CHC43121 Certificate IV in Disability Support

The student cohort for CHC43121 Certificate IV in Disability Support consists of students wishing to empower people with disabilities to achieve their goals and gain greater levels of independence. They will be continuing studies from the CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support (disability) or equivalent. Students will include:

• Recent school leavers: Some students may have recently completed high school and are seeking a pathway to enter the aged care industry.
• Career changers: Many students in this cohort could be professionals looking to transition into the aged care sector from other industries or occupations.
• Aged care workers: Some students might already be working in the aged care industry and are pursuing this qualification to enhance their career prospects or fulfill regulatory requirements.
• Those seeking to re-enter the workforce: Some individuals may have taken a career break and are now seeking opportunities in the aged care sector.

They may wish to work in a facility such as a Nursing Home, Hostel, Residential Care Facility, Retirement Village or Community Health Care Centre

The face-to-face learning for this qualification will be conducted at Level 3, 14 Railway Parade, Burwood 2134

Students attend a total of 120 hours of Work Placement across each semester. Elite Institute and Technology has arranged this with Adventist Aged Care, 48 – 50 William Street, Hornsby, NSW, 2077. The college will organise the placement timings directly with the student.

Completion of CHC33021 Certificate III in Individual Support [Disability] or equivalent

• Be a minimum of 18 years of age.
• Undertake a pre-enrolment interview / initial skill assessment.
• Must have completed Australian Year 12 or equivalent level of schooling
• A reasonable level of fitness to carry out manual handling and first aid
• Basic computer skills
• Meet evidentiary requirements for country of origin
• Must demonstrate English level of IELTS 6.0

• A Police Clearance Certificate is mandatory prior to your work placement; you must undertake a Federal Police Check (AFP) or NSW Police check (it must be no less than 3 years old). This can be done through a website.
• There is also a Working with Children check and relevant immunisation check.
• These checks will be completed at the start of the course and prior to industry work placement.

To complete this qualification, 7 core units and 3 elective units must be completed satisfactorily: a total of 10 units of competency.

Elite Training and Technology offer this course in a total of 1015 hours over 40 weeks including student non-contact time, plus 6 weeks holidays. The volume of learning includes the complete delivery of program as per the schedules, all learning and practical activities undertaken by the students including any research, practical training sessions and participation in all assessments. The amount of training required to complete this course has been calculated based upon:

• The starting point as a relatively new student;
• Their newly acquired approach to learning;
• The face to face delivery mode for this course; delivered by a well experienced trainer

The skills and knowledge to be acquired including:

• Managing legal and ethical compliance in the disability sector.
• Maintaining work health and safety standards in disability support settings.
• Working effectively with individuals experiencing mental health issues.
• Providing person-centered support to individuals with disabilities.
• Implementing behavior support strategies based on individual needs.
• Facilitating community participation and social inclusion for people with disabilities.
• Delivering person-centered services to individuals with complex needs.
• Developing and providing tailored service responses to support individual goals.
• Empowering clients and advocating for their interests and rights.
• Facilitating ongoing skills development for individuals with disabilities.
• Demonstrating leadership skills in the workplace.

This volume of learning is sufficient for the AQF level and provides the students with sufficient time to develop and practice their skills in disability support.

For the first 10 weeks of semester 1 and the first 8 weeks of semester 2,3 and 4, students will engage in 20 hours of classroom instruction per week at the face-to-face learning location. Additionally, a number of hours each week will be dedicated to self-paced study allowing students to independently develop their skills. 5 hours will be allocated to each unit for assessment.

As a crucial component of their learning experience, students will invest 40 hours at the end of semester 2,3 and 4 in a hands-on work placement within the workplace facility. This practical exposure allows the student to integrate theoretical knowledge with real-world applications, preparing them for their workplace assessment component and a role in the workplace.

This volume of learning is sufficient for the AQF level and provides the students with sufficient time to develop and practice their skills in disability support.

There are no specified entry requirements within the training package. Students will be interested in working to empower clients to reach their independence and social inclusion goals.

During study students will need to provide the following evidence to attend their specified work placement provider

• A national police check (NPC)
• An NDIS worker check (NDSIWC)
• Vaccination, which may include COVID-19, hepatitis A and B and influenza vaccines.
• A working with Children Check

Students completing this course in CHC43121 Certificate IV in Disability Support students may continue their studies by enrolling in:

• CHC43015 Certificate IV in Ageing Support
• CHC52021 Diploma of Community Services

Potential employment options are in a range of disability work roles. Roles may also have a leadership function.

