Overview
This unit examines social work practice with children, young people, and families, with a particular focus on statutory contexts including child protection, youth justice, family law, and mental health. It explores the historical, socio-political, and legislative conditions that shape contemporary practice, including the emergence of child-focused approaches and the principle of the ‘best interests of the child’. The unit critically engages with the multidimensional nature of child maltreatment and youth risk, with particular attention to structural influences such as poverty, social determinants of health, and systemic inequality. It examines the role of surveillance, control, and regulation within welfare systems, and the ongoing impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, young people, and families. The unit develops practice capability in risk assessment, professional judgement, and intervention planning. Students engage in applied learning through case-based analysis and a simulated multidisciplinary case conference to collaboratively develop and justify risk assessments and intervention strategies in complex practice contexts.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Students must have completed first and second year units before enrolling in this unit. Foundational knowledge is required to successfully meet the unit's learning outcomes.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from SUTE Unit Comments
Moodle was very hard to navigate. Weekly tiles for content would have been easier. There were also double ups of information across tiles.
The new Moodle set out has been introduced across social work units to improve accessibility and navigation.