Students undertaking compulsory placements as part of their university degrees encounter financial stress, known as placement poverty, and often other forms of exclusion such as racism, discrimination, transphobia and ableism. These inequities particularly affect equity-deserving students. This Australian project worked with students and educators with lived expertise of placements to co-develop solutions to the interconnected issues of placement poverty and placement exclusion.

The project identified 40 solutions and eight overarching themes. These solutions and themes are summarised in the report recommendations and include both small and large practical steps for educators, universities, placement sites, and federal and state governments.

Recommendations

1. All stakeholders involved in placements take a partnership approach to address placement inequities.
2. Universities, professional bodies and industry question assumptions about, and critically examine work-integrated learning (WIL).
3. Federal and state governments, universities and industry expand financial support for students on placement.
4. Universities and placement sites provide flexible placement options
5. Universities, together with their placement partners, take a whole-of-degree approach to inclusive WIL.
6. That federal and state governments, universities, and placement sites resource WIL to ensure inclusive, high-quality experiences.
7. Educators, students and other stakeholders sustain their advocacy for placement inclusion.