Overview
This unit will give you an introduction to the field of environmental health and the practices currently in use to manage large-scale public health initiatives in areas like water quality, solid waste management, air pollution, food safety, and management of hazardous materials. The unit also covers health impacts from the natural environment, such as vector control and control of zoonoses. Additionally, you will gain familiarity with the laws and regulations that apply in maintaining a healthy living environment at the population level and come to understand the role of governments at various levels in ensuring the public’s health and safety.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
- Critically evaluate the Public Health regulatory context and integrate this understanding into environmental health activities at the population level
- Critically apply a systems approach to Environmental Health issues to identify, evaluate, and manage risks at the population level
- Apply Environmental Health knowledge and practice to critically analyse and address population-level health challenges
- Identify and critically assess actual and potential Environmental Health problems to evaluate and manage associated risks at the population level.
Not applicable.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Case Study - 50% | ||||
| 2 - Report - 50% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Knowledge | ||||
| 2 - Communication | ||||
| 3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills | ||||
| 4 - Research | ||||
| 5 - Self-management | ||||
| 6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility | ||||
| 7 - Leadership | ||||
| 8 - First Nations Knowledges | ||||
| 9 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing styles below:
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
l.bricknell@cqu.edu.au
Week 1
Begin Date: 13 Jul 2026Module/Topic
Introduction to Environmental Health- a systems approach
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 2
Begin Date: 20 Jul 2026Module/Topic
Environmental determinants of health- air quality
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 3
Begin Date: 27 Jul 2026Module/Topic
Environmental determinants of health- water quality & sanitation
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 4
Begin Date: 03 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Environmental determinants of health- food safety
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 5
Begin Date: 10 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Environmental determinants of health- disease vectors
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Case Studies (Part A) Due