Information for Organisations

If your organisation would like to host an intern in an upcoming round, you can express your interest by contacting the McCusker Centre. A signed Student Service Learning Agreement is required to set up the partnership between your organisation and the McCusker Centre for Citizenship. Once this is completed, you will be able to create and submit role description(s). This is done through an online form, for which you will receive a unique URL to access. The Internships Adviser can support you in designing roles and answering any questions you may have at this point. The process from here follows:

• Once approved, Role Descriptions are added to our website for students to view.
• Students apply for the program (not individual roles) until the application deadline for the round and these applications are then assessed.
• Successful student applicants will be carefully matched to the roles available in the internship round; this process takes into account the strengths, experience and interests of each student as well as the specific needs of each organisation and their intern roles.
• Once a student intern has been matched to your organisation’s role(s), an email introduction will be made between the intern and supervisor prompting you to have a first meeting. This meeting may be conducted as informally, or formally, as you like; it may be a get-to-know-you chat, a panel interview or a phone call. Discuss the project in detail, outline an indicative schedule of the 100 hours and complete the Student Deed Poll and return to the intern.
• Students are required to complete the Introduction to Active Citizenship session, Aboriginal Cultural Awareness session, and UWA Pre-Placement Requirements in the first week of their internship, after which they can begin their 100 hours of service with their host organisation.

For more details, please refer to the Internship Guide for Organisations in the 'Resources' section below.

These online resources have been created to assist our partners with hosting a McCusker Centre for Citizenship intern and can be downloaded at any time.

Internship Guide for Organisations

This is the most comprehensive resource supporting host organisations. Supervisors of interns should read and become familiar with the guide and use the checklists provided to support successful supervision of interns.

Internship Role Development Guide

This resource has been designed to support organisations in the process of developing role descriptions. It includes context about the nature of internships, advice, examples of intern projects, and more than 10 role description samples that can be used by host organisations as a starting point.

Online Portal Instruction Guide

This resource has been designed to support host organisations in using their online portal to create role descriptions for upcoming internships. Please consult the guide and get in touch with the Centre should you need any further assistance.

Student Service Learning Placement Agreement

Organisations are required to complete and sign this agreement to partner with us. It does not obligate you to host an intern, but ensures readiness to do so.

UWA Student Placement Insurance

Our interns are covered by the current UWA insurance policy with AJG Insurance during their placements. Generic certificates of currency and further information can be found at the above link. A Certificate of Currency directly associated with an individual student can be requested by emailing internships@mccuskercentre.uwa.edu.au.

Student Deed Poll

This is a brief and informal agreement that outlines the intended commitment of the student for their internship with your organisation. Supervisors need to work through this document with the student in their first meeting.

Supervisor Evaluation

During the internship period, organisation supervisors are required to complete short evaluations of their intern’s performance. The process of receiving and learning to act upon feedback is critical to student development, as well as successful completion of the Internship Program. Written feedback is encouraged at two points in the internship – the mid-point of the internship, and upon the internship’s completion. The End of Internship Evaluation is particularly critical for the student’s unit completion. Both forms are available in the above link.

Organisation Program Survey

Help us to continue to improve and develop the internship program with your valuable feedback – it only takes two minutes!

Do you have an outstanding intern?

In response to requests from our partner organisations, The McCusker Centre for Citizenship has established the Outstanding Intern Award.

This award recognises McCusker Centre for Citizenship student interns who have significantly contributed to their host organisation and community during their internship placement. Host organisation supervisors are encouraged to nominate their outstanding interns for the award.

How to nominate

Outstanding Intern Award nominations for Winter and Semester 2, 2022 interns are currently open. If you would like to nominate your intern, please send through the nomination form below by Friday 16 December 2022.

• Download the Intern Award Nomination Form
• Email the completed application form to info@mccuskercentre.uwa.edu.au

For more information, please contact the Centre directly on + (61) 8 6488 7873.

