Bachelor of Physiotherapy

A student who has successfully completed 220 to 230cp from the Bachelor of Physiotherapy units excluding the Core Curriculum units; and 10 to 20cp from the Core Curriculum units may exit with the following qualification:

• Bachelor of Allied Health

Classes

Class sizes: You can expect between 75 – 120 students in your lectures, with around 25 in your practical and tutorial classes. For practical classes the staff: student ratio is approximately 1:12. In 2021 we welcomed 51 new students to our Ballarat campus, 105 to our Brisbane campus, and 103 to our North Sydney campus.

Contact hours:

Year 1: Approximately 16 hours a week face-to-face.

Years 2/3: Approximately 20 hours a week face-to-face.

Year 4: Two weeks intensive study units (35 hours/week); 6 x 5-weeks full-time clinical placements off-site (35 hours/week)

 We understand the need for flexibility when it comes to your studies. Lectures and tutorials are delivered face to face (COVID-permitting). Lectures will provide you with an opportunity to engage with the lecturer and the occasional guest lecturer who provide specialist insights into the course content. Tutorials are where critical exploration of key concepts and development of attributes takes place through activities including group work, debate, simulations and role play.

Lectures and many tutorials are recorded and are made available online for students who cannot attend in person. However, due to the lack of interactivity, recordings clearly do not provide the learning experience that face-to-face provides, however, post-COVID face-to-face lectures/tutorials may not always be possible.

Sample assessments

Online quizzes, written reflective journals, oral presentations, posters, written examinations, and written assignments.

PHTY102 Foundations of Physiotherapy Practice 1:

• Assessment Task 1: Scope of physiotherapy practice (hurdle task)

Requires students to undertake and present information from an interview with a practising physiotherapist. Group task: 15 mins

• Assessment Task 2: Mid-semester practical examination (20 per cent)

Requires students to demonstrate competency in professional behaviour, communication skills and the safe and effective implementation of manual handling skills. 15 mins

• Assessment Task 3: End-semester practical examination (30 per cent)

Requires students to demonstrate competency in professional behaviour, communications skills, and safe and effective implementation of passive movements and massage techniques. 15 mins

• Assessment Task 4: End-semester written examination

Requires students to demonstrate their acquisition and understanding of content from across the semester and application to clinically relevant case scenarios. 2 hours

Student registration

All students enrolled in an approved physiotherapy program must be registered with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia. The University will pass students details to the Physiotherapy Board of Australia. No fees are required for student registration. To obtain further information visit the Physiotherapy Board of Australia website.

Before you can begin placements for this course, you must meet mandatory State or Territory legal and industry policy requirements. Comprehensive information about these requirements and the submission process of relevant documentation can be found here www.wil.acu.edu.au

Uniforms

Students are required to purchase and wear an ACU student physiotherapist uniform during clinical components of the course. Details regarding uniform purchase is available via ACU's Work Integrated Learning site www.wil.acu.edu.au.

Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)

Students are required to wear personal protection equipment when entering/participating in anatomy wet lab practical sessions. The protective equipment comprises of a lab coat, fully enclosed shoes and Australian standard safety glasses.

Each year ACU’s Faculty of Health Sciences offers a number of destinations around the world where you can undertake a community engagement unit or clinical placement/professional practice abroad as part of your studies. These activities are facilitated through our ACU overseas partners. Most of these experiences are offered to students enrolled in their third or final year of study at ACU.

You can also choose to study health sciences units at ACU’s Rome Campus over the June – July or December – January breaks.

Some academic units, such as UNCC300: Justice and Change in a Global World, HLSC220: Health Care Ethics and PHTY400: Preparation for Physiotherapy Practice, will provide you with the opportunity to study overseas. In addition, the opportunity to undertake clinical placements overseas is possible. Currently the overseas clinical placements that are offered include: • Chile (Pontificia Universidad Catolica) • Denmark (VIA University) • Timor Leste (Dili General Hospital) • Vietnam (GGC Volunteers) •Vanuatu (Santo & Port Vila)

Note: overseas study opportunities are subject to program availability and to public health restrictions in place at the planned time of travel.

To find out more, visit: www.acu.edu.au/study-at-acu/study-overseas/study-tours-and-short-programs/study-health-sciences-overseas/ 

If you don’t currently meet the direct entry requirements for admission to your chosen program, don’t worry. Our range of pathway programs can help you build the language proficiency, academic skills and confidence you need to succeed. 

Find out more about English language programs 

Find out more about the ACU Foundation Studies program 

Find out more about Diploma pathways 

Honours

The Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) program is embedded into years 3 and 4 of the Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Pass) program. To be eligible to apply for admission to the honours program, a student must have completed 160 cp from years 1 and 2 of the Bachelor of Physiotherapy pass degree, with a grade point average of at least 5.50. Meritorious students may apply to undertake honours in the third and fourth years of the course, subject to meeting the admission requirements.

Determination of students who meet the requirements to enrol in the Honours program, and will be offered a place, will be the responsibility of the undergraduate course coordinator in collaboration with the Head of School.

Honours graduates may be eligible to undertake a Master of Philosophy or Doctor of Philosophy.

ACU offers a number of postgraduate courses suitable for Bachelor of Physiotherapy graduates including:

Postgraduate programs in Rehabilitation  

Postgraduate programs in Mental Health

You can find out more on postgraduate programs in Health Sciences here – https://www.acu.edu.au/about-acu/faculties-directorates-and-staff/faculty-of-health-sciences/postgraduate-study-in-health-sciences

• Unit fee: $5473
• Average first year fee: $43784
• Estimate total cost: $175136

The tuition fees quoted above are for commencing students in the current year who undertake a normal full-time load. The Unit Fee is based on a 10cp unit. Fees are reviewed annually.

Tuition fees for continuing students may increase by up to 3 percent each year for the minimum duration of the course as provided on your electronic Confirmation of Enrolment (eCOE). Students who continue to study beyond the minimum duration will have the relevant annual commencing rate applied to their fees for subsequent study periods.

You should be able to concentrate on getting good marks instead of worrying about how you’ll pay your fees. We have a number of options that can help you ease the financial burden, including government assistance, scholarships and income support. 

Explore your options 

You could be eligible for one of the hundreds of scholarships we award each year to help students from across the university with the cost of studying, accommodation or overseas study opportunities. Some of our scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit, but these aren’t just for the academically gifted; ACU also recognises excellence in community engagement and leadership. We also offer a range of scholarships for those who may be struggling financially or who have faced other barriers to accessing education.  

Search our scholarships 

Yes. See Defer your offer.

Students with a Student Visa will need to complete the program in minimum duration, study at least one subject on-campus each semester and must not undertake more than 33% of the program online.