• Social Educator (Disability)
• Day Support Disability
• Officer, Marketing Coordinator (Disability)
• Local area coordinator, Social trainer
• Disability Team Leader, Disabilities
• Supervisor, Project Officer, Disability
• Disability Support Assistant (Schools)
• Job coordinator, Disability
• Service Officer, Senior Disability
• Worker, Disability Lifestyle Support Officer
• Senior Personal Care Assistant (Disability)
• Community Development Officer (Disability)
• Support Facilitator (Disability)
• Behavioural Support Officer (Disability)

Stakeholder consultations occur on an ongoing basis throughout the year. Evidence of industry consultations and resulting actions is documented. Ongoing consultations with stakeholders assist in Elite Institute and Technology evaluating the course and identifying opportunities for improvement.

consulted with the following industry representatives as part of this consultation process:

• Jennifer Bellosillo – RN, Facility Manager.
• Mohammad Kamal RN, Health Practitioner.
• Shamima Akhter – RN

The industry consultation was focused on the following aspects:

• Course structure and choice of electives in-line with the desired vocational outcomes
• Suitability of delivery and assessment materials and processes
• Continuous improvement of learning and assessment practices
• Appropriateness of learning strategies and the learning resources used by industry and therefore required in the training environment
• Assessment strategies, methods and tools used to assess a student competence in the required knowledge and skills.
• Trainer and Assessor’s experience and competence in terms of their skills and knowledge
• Preparing the learners with suitability of job ready skills required for the industry

All students will be required to undertake a pre-enrolment interview with the assessor to assess their suitability and eligibility in enrolling into this qualification. This interview is recorded, and the suitability of the student determined by the CEO.

Once the student has successfully completed the pre-enrolment interview, the student will move to a formal enrolment interview Elite Institute and Technology ensures that an applicant satisfactorily completes a formal enrolment interview to ensure that each applicant:

• has been provided with a course brochure to ensure that they make an informed choice of enrolling with Elite Institute and Technology; and
• has been assessed for their suitability to enrol in this course including a completion of the LLN assessment.

Student training needs are declared by the applicant at the time of enrolment. The application form allows the applicant to self-declare where they have learning disabilities.

During consultation, it may be identified that students could have needs related to:

• Relevant prior training and/or employment;
• Little or no understanding of the industry group that the training targets;
• Learning styles may vary within one group;
• Physical or intellectual disabilities, which may affect training;
• Language, literacy and numeracy levels may not meet the requirements of the training;
• Cultural or ethnic background of students and/or trainer;
• Socio-economic factors.

The student needs identified above will be assessed and monitored before, during and after training to ensure that the student’s needs are being met.

All staff members including trainers/assessors act as student support officers and have the authority to provide support to students and refer them to external support providers.

Elite Institute and Technology uses a variety of commercial learning resources subject to trainer requirements. The full listing of resources can be found in Appendix A of this document.

Elite Institute and Technology engages skilled and experienced Trainers and Assessors for this course. All Trainers and Assessors require appropriate qualifications and experience in range of disability support skills.

We recruit trainers and assessors who meet the requirements of the Standards for RTOs 2015 and ensure they have:

• The vocational competencies in disability support at least to the level being delivered and assessed;
• Current disability support worker skills directly relevant to the training and assessment being provided;
• Hold TAE40122 Certificate IV in Training and Assessment; and
• Current knowledge and skills in instructing adults updating their training and assessment.
• Elite Institute and Technology ensures that all trainers and assessors undertake professional development in the fields of:
• Knowledge and practice of vocational training, and
• Learning and assessment including competency-based training and assessment.

The current trainer/assessor for this course is Mohammad Algamir Hossain.

Training and assessment are conducted face to face and in a workplace. Students must attend the training for the prescribed number of hours for their allocated days of the week and receive face to face training. The trainer/assessor will utilise the resources to facilitate the training and assessment of the student. Students complete learning activities to prepare them for the summative assessments that follow.

Students must demonstrate that they have the required knowledge and then undertake the written assessment; once they have satisfactorily completed the written assessment, they can move into their practical skills. The candidate must be able to identify, apply and demonstrate disability support skills.

This course is delivered in four semesters of units to optimise training time and allow the student to assimilate the knowledge required for overall project outcomes.