There is a dedicated Internships Adviser at the Centre to provide assistance and support to our student interns and host organisations at any time.

Email: internships@mccuskercentre.uwa.edu.au

Phone: + (61) 8 6488 7553

What are the minimum requirements to host an intern?

Host Organisations need to provide:

• Meaningful and structured project/activities that add value to the organisation and give interns the opportunity to understand the community work that you do and individual people you serve. Our interns usually work on a significant project that requires them to develop a final piece of work near the completion of 100 hours of service: e.g. writing a comprehensive report, giving an oral presentation to key stakeholders, providing recommendations to the organisation on how to improve internal processes, etc. The main tasks detailed in the role description should not be general administrative tasks, that is, the tasks should not be what a staff member at the organisation would normally undertake. Your organisation’s portal has some templates available that can assist you in developing a meaningful role.
• A project/activity for each internship that requires a minimum of 100 hours in order for the intern to meet their academic requirements.
• An appropriate and safe work environment (including equipment and materials) to ensure that the student is embedded in the organisation, can carry out necessary tasks, and be supported to feel safe at all times.
• Regular supervision from a paid employee and opportunities for the intern to receive feedback on the work that they undertake. Interns are current students who have limited professional experience and need constant guidance and support. It is possible that the student would have some knowledge/experience using particular software but ideally, the organisation will be able to support the intern’s learning and/or provide training if required.
• Completion of basic paperwork, including signing timesheets, a short mid-internship and end-of-internship evaluation on the intern’s performance, and a brief program survey at the end of the internship period.

What level of supervision is required?

Students should be supervised at all times during the internship. It is advisable that supervisors plan to have a check-in or meeting with their intern at regular intervals throughout. Supervisors need to ensure students are provided with an induction to the organisation and work premises, as well as copies of workplace policies and procedures, (e.g. occupational health and safety, security and emergencies).

Does my organisation need to supply a computer and other equipment?

Organisations should provide students access to all facilities and amenities necessary or desirable for carrying out the internship. This may include a desk, computer, office supplies and other equipment required for their role. However, if this is not possible students may be asked to use their own personal devices. This should be discussed with the Internship Adviser and noted in the Role Description.

Are there any financial costs to organisations in hosting interns?

No. There is no cost to becoming a host organisation and internships are unpaid. Internships that require travel of any kind (including car travel within the Perth metropolitan area, regional or interstate travel) may incur costs for the host organisation; this should be discussed with the Internships Adviser in advance of hosting an intern.

Do internships need to fit into the standard teaching periods?

Yes. The McCusker Centre internships are strictly run in the rounds outlined above (see Dates & Deadlines). Internships need to take place within the dates and at the intensity (i.e. days per week) outlined.

We offer internships all year round, which includes:

• 12-week semester internships (February-May and July-October) where interns work approximately one day per week; and
• 4- or 5-week intensive internships in Summer and Winter (November-December and June-July) where interns work approximately three days per week.

How are interns matched to the roles?

Our application has been carefully designed to identify the strengths, experience and interests of each student. With this and our careful role development process, our internship matches are overwhelmingly successful.

It is important to note that we focus on service to the community, not work experience nor career progression. We take a holistic approach when matching students to roles as we look at several other factors besides their course of study: academic performance, professional and voluntary experience, interests, transferable skills, knowledge of our program and motivation to make a difference in the community. This is why in some cases, a student may be matched with a role based on their extracurricular experience and not according to their current studies, as our primary focus is service-learning and the intern demonstrates relevant competencies overall.

Is my organisation guaranteed an intern?

At the McCusker Centre for Citizenship, we do everything in our power to ensure that each internship role is filled by a suitable student applicant. However, on rare occasions we may not be able to match a suitable student. In these situations, you will be notified as soon as possible.

Can interns work from home?

Host organisations are required to provide interns a safe and suitable workspace on location at their organisation, along with the necessary equipment and materials to carry out their tasks. Our interns report that they experience greater engagement with organisations and their communities, as well as learning outcomes, when on site at their organisation. It also ensures the safety and wellbeing of interns, and reduces risks of cyber security and data confidentiality that may arise when interns work from home.

