Graduate Diploma of Midwifery Inherent Requirements

Description of required ability (with or without reasonable adjustments): Ability to acquire and apply knowledge through diverse learning activities and demonstrate competency via standard assessment methods.

Example in context: Attend seminars and scheduled placements, complete written assessments, engage in online learning, participate in group assignments, present in digital or in-person contexts.

Alignment with Midwife Standards for Practice: 

• Standard 1: Promotes health and wellbeing through evidence-based midwifery practice.
• Capacity to participate in a variety of learning modalities to acquire the knowledge and skills to practice evidence informed woman centred, safe and quality midwifery.

Description of required ability (with or without reasonable adjustments): Independently and clearly communicate using verbal, written and non-verbal methods in high-pressure and emotionally sensitive contexts.

Example in context: Participate in clinical handovers, complete documentation, provide woman centred education, engage with simulation feedback, provide peer feedback, establish rapport and therapeutic connection with women/families and contribute to multidisciplinary care.

Alignment with Midwife Standards for Practice: 

• Standard 2: Engages in professional relationships and respectful partnerships.
• Communication capacity in a variety of modalities is integral to building and maintaining professional relationships.

Description of required ability (with or without reasonable adjustments): Sufficient visual and auditory and tactile acuity to accurately perceive and respond to clinical cues, patient needs and environmental alarms.

Example in context: Auscultate fetal/newborn heart rate and newborn respirations, noting changes in newborn skin colour or temperature. Monitoring contraction intensity via palpation. Reading charts and monitors/EMR, recognise maternal/newborn distress or pain.

Alignment with Midwife Standards for Practice: 

• Standard 3: Undertakes comprehensive assessments.
• Standard 4: Develops a plan for midwifery practice.
• Standard 6: Evaluates outcomes to improve midwifery practice.
• To undertake comprehensive assessment to inform provision of safe and quality midwifery care.

Description of required ability (with or without reasonable adjustments): Adequate fine and gross motor skills to safely and efficiently perform clinical procedures and use equipment independently.

Example in context: Administering maternal/newborn injections, conducting maternal/neonatal CPR, wound care, neonatal blood sampling, using a computer or manipulating equipment with two hands.

Alignment with Midwife Standards for Practice: 

• Standard 5: Provides safety and quality in midwifery practice.
• To meet the needs of the woman and collaborate to reach agreed goals of care.

Description of required ability (with or without reasonable adjustments): Ability to think critically, prioritise, recall and integrate complex information for safe patient care and learning.

Example in context: Clinical reasoning, developing midwifery care plans, responding to emergencies, applying theory to practice.

Alignment with Midwife Standards for Practice: 

• Standard 1: Promotes health and wellbeing through evidence-based midwifery practice.
• Requires capacity to translate and apply best evidence informed theory to practice when providing woman centred quality midwifery care.

Description of required ability (with or without reasonable adjustments): Capacity for behavioural and emotional regulation, self-awareness, teamwork, empathy and interpersonal sensitivity across diverse and often emotionally charged environments.

Example in context: Engaging with women and families, contributing to group work, receiving and accepting feedback, maintaining professional decorum. This includes identifying, interpreting and responding appropriately to non-verbal cues and verbal tone.

Alignment with Midwife Standards for Practice: 

• Standard 2: Engages in professional relationships and respectful partnerships.
• Fundamental to providing quality midwifery care when partnering with women and health professionals.

Description of required ability (with or without reasonable adjustments): Demonstrate ethical conduct, integrity, accountability and respect for diverse individuals and teams, consistent with NMBA codes.

Example in context: Confidentiality, documentation integrity, adherence to professional guidelines and health care agency policy, preparedness to engage in learning opportunities, respectful communication in all settings. This includes being accountable for own behaviours.

Alignment with Midwife Standards for Practice: 

• Standard 3: Demonstrates the capability and accountability for midwifery practice.
• Focusing on working within scope of practice, legal parameters and professional standards.

Description of required ability (with or without reasonable adjustments): Understand and apply safety standards, infection control procedures and emergency protocols appropriate to supervised and delegated responsibilities.

Example in context: Hand hygiene, responding to deterioration, safe medication administration, hazard recognition.

Alignment with Midwife Standards for Practice: 

• Standard 3: Demonstrates the capability and accountability for midwifery practice.
• Focus is development and maintenance of skills and knowledge to provide safe and quality midwifery care.

Disability Resource Centre (DRC) is the primary contact for disability-related questions, supports and accommodations at Deakin.

For clinical enquiries, email the clinical team, who can support you to explore reasonable adjustments that can be made during Midwifery Practice Experience. They can also be reached by phone at +61 3 9244 5445.

Disclosure is not mandatory at the point of application, but early disclosure is encouraged to facilitate timely support. 

Disability disclosure does not affect admission. All applicants are assessed on their academic merit and capacity to meet inherent requirements with reasonable adjustments. 

Students can register with the DRC at any time. Access Plans will be developed for students needing adjustments. If, despite accommodations, a student cannot meet the functional requirements, the course team will explore alternate pathways or supports. 

Inability to meet these requirements (with reasonable adjustments) may result in non-progression or exclusion, particularly when safety, professionalism, or fitness for clinical placement is compromised. 

Under the National Law, all nursing and midwifery students enrolled in an approved program of study, or who are undertaking clinical training in midwifery, must be registered as a student with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia.

To protect the public from the risk of harm, registered health practitioners, education providers and employers must make mandatory notifications in some limited circumstances. As per The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra), “This is a legal requirement under the National Law. A mandatory notification about a student can only be triggered by concerns about impairment. The National Law defines ‘impairment’ as ‘a physical or mental impairment, disability, condition or disorder (including substance abuse or dependence) that detrimentally affects or is likely to detrimentally affect the student’s capacity to carry out clinical training.”

Students are encouraged to review this document regularly and seek guidance early to ensure they are supported in their learning journey.