All teaching, learning and assessment activities are required to be undertaken by the targeted student to achieve the learning outcomes of this course.

If students have previous relevant experience, where RPL is awarded, the total volume of learning may be reduced below the Australian Qualifications Framework Indicators.

For this course:

1. Face to Face delivery includes – 20 hours per week of classroom-based training sessions across the first 8 weeks of each semester
2. Students complete 5 hours self-paced study per week
3. Students are also required to commit to unsupervised self-directed study consisting of independent research, assessment preparation and independent review of delivery material.
4. The training hours, plus the self-directed study hours plus the hours required for the student to complete assessments will equal the total volume of learning required for the student to achieve the learning outcomes for this course.
5. Students complete a 120-hour work placement in a high/low care facility for 40 hours per semester across the last two weeks of semester 2, 3 and 4.

Elite Institute and Technology has carefully considered the knowledge and skills required this unit of competency to be delivered and assessed. As part of our considerations and based on the identification of common or related knowledge and skills within the unit, the training timetable ensures that the students can develop their own understanding of the concepts in a holistic way. 

The assessment methods used take into account the methods as specified in the respective training package requirement and assessment tools.

Each student will be deemed “Competent” or “Not Yet Competent” in each unit based on the outcomes of the assessments where an assessor has gathered sufficient evidence of student’s performance to make a judgement of competence. Evidence of competence includes the assessment of essential knowledge and the associated skills, including work performance.

Each student is provided an Assessment Cover Sheet which details the information about the assessment.

Each Assessor is provided an Assessor Guide which provides benchmark / suggested answers to the assessments. This is to assist in a consistent application of marking/judgement of competence principles by the relevant assessors.

Assessments will be conducted face to face and will include:

• Written questions and answers with an alternative option to video students answering the questions
• Direct observation & demonstration of skills

Assessments will be undertaken in a simulated workplace environment providing opportunity for each student to provide person-centred support to people who may require support. They will be required carry out a range of factual, technical and procedural knowledge, as well as some theoretical knowledge of the concepts and practices required to provide person-centred support. The simulated environment will have all the necessary resources to demonstrate practical skills.

The modes of assessment used in each unit of this qualification are listed below.

The assessments are due according to the following timetable:

Summative Written Assessments

The written component of this course will be conducted face to face and may be videoed to accommodate a student writing limitation. Students will have access to their written notes and the amount of time allowed is listed on the assessment tool. Student written assessments must be deemed satisfactory before moving to the summative practical demonstration for this course. Student answers are marked according to the benchmark answers/schema provided in the assessor marking guide.

Students that have low literacy and numeracy skills may provide their verbal responses directly to the assessor and a video copy retained.

Additional resources required for assessment are listed in Appendix A.

Validation is defined as the collection and evaluation of data, through the stages of training and assessment, which establishes evidence, so we are capable of consistently delivering a quality course as a product with defined outcomes.

Validation involves a series of activities taking place throughout the course. Elite Institute and Technology conducts ongoing validation of its assessment process and assessment records in accordance with the Standards for RTOs and following our Assessment Validation Policy and Procedures. We have a five-year Calendar for validating all training products on our scope of registration in accordance with the Standards.

A Validation Calendar and all supporting evidence of validation are securely stored on our internal drive.

The CEO will conduct assessment moderation at the end of each term by collecting samples of assessment evidence from all assessors for the same unit of competency and compares the outcomes of the assessment process against the assessment and unit requirements.

The candidate is advised about RPL and credit transfer at the entry/admission process. However, if this has not been flagged at the entry/admission interview the student may still successfully apply for credit and/or RPL the course duration will be shortened accordingly, and adjustments made to remove it or add to course duration. This should be immediately referred to administration and management.

The process for granting of RPL is contained in the relevant section of the RPL Kit. Students can have their competency achieved through prior learning and work experience within the previous 2 years recognised in this course through the following arrangements:

Recognition in the form of RPL and Credit Transfer are offered to students prior to enrolment.

Students who have successfully completed previous training and who have achieved relevant unit will be eligible for credit transfer.

The aim of granting recognition is to reduce the amount of learning required to achieve a qualification or accredited course by acknowledging an individual’s skills and knowledge acquired through formal and informal learning.

Elite Institute and Technology provides each student with an RPL kit and related documentation that explain the entire process. RPL information is also contained in the student Handbook available on the institute’s website.