Under exceptional circumstances, the Internships Team may consider an internship role that requires an intern to work from home, for some of their 100 hours of service. It is essential that organisations talk to us about this in advance and receive approval from the Internships Team to host a partially work-from-home internship. Student interns are advised that they cannot request to work from home.

What are the insurance requirements?

Interns are covered by UWA’s student placement insurance (see Resources above or the UWA website). The interns’ enrolment ensures that this cover is automatic and does not require special documentation.

Unless otherwise agreed, organisations must maintain the following insurance cover for the duration of the internship covering the organisation and the student:

• Public liability insurance with insured limits in respect to bodily injury and property damage of at least $20,000,000 in respect of each claim and unlimited in aggregate; and
• Professional indemnity insurance in the amount of not less than $10 million.

If your organisation does not have this level of cover, please simply talk to us as this can be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Are internships compliant with Fair Work requirements?

Yes. As all the students are enrolled in an academic unit to credit the internship, our program meets the Fair Work Ombudsman requirements for unpaid internships. This also means that our international students are able to complete the internship, without concerns about visa work restrictions. To help ensure these requirements are met, internships should not include tasks that a paid employee would usually do or that is part of day-to-day operations. Read more on the Fair Work website.

Is the program restricted to Perth-based organisations?

No. The program is open to organisations throughout WA and interstate and international internships are also possible (pending travel restrictions). Internships that require a student to travel away from Perth should be planned for Summer or Winter intensive internships.

What do students get out of their internship?

Our internship program is specifically designed to foster community-minded thinkers and leaders, to inspire students to become lifelong contributors to our communities and to promote awareness about challenging social issues. Every student who undertakes our internships is enrolled in a unit, which appears on their transcript. They may or may not be taking the unit for academic credit. Our program attracts applications from a wide range of students, from first year undergraduate through to PhD candidates, from the range of disciplines offered at UWA. Our program is not a requirement of any course, which means that the students who apply are self-motivated to undertake a community internship.

What is the difference between the Student Deed Poll and the Student Service Learning Agreement?

The Student Deed Poll is a written agreement that establishes expectations of professional and ethical conduct in line with the values of the University of Western Australia and the McCusker Centre for Citizenship, as well as acknowledges attitudes and behaviours commonly encouraged in the broader professional community. It is signed for every new intern and returned to them.

The Student Service Agreement establishes a partnership between the Centre and your organisation. This does not have to be signed regularly if the expiry date is set as ‘ongoing’, which is the option we recommend. However, you can set the expiry date to be the end of the internship period, if you prefer.

Where can I find more information about previous organisations’ experiences of hosting interns?

You can read about a whole range of internship experiences, hearing from both students and organisations, in our news.

Are there are other internship programs available at UWA?

Internships of this kind are only hosted through the McCusker Centre for Citizenship, however if your organisation is interested in exploring UWA’s Work Integrated Learning programs, please visit https://www.careers.uwa.edu.au/wil/students#placement

How can I submit a role?

The McCusker Centre for Citizenship has adopted an online solution to streamline the process of creating roles for the Internship Program. This allows organisations to create (draft), edit, and submit new internship role descriptions through their own portal on the McCusker Centre website.

Please follow the steps in the Online Portal Guide to help you navigate the portal. Follow this link to the guide: https://bit.ly/3ucCJgD

To access your portal, you will need your organisation’s unique URL. If you do not know your URL, please ask by emailing internships@mccuskercentre.uwa.edu.au

Can I request an intern with specialist skills?

While we attract an incredibly diverse and skillful cohort of students to the internships program, we cannot guarantee that students will be able to match specific skill-sets, such as use of a specific software program. You may indicate something of this nature in the role description, however please be aware that it may not be possible to match a student with that exact experience.

