Bachelor of Occupational Therapy

Occupational therapists play an important role in the lives of individuals and communities to enable participation in occupations of self-care, productivity and leisure. Students in the Bachelor of Occupational Therapy will gain the skills and knowledge to enhance the ability of people with impairments to body structure or function, or who experience physical, emotional or social disability, to adapt to and cope with the demands, tasks and activities of their daily lives.  Students will develop the ability to analyse and assess occupational performance, apply and evaluate interventions to enable occupational performance and collaborate and communicate effectively with clients, their families and colleagues. Up to 1000 hours of fieldwork and clinical placements are undertaken throughout the course.

An embedded honours program is available from third year for high-achieving students.

Areas of study

Occupational therapy.

Career opportunities

Occupational therapists often work as part of an integrated healthcare team in hospitals, community health centres, rehabilitation centres, private practice, mental health centres, work and accident rehabilitation, schools or early intervention, nursing homes and aged-care facilities, government policy units, consultative services.

Professional recognition

The Bachelor of Occupational Therapy program is fully accredited by the Occupational Therapy Council of Australia on the North Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane campuses and accredited with conditions on the Ballarat campus. Full accreditation in Ballarat will be applied for in the final year (2027) as per standard accreditation timelines. The new program on the Canberra campus will follow the same accreditation processes with pre-commencement application in 2024 and full accreditation application in the final year (2028). Graduates of accredited programs will be eligible for registration as practicing Occupational Therapists with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) and for membership of Occupational Therapy Australia. Refer to the Registration Standards for Occupational Therapy.

Practical experience

Up to 1,000 hours of fieldwork and clinical placements throughout the course. Before students begin professional experience for this course, they should review the mandatory state or territory legal and industry policy requirements. An overview of these requirements can be found via the ACU Work Integrated Learning Search tool.

Honours

Offered to students based on academic merit. The honours program is integrated across the third and fourth years of the program. Honours is awarded on the basis of successful completion of coursework and preparation of a paper for publication.

Fees and charges

Visit the ACU website for general information about tuition fees.