What is Informed Choices?
Informed Choices helps you make confident decisions about your course selection by understanding the available options, risks and benefits. We encourage you to connect with AccessAbility Services early to have a conversation and explore more options suitible for your individual circumstances and needs.
At Swinburne, we aim to support:
- informed decision making
- self-advocacy support
- clear communication of expectations
- reasonable adjustments aligned to your needs.
The five Informed Choices areas
Information provided for each course is catergorised under five key areas to help you understand what's involved in your course and support you to feel prepared to participate and succeed in your studies.
These five areas are:
- Sensory
- Mobility and movement
- Legal, duty of care and professional
- Learning and knowledge creation
- Interpersonal.
Our Informed Choices principles
Our approach to Informed Choices is shaped by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Article 3 and industry leading principles for inclusion and accessibility.
Swinburne focuses on supporting your individual circumstances wherever possible along with suppoirting capability development to enable greater participation and success for all students.
Swinburne's principles of Informed Choices are:
Avoid assumptions
We assume people have the capacity to make decisions (unless there is evidence to the contrary)
Practice
We allow people to build their decision-making skills
Information
We offer comprehensive, easy-to-understand content about different services, providers, and/or options
Respect values
We ensure that choices are consistent with the person's own values and preferences
Allow time
We give people sufficient time to process information and consider their options withour pressure
Support
We provide connections to support decision-making
Use accessible formats
We present information in ways clear to the person
Understanding course requirements
The information provided for each course highlights the skills, knowledge and activities that may be involved in your studies. Understanding these requirements can help you make an informed decision about whether a course aligns with your goals, strengths and circumstances.
Course requirements are grouped into two categories:
REQUIRED COMPONENTS:
Areas where there is limited flexibility for reasonable adjustments.
ADAPTABLE COMPONENTS:
Areas where reasonable adjustments can often be considered to support participation.
Reviewing this information can help you identify questions to discuss with AccessAbility Services and better understand the support that may be available to you.
Both required and adaptable components reflect the core skills, knowledge and standards needed to meet learning outcomes, pracitce safely in professinal settings and succeed in your studies.
Reading about what occurs in courses, helps you to have a conversation with AccessAbility Services staff to challenge existing assumptions and discuss what might be possible for your circumstances, or to consider courses which better suit your circumstances.
Required components
Required components are functions and attributes of a course where there is limited flexibility for reasonable adjustments to be supported.
Understanding upfront how the required components are applied in the course via the example activities listed on the entry requirements page helps you make informed choices about your course and whether it aligns with your goals, strengths and circumstances.
Adaptable components
Adaptable components are elements of a course where it is likely that reasonable adjustments can be supported.
Adjustments may apply to how tasks are performed, how environments are accessed, or how learning is demonstrated to ensure participation.
Understanding adaptable components can help to Identity where support may be avallable and how to engage in a course in a way that works for you and your circumstances.
Reasonable adjustments
Swinburne is committed to making reasonable adjustments to teaching, learning assessment and placement activities to enable students to participate in the course.
While reasonable adjustments can support you to succeed in your studies, they cannot fundamentally change the nature of a required component.
If you think you may experience challenges in demonstrating these components for any reason, including a disability, medical or mental health condition, you are encouraged to contact AccessAbility Services to discuss support and reasonable adjustments, which can be documented in an Education Access Plan.
Applying Informed Choices throughout your course
Where Informed Choices information applies
The Informed Choices information for each course currently relates to compulsory and core units only, which are units every student in the course is required to do to achieve course completion.
Further investigation of possible adjustments and support is required when choosing a major or elective units of study. AccessAbility Services and your educators are available to assist with these decisions.
Work Integrated Learning industry experiences
During industry experiences you will be observed and assessed on developing the knowledge, approaches, and wellbeing needed for safe and effective participation in learning and future professional practice.
Throughout your course, including simulations and industry placements, you will be supported to work towards relevant professional standards. In these settings, university staff and placement supervisors provide feedback and make informed judgements about readiness for different aspects of practice.
Swinburne will support you to develop your skills and succeed in your studies by monitoring your progress in work-based settings and connecting you with academic and industry supervisors who will provide feedback and guidance.
Support available
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AccessAbility services
At Swinburne, we offer an inclusive and welcoming environment for people living with a disability, medical condition, mental illness or with primary carer responsibilities.
Title: Introducing Informed Choices
Creator: Swinburne University of Technology
Year: 2026
LAURA-ANNE BULL: At Swinburne, we believe every student should be empowered to shape their academic journey with clarity and confidence. That's why we're strengthening our commitment to inclusive, transparent, and student-centred course design, ensuring all students, can make informed decisions regardless of their background, circumstances, or access needs.
The Informed Choices project is designed to support this understanding. The project is a key step towards helping students, make informed choices, improve access to WiL opportunities and reinforce our commitment to inclusive education.
We want our students, to have the confidence that their course is the right fit for them. Together we're building a more transparent and supportive learning environment, one that prepares students, not just for study but for life.
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