This is also not a graduate program so our interns are current students who need constant guidance and support from their supervisors. It is possible that the student would have some knowledge/experience using particular software but ideally, the organisation will be able to support the intern’s learning and/or provide training if required.

It is important to note that due to the service-learning nature of our program, while we do our very best to match the most suitable student to the role, this does not necessarily mean they are studying a subject directly related to the tasks but have demonstrated relevant competencies overall.

What are some examples of internship roles?

Each role is developed to suit the specific needs of the host organisation and their project/s. However, to give you some ideas there are some commonly requested roles outlined in the Internship Role Development Guide.

Can my organisation host more than one intern at one time?

Yes, you are welcome to express an interest in hosting several interns. However, please consider the resourcing requirements for this, such as supervisor time, office space, and equipment.

Regional roles

These take place in intensive rounds only (Summer and Winter) as our interns are not studying and are able to travel to and stay in the regions for the whole duration of the placement. The McCusker Centre for Citizenship provides a travel bursary to our interns to cover travel expenses to get to and from the regions. Similarly, our organisations provide financial support to our interns to cover/contribute to accommodation expenses while in the region.

Some projects may require the intern to be in the region for the whole duration of the placement while some others may involve a combination of working remotely from Perth and only travelling to the region for a few days or weeks. Anything is possible and we are happy to be flexible to suit your organisation’s needs so please contact us via email internships@mccuskercentre.uwa.edu.au or phone 6488 7553 to discuss. 

What next?

• Ensure you have signed a Student Service Learning Agreement
• Familiarise yourself with the Internships Guide for Organisations
• Prepare an orientation, induction or Welcome Pack for your upcoming intern

Initial steps

• Meet intern, outline an indicative schedule of the 100 hours, sign Student Deed Poll and return to intern.
• Provide an induction, and any necessary equipment and access.
• Sign off timesheets every week.
• Provide guidance and supervision throughout the internship ensuring the intern completes their 100 hours by the due date.

What paperwork do I have to complete as a supervisor?

The intern is responsible for getting all forms sorted, as it is part of their professional experience.

1. Student Deed Poll: It is a written agreement that establishes expectations of professional and ethical conduct and acknowledges attitudes and behaviours commonly encouraged in the broader professional community. Complete, sign and return to intern in your first meeting with them.
2. Timesheets: Please sign this weekly to confirm the intern is progressing and on track to reach 100 hours of service by the due date.
3. Mid-Internship Evaluation: (only in intensive rounds: Summer and Winter) – This is an opportunity to provide written feedback to the intern on their first 50 hours. Complete, sign and return to intern.
4. End-of-Internship Evaluation: This is an opportunity to provide overall feedback to the intern on their whole placement. Complete, sign and return to intern.
5. Complete an Internship Program Survey: Please complete this when the placement has concluded.

Regular support

The Internships Team wants to ensure this is a fruitful experience for both our interns and our organisations. We will check in regularly with you to confirm you are satisfied with the work the intern is undertaking, the project is progressing, the intern is on track to finish by the due date and that you do not have any concerns.

What happens if the internship is not working well?

Very rarely, an internship might not work out – for many reasons including illness, poor performance, changing circumstances within the organisation, and so on. There are staff at the McCusker Centre who can help address any issues that arise – just get in touch as soon as you identify an issue, no matter how small.

Internship Program Survey

Please complete this at the end of the placement.

Outstanding Intern Award

You may like to consider nominating your intern for the Outstanding Intern Award. This award recognises McCusker Centre for Citizenship student interns who have significantly contributed to their host organisation and community during their internship placement. Host organisation supervisors are encouraged to nominate their outstanding interns for the award.

How to nominate

Download the Intern Award Nomination Form

Email the completed application form to info@mccuskercentre.uwa.edu.au

For more information, please contact the Centre directly on + (61) 8 6488 7873.

Who can I contact with further questions?

If you have any questions about the internship program, please contact us via email us or call 6488 7553.