Bachelor of Midwifery

The Bachelor of Midwifery is a professionally-accredited degree that qualifies you to register as a midwife. It is recognised as an approved program of study by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia. At CDU, you can study a Bachelor of Midwifery online with intensive weeks (clinical teaching blocks) or on campus, full-time or part-time, as you learn from experts in the field.

Studying a Bachelor of Midwifery online

CDU is one of the largest providers of online midwifery and nursing degrees. We have been delivering distance education for more than 30 years.

As an online midwifery student, you will have access to extensive technical and academic support, an easy-to-use online learning platform, and a network of nearly 400 midwifery students situated right across Australia.

You will enjoy the flexibility of fitting studying around your family and work commitments, and will need to be disciplined and committed in making time for study.

Practical placements

In order to complete the Bachelor of Midwifery, you are required to undertake clinical placements. This provides you with invaluable practical experience and the readiness for midwifery practice.

Placements have become increasingly more difficult to secure since the COVID pandemic. This has resulted in some students needing to travel interstate for up to six weeks at a time to complete their placement requirements.

Continuity of care is a core element of the course so a commitment to out-of-hours and between semester clinical work is required. Students must follow 10 women across the duration of the degree, seeing these women four times antenatally, being on call for birth, and seeing them twice postnatally. These requirements are in addition to placement. These experiences must be done in your local community due to the many months of a woman's journey. It also requires access to your local hospitals who may or may not support you to visit their facilities.

It is important to be aware that:

• In order to progress in the course, you are required to attend placements.
• All placements are arranged by CDU.
• Placements are subject to availability at healthcare facilities.
• Placements may include morning, evening, night, weekend and public holiday shifts. They may be scheduled shifts or on-call shifts.
• Non-attendance at placement may only occur in extenuating circumstances which, for the purpose of placements, do not include childcare and work commitments.

Safe practice

To study a Bachelor of Midwifery, you will need to have an inherent set of requirements. These are the essential abilities, knowledge and skills needed to achieve course learning outcomes and to be able to safely practice as a midwife.

Potential applicants are advised that midwifery is a profession which places considerable physical and psychological demands on the individual however the rewards of the profession can be profound.

Reporting obligations

Under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law, CDU is required to register midwifery students with the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and to notify AHPRA if a student has or develops a health impairment that may place the public at substantial risk of harm. Students have obligations under the National Law and are expected to understand their obligations prior to enrolling. More information on Student Registration is available on the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia website.

Places are limited

The Bachelor of Midwifery is a highly competitive course which has a quota of approximately 130 places each year. CDU receives more applications than there are places available. In assessing applicants, CDU will prioritise eligible applicants residing in the NT. Remaining eligible applicants will be ranked in order of academic merit. Offers will be ranked and made in order of academic merit.

If you currently reside in the Northern Territory and have done so for a minimum of 12 months; or if you identify as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander you will compete in separate subquotas.

If you are not eligible to be considered for the above subquotas, you are still encouraged to apply, noting that it is a competitive course requiring high academic achievement in order to receive an offer.

Graduates will be eligible to apply for registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) to practice as a midwife in all Australian States or Territories.