenatal midwife
- Postnatal midwife
- Birthing suite midwife
- Maternal and child health nurse
- Clinical midwife
- Nurse educator
Key dates
Direct applications
Trimester 1 2027 applications close 29 January 2027
FAQs
A Deakin postgraduate degree can help you advance your career, deepen your expertise in a specialist field, pivot into a new industry and stand out in a competitive job market. Every course is built with industry input and taught by academics who are active practitioners, so the skills you gain are immediately applicable. Postgraduate study at Deakin is also your chance to connect with leaders in your field and build a network of industry contacts who become valuable professional connections, giving you an advantage that goes well beyond the qualification itself.
Most Deakin postgraduate courses are fee-paying, but there are practical ways to manage the cost of study. You can defer fees with a FEE-HELP loan, repaid through the ATO once you earn above the income threshold. A number of courses have Commonwealth Supported Places where the government covers part of your tuition. Deakin scholarships recognise academic achievement, professional experience and financial need. If you've studied at Deakin before, you may be eligible for a 10% alumni discount. Recognition of prior learning can also reduce costs by crediting past study so you finish sooner.
Yes to all three. Most Deakin postgraduate degrees can be studied online, on campus or a blend of both, and you may be able to switch between full and part time at the start of each trimester to suit your life. If you want to move faster, select courses offer a one-year masters degree designed for working professionals. With three start dates each year for most courses – March, July and November – you don't have to wait long to begin.
The main differences are depth, duration and career outcomes. A graduate certificate is a short, focused qualification, typically six months full time, ideal for upskilling quickly in a specific area. A graduate diploma offers broader knowledge or supports a career change, usually one-year full time. A masters degree delivers advanced expertise and professional recognition, typically one to two years full time. You can also stack qualifications – complete a graduate certificate and use the credit towards a masters.
Each Deakin postgraduate course has a unique structure, check the course stucture section of the course page to see compulsory units, electives and any specialisation streams available. All courses are shaped by industry, so content reflects real challenges in your field. Many courses let you tailor your studies through elective units or specialisations, and some include a capstone project where you apply your learning to a genuine workplace problem.
Entry requirements vary by course, so check this tab on the course page for specific criteria. Most Deakin postgraduate courses require a relevant bachelor degree, though some may accept significant demonstrable work experience as an alternative. You may also be able to build eligibility through a graduate certificate or graduate diploma, which in many cases could count towards a masters degree.
Deakin postgraduate courses are built with industry input, so you're learning skills employers are actively looking for. Depending on your course, you may access work-integrated learning through placements, internships or industry projects with partners including Microsoft, KPMG, National Australia Bank and the Geelong Cats Football Club. DeakinTALENT, Deakin's career service, supports you throughout your studies and for life, helping you grow your network and connect with opportunities in your field.
Yes. Recognition of prior learning (RPL) may turn your previous study or work experience into course credit, reducing both your study time and tuition costs. For some masters degrees, you may be able to receive credit for up to two-thirds of the course, if eligible. Use the RPL calculator to get an indication of what you might receive, and note that prior learning must generally be within the last 10 years, although some courses have a shorter time limit. You can apply for RPL as part of your course application.
*Deakin references data from a range of government, higher education and reputable media sources. Learn more about our achievements on our University rankings page, or explore our sources page for supporting references.
What will I study in the Graduate Diploma of Midwifery?
The Graduate Diploma of Midwifery builds your knowledge and clinical capability across the full maternity care journey. You’ll progress from foundational midwifery practice to more complex, emergency and contemporary care.
Foundations and complex care
Begin with partnership-based care
Explore how midwives work with women and families to provide safe, respectful and individualised support.
Build birth and postnatal knowledge
Develop foundational knowledge for supporting pregnancy, labour, birth, recovery and early care of the newborn.
Extend into complex care
Learn to support women and babies when care becomes more specialised, unpredictable or requires additional clinical judgement.
Emergency and contemporary practice
Prepare for emergency care
Develop the judgement and confidence to recognise and respond to urgent situations in maternity settings.
Strengthen culturally safe practice
Learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ health, history and culture to support respectful care.
Complete your clinical learning
Continue supervised practice with maternity service partners, building toward the required 856 clinical practice hours.
Course structure
To complete the Graduate Diploma of Midwifery, you must pass 8 credit points.
Most units are equal to one credit point. As a full-time student, you will usually undertake two trimesters per year.
Are you a current student? For course information that applies to the year you started your degree, visit the handbook.
All students are required to meet the University's academic progress and conduct requirements
Units
Year 1 - Trimester 1 (Commencing February)
Year 1 - Trimester 2
Year 2 - Trimester 1
Professional recognition
On successful completion of your course, you will be eligible to apply for registration as a Midwife with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA). This course is accredited with the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (ANMAC) and is an NMBA approved course.
The NMBA has mandatory registration standards that applicants need to meet to be registered. Core registration standards are available on the NMBA website.
What to expect while studying
Your course duration may be extended if there are delays in meeting course requirements, such as completing a placement.
Police Record Check
In accordance with Department of Human Services policy, all students are required to undertake a National Police Record Check prior to professional experience placements in each calendar year of their course.
Students who fail to obtain a Police Record Check prior to the commencement of professional experience placement will not be able to undertake professional experience placement and this will impede progress in the course.
