Graduate Diploma of Mental Health
PostgraduateUND-MHA-GDI2025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Extend your care for patients with mental illness
Build on your practice and studies to progress your career in mental health environments. Adopt contemporary strategies to communicate with patients. Respond to their needs with your advanced knowledge of psychiatric treatments and care options.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Applications close
- 2 Feb 2025,
- 6 July 2025
- Credit available
- Yes
- Duration
- 1 year full time or part time equivalent
- Total subjects
- 8
- Available loans
- Australian Higher Education Loan Program (HELP)
Graduate Diploma of Mental Health
About this degree
On completion of this program students should be able to achieve the following learning outcomes:
- Consolidate and synthesise advanced practice knowledge, skills and competencies that enhance capacity to provide holistic nursing care for the patient with mental illness;
- Critique national and international models of care for mentally ill patient, including support and aftercare in the community, to the current healthcare context;
- Employ clinical reasoning and decision making strategies that enhance organisational capability and responsiveness in the mental health environment;
- Communicate with influence and negotiate effectively with mentally ill people and their families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds;
- Model professional behaviours to colleagues and students that provide patients with culturally appropriate and socially just care within a medico-legal framework;
- Establish a mechanism for lifelong learning by reflecting on practice to apply and build professional expertise;
- Steer and implement change by conducting national and international research retrieval and enquiry that incorporates philosophical, technical and social justice perspectives on healthcare.
The Graduate Diploma of Mental Health offers the mental health practitioner a logical progression from the existing Graduate Certificate along a pathway to a higher qualification. Multidisciplinary students are expected to improve practice within their sphere of work, become highly skilled advanced practitioners within their discipline areas and have greater leadership abilities within their field. The blended learning activities will provide a number of different contemporary strategies to provide support to patients in their recovery and the promotion of prevention strategies and responds to wider concepts of health service leadership and management.
Recommended study pattern
Five compulsory subjects:
- NURS4024 Contemporary Mental Health Practice
- NURS4025 Interpersonal Communication
- NURS4027 Role of the Mental Health Practitioner in Acute Psychiatry
- NURS5004 Advanced Contemporary Mental Health Practice 1
- NURS5005 Advanced Contemporary Mental Health Practice 2
One Core Curriculum Subject:
- PHIL6020 Ethical Issues for Professional Life
Two elective subjects chosen from the following options:
- NURS5006 Professional Role Development
- NURS6007 Introduction to Perinatal and Infant Mental Health
- NURS5017 Reflective Practice in Health
Award requirements
To be eligible for the award of Graduate Diploma of Mental Health students must complete a minimum of 200 Units of Credit chosen from the courses listed in Recommended Study Pattern comprising:
- 25 Units of Credit from one (1) Core Curriculum subject
- 125 Units of Credit from five (5) compulsory subjects
- 50 Units of Credit from two (2) elective subjects
Exit points
Graduate Certificate in Mental Health Nursing and Allied Health
Degrees are usually made up of core subjects and electives. Some degrees include a choice of majors, so you can focus your studies on a specialisation.
This list is a general overview. Download the full Degree Guide for more information.
Open Universities Australia is a not-for-profit organisation. You will not pay any fees for using our services.
Indicative total fee $23,909
The amount shown here is indicative for an Australian citizen studying full-time, which is typically 8 subjects per year.
Fees may vary depending on:
- the subjects you choose
- credit from previous work experience
- your eligibility for government funding loans or subsidies such as HECS-HELP or a Commonwealth supported place.
To learn more, go to Fees or contact a student advisor.
The University of Notre Dame Australia is committed to delivering an excellent student experience, alongside a high standard of teaching, research, and training. As a leader in ethical education, Notre Dame aims to develop students’ critical reasoning and their ability to make ethical decisions—crucial skills to progressing their careers and leading purposeful lives. At Notre Dame, students navigate their future with an ethical education online.
Learn more about UNDA.
Explore UNDA courses.
- QS Ranking 2024:
- 37
Entry requirements
To be eligible for admission to the Graduate Diploma of Mental Health applicants must hold a recognised Bachelor Degree in Nursing, and must have a current licence to practise as a registered nurse, or practitioner with an Australian regulatory authority or full membership of an appropriate Australian or Professional organisation.
Defined as the successful completion of secondary education or a Bachelor’s degree in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada or the Republic of Ireland.
Students who have English as an Additional language and are admitted on the basis of an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) assessment, or an equivalent English language proficiency assessment, are only admitted if they have attained n overall IELTS (or equivalent) score of 7.0, with no individual band score below 7.0.
All English language tests are valid for two years from the date of completion
Applications for Advanced Standing and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) will be considered and reviewed on a case by case basis by UNDA's Student Administration.
Career opportunities
The Graduate Diploma of Mental Health Nursing is designed for Registered Nurses who are already practising in the speciality area of Mental Health and want to upskill or take their career to the next level. It is also suited to those nurses who want to move into the field of Mental Health Nursing. The program has been developed by experts in the field and successful completion of this diploma allows graduates to specialise as a Mental Health Nurse in Australia.
Professional recognition
The Graduate Diploma of Mental Health Nursing is not ANMAC accredited. University of Notre Dame PG Graduates are industry recognised through specific salary structures.
Australian job snapshots
Data sourced from Australian Jobs 2023.
Role | Earnings | Employment change |
|---|---|---|
Health and Welfare Services Managers | Over $120K | Up 56.6% |
Nurse Managers | Over $120K | Up 19.9% |
Registered Nurses | $93K to $120K | Up 16.3% |
Registered Nurses (Mental Health) | $93K to $120K | N/A^ |
^ There is no data available
Degree FAQs
How long does it take to finish an online degree?
That's up to you! Because we let you choose when to study online, you can actually pick up and pause study when it suits you. Many universities have a set time you need to complete your degree within. For some this is up to 10 years, and for others there is no limit.
There are some degrees that are stricter about when you can take breaks, and about how many years you can take to complete your degree. Please always check with your uni what the limits are.
As a general guide, Commonwealth supported place students have 10 years to finish their undergraduate degree through OUA, However, if you're studying with Griffith University, there's a limit of 8 years to complete your studies. If you want to take a break that lasts more than two study terms, you'll need to apply for a leave of absence. You can apply for a leave of absence for up to 12 months, as long as you complete your studies within the maximum time allowed for your degree.
If you're studying with Macquarie University, with the exception of certain degrees, there's no limit to how long you can take. But, please check with Macquarie Student Administration to be sure.
If you're studying with the University of Adelaide, you have up to 9 years to complete your undergraduate degree and graduate.
If you're studying with La Trobe University and want to take a break of minimum 1 study term, you must apply for leave of absence to avoid being inadvertently withdrawn from your degree.
Through OUA, you can study all year round, so it's possible to fast-track and finish up sooner than studying at a traditional uni would allow. That said, you need to spend around 12 hours a week on each undergraduate subject you do, so taking on extra work to finish ahead of time can be challenging.
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You may be eligible for a HELP loan from the Australian government, depending on your citizenship status and where you'll be living during your studies. You can also pay upfront with your credit card.
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