The Graduate Diploma in Nursing (Aged Care) is a 36-unit course offered by the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.

Admission requirements

Applicants must normally hold an approved degree or equivalent qualification and must be registered nurses in Australia. However, the Board may, under certain circumstances and subject to specific conditions, admit others who can show evidence of fitness for candidature.

In addition, applicants must provide a supporting statement from their employer stating their willingness to facilitate the extended clinical practice components of the course within their workplace and/or provide evidence that an affiliated health agency will facilitate the clinical practice in a supernumerary capacity or nominate their requirement for university sourced professional experience placement.

Course aims

The Graduate Diploma in Nursing (Aged Care) aims to:

  • facilitate development of specialised knowledge, skills and attributes for application in aged care nursing environments
  • extend student knowledge in research for practice development

Learning outcomes 

In addition to the Learning Outcomes of the Graduate Diploma in Nursing, on completion of this course, students in the aged care nursing specialisation will be able to:

  • examine the complexity of the issues associated with nursing an older client within a Primary Health Care framework
  • critique policies which impact on the professional, organisational and political context of aged care nursing practice
  • analyse the sociocultural challenges and complexities of aging in contemporary society and identify how these impact on care of the older client
  • demonstrate the skills, knowledge and attributes required to care for the older client in a range of nursing environments

Program of Study

To qualify for the Graduate Diploma in Nursing (Aged Care) a student must complete 36 units as specified below with a grade of Pass or NGP or better in each topic.

The award of a grade of Fail (F) in the same topic on more than one occasion or in 9 units or more, or failure to complete the course within four consecutive semesters may constitute prima facie evidence of unsatisfactory progress for the purposes of the University''s Policy on Student Progress.

Except with permission of the Faculty Board:

  • no topic may be attempted more than twice
  • a student may not include a topic which repeats work previously undertaken.

Not all topics will be available in any given year or semester

Specialisation - Aged Care topics - Core topics

13.5 units comprising:

NURS8720  Primary Health Care Constructs and Contexts (4.5 units)
NURS9708  Social Context of Health and Ageing  (4.5 units)
NURS8707  Nursing Care of Older People with Complex Health Needs (PEP) (4.5 units)

plus 4.5 units selected from:

PALL8436  Palliative Care in Aged Care Setting (4.5 units)
NURS9710  The 3 Ds Dementia, Delirium and Depression  (4.5 units)

Core - Year 1 topics

18 units comprising:

NURS9123  Epidemiology and Population Studies for Health Care Practice (4.5 units)
NURS9124  Advanced Thinking, Communicating and Problem Solving for Health Professionals (4.5 units)
NURS9126  Leadership in Health Studies  (4.5 units)
NURS9219  Introduction to Research (4.5 units)