Working with Children Check
In accordance with the Worker Screening Act 2020, all students are required to undertake a Working with Children Check at the commencement of their course. Students who fail to obtain a Working with Children Check prior to the commencement of professional experience placement will not be able to undertake professional experience placement and this will impede progress in the course.
Immunisation
Students are required to declare their immunisation status to satisfy the requirements of health organisations where they will be undertaking their clinical learning experience. A health organisation may refuse to accept a student for placement if the student’s immunisation status is not satisfactory to the health organisation.
As a student in the Faculty of Health you can expect to participate in a range of teaching activities each week. This may include seminars and simulation. You can refer to the individual unit details in the course structure for more information. You will also need to study and complete assessment tasks in your own time.
The course involves compulsory clinical practice hours over the duration of the course with your host organisation. An intensive teaching program is conducted at the Melbourne Burwood Campus in mid-February and nominated ‘study days’ are conducted throughout each of the trimesters during the 18 months of the course. Students will typically be employed in a supervised part-time placement arrangement within maternity services at their host organisation.
Students are expected to participate in all timetabled learning experiences, online or at specified physical locations.
In order to participate in on-campus learning activities, and to safely engage in placements in clinical environments, there are a number of skills and functions that students need to be able to demonstrate, with or without reasonable adjustments. These skills and functions are known as Inherent Requirements. Find out more about the Graduate Diploma of Midwifery Inherent Requirements.
To discuss these requirements and the adjustments we can provide to support your success, please contact the Disability Resource Centre.
Clinical Practicum
The Graduate Diploma of Midwifery has been designed to incorporate clinical learning opportunities and supervised part-time arrangements within your host organisation. Students are usually employed within a collaborating health service to support and provide a sound clinical learning environment for the clinical program requirements of the course. Some healthcare partners offer non-paid clinical midwifery practice experience including pregnancy care, labour and birth, postnatal care and neonatal special care.
At Deakin, we're committed to ensuring an inclusive environment that supports all students to belong, thrive and succeed. We work closely with students, where needed, to identify potential barriers to participation and where possible, provide tailored support so students can engage with learning and assessment activities.
If you are neurodivergent, have a disability, health condition or mental health condition that may impact your study or participation in university life, and want to know how Deakin could support you, contact our Domestic students (opens in a new window) or International students (opens in a new window) or Disability Resource Centre (opens email client) teams for a collaborative and confidential discussion. This discussion is to support you to make plans for your studies and future career and will not have any bearing on your application to the course.
When can I start?
When you study depends on your course, location and available intakes. Check the table to see when you can start and how study is offered throughout the year.
NOTE: Course will commence February due to intensive requirements.
Students enrol in online however there are significant campus requirements at Burwood (Melbourne)
Your course learning outcomes describe the knowledge, skills and capabilities you’ll develop and be able to demonstrate by the time you graduate. Built into your course through your units and assessments, they provide a clear picture of what you’ll be equipped to know, understand and do – preparing you to apply your learning with confidence beyond university.
| Course Learning Outcomes |
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| Practice midwifery that is underpinned by the philosophy of woman-centred care. |
| Critically engage in a process of assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation to provide evidence informed safe and quality care to optimise outcomes in partnership with the woman. |
| Be a reflective learner who actively develops and maintains the knowledge, skills and attitudes essential for contemporary midwifery practice. |
| Develop sustainable, culturally safe partnerships, enriched by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ cultures and knowledges founded on mutual trust, respect and collaboration to support safe, quality midwifery care. |
| Foster effective professional relationships to ensure safe and quality care. |
- Award granted
- Graduate Diploma of Midwifery
- Year
2027 course information
- Deakin code
- H676
- Level
- Postgraduate (Graduate Certificate and Graduate Diploma)
- Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) recognition
The award conferred upon completion is recognised in the Australian Qualifications Framework at Level 8
Fees
Estimated tuition fee
$4,908
for 1 yr full-time - Commonwealth Supported Place (CSP)
The estimated tuition (student contribution) fee above is based on a typical first-year full-time enrolment of 8 credit points and is provided as a guide only. Your student contribution is determined by the units you enrol in and will vary depending on the units you choose, your study load, the course duration, and any approved recognition of prior learning. You may also be eligible for a HECS-HELP loan to defer payment of all or part of your student contribution.
Check your eligibility or learn more about CSP or HECS-HELP.
Scholarships
We want to help you excel at Deakin. Our scholarships recognise your dedication and achievements, providing financial support that can ease the cost of living and studying. With less pressure, you'll have more freedom to focus on what matters most – your education and future success.
Applications for 2027 are open
Ready to take the next step? Apply now to start your journey at Deakin. Places in this course are limited and entry is competitive, so we encourage you to submit your application early.
Key dates
Direct applications
Trimester 1 2027 applications close 29 January 2027
Apply now
Apply direct
Simply create an account in the Deakin Application Portal, enter your personal and educational details, upload your supporting documents and submit your application.
Applicant declaration
Applicants must complete the Applicant declaration as part of their application.
Recognition of prior learning
We value your previous study and experience. Recognition of prior learning enables you to get credit for what you've already achieved. When you apply, we'll consider your previous study and experience for recognition of prior learning.
Pathways
This course provides a pathway to higher degree by research courses and other postgraduate coursework programs.