To assist secondary students to get an additional qualification while still at school and develop skills in the healthcare industry, ACHF has developed a pathway within our allied health assistance program. This pathway allows students to study the theory of their course online during term time and undertake hands-on training and required industry placement during school holidays. The 120 hrs of industry placement will need to be sourced by the student and could be within an aged care, medical clinic, hospital setting or private allied health clinic (eg. physiotherapist, osteopath, chiropractor)

The HLT33021 Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance  is a nationally recognised qualification and may allow a flexible way to gain credit towards your ATAR score as a fifth or sixth subject. It also provides you with direct experience in the healthcare industry which can be used to show a genuine interest in healthcare when you apply for university courses such as medicine, physiotherapy or occupational therapy after you finish school.

Upon successful completion, you will have a nationally recognised qualification you can use to apply for part time or casual work to support yourself or provide some extra cash while you are studying at university in the future.

Call the Melbourne Institute of Massage Therapy and Myotherapy and Myotherapy now for more information, or to book for our next intake on 9455 1926!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is this course scored or unscored?

This is probably one of the most common questions we get asked – the course we offer at ACHF is a non-scored VCE VET Unit 3-4 sequence. This means that if you are doing your HLT33021 Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance you may be eligible for a non-scored increment (10% of your 4th subject) towards your ATAR contribution.

V.C.A.A. recently updated their VET Health VET program page to reflect this change.

Please see: https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/curriculum/vet/vce-vet-programs/Pages/health.aspx

“Credit in the VCE (including VCE VM and VPC): recognition of two VCE VET units at Unit 1 and 2 level, a scored VCE VET Unit 3–4 sequence and an additional non-scored VCE VET Unit 3–4 sequence.”

Source: VCAA

It is very important to note the difference between a non-scored VET vs an Unscored VET. Many schools may direct you to the Unscored VET component of the VCE VET Health and suggest that you won’t get an increment for this. This is the case for most, if not all, of the TAFEs in Victoria as they teach the SCORED VET Health program, meaning that you cannot be eligible for the non-scored VCE VET Unit 3-4 Sequence. This is known as UNSCORED.

However, our College offers the non-score VET program meaning that you will get the 10% increment should the HLT33021 Certificate III in Allied Health Assistance be part of your 5th or 6th subject.

2. Do I need to tell my school about the VET course?

It is very strongly advised that you tell your school that you are studying a non-scored VET program, though V.C.A.A. will recognise your qualifications regardless of whether your school does it or not. It is strongly recommended that you talk to your school in regard to having time off to do your VET program, such as taking Wed after school off to study and attend classes, however it is not a requirement that this is done through your school. V.C.A.A. will recognise your qualification regardless of your school, however it is still strongly suggested that parents email the school to request that they log that you are starting this program with school.

Please speak to the V.A.S.S. coordinator at your school. The Victorian Assessment Software System (VASS) is an online central database. All VCE and VET providers enter and use this data to enrol students and record results. Please note that the VASS coordinator could be anyone at school, even an admin person or a teacher – it usually is NOT the COORDINATOR as they are too busy. The VASS coordinator will simply be required to log that you have started with the College and the Units of Competency which you are completing.

3. What if I cannot make an assessment date?

Do not worry if you cannot make an assessment date. We understand and recognise that not everyone will be available during the holidays – so we will be providing options for students to take their various assessments also during the term. These assessments will most likely fall on a weekend so that it does not clash with your school times.

4. Can the College secure a placement for me?

The College works with a number of Allied Health Providers around Melbourne and can assist you in finding a placement through its Allied Health network. For places secured through the College’s network, service providers will typically charge between $40 – $50 per hour of placements which translates to approximately $3,500 to $4,000 dollars just for the placement component of the course. This cost will be passed onto the student, which is why we strongly urge students to find the placements themselves. To assist in this endeavour, the College will have an information session in July/August just to help students with placements, however, it is strongly recommended in terms of both cost and convenience that students find an Allied Health provide close to their own home as you will need to spend at least 80 hours in that setting. From July/August, you have at least 4 months to find your placement which gives you plenty of time and choices – ideally aim for times before or after Christmas as that is when most clinics are either quiet or require additional staff.

5. When is the last day for Enrolment?

For the March intake, the last day for enrolment will be the 29th of March. As we are already approaching our capacity, we will not be able to take anyone beyond the 29th of March for the March intake in 2024. The next intake will be in September of 2024, year 11 students looking to enrol in Sept of 2024 may not be able to finish the entire course by the end of their VCE period for the non-scored increment to count.