Zoe Moffatt
Sunbury students say they are struggling to keep up with the financial burden of unpaid placements, amid a recommendation to introduce placements payments.
When local resident Vivian Kicheni decided to enrol in a certificate IV in disability, she saw it as a way to make some extra cash to support her and her eight-year-old daughter keep their heads above water in the cost of living crisis.
Now, after recently completing her final assignment, Ms Kicheni is facing the difficult reality of having to take annual and unpaid leave from her job as a dental nurse to complete the required 120-hour placement.
All of which she won’t earn a cent from.
“As a single mother who works full-time from Monday to Friday, taking time off… to fulfill the placement requirements would result in a significant loss of income for me,” she said.
To make up for this lost income Ms Kicheni said she is actively seeking a second job to work on Friday nights. However, this decision would mean sacrificing time with her daughter.
“My leave days from work, for instance, are for if my daughter gets sick or we have a special vacation to go to… but not to take two weeks off to go on placement that I’m not even getting paid for,” she said.
Ms Kicheni said the unpaid placement is the cherry on top of an already stressful situation, which has followed her costs increasing above her single income.
“It’s a certificate I did because the government were offering [for] free… which is a good incentive,” she said.
“One income is not enough for me… I used to be content with just one income… but now it’s not even enough for me to cover my bills.
“I wanted to have something that I can… do a morning shift [on the weekend] and still have that time to spend with my daughter when I come back like Friday night.
“And then I’ll do [a shift] Saturday afternoon and then still have time on Sunday with my daughter.”
Ms Kicheni’s story is not one dissimilar to the experiences of those around the country.
It’s these experiences, the Australian Universities Accord labelled ‘placement poverty’ in a recent report examining Australia’s higher education system.
The review recommended that the federal government work with higher education providers and employers to introduce payment for unpaid placements, including government financial support for placements in the areas of nursing, care and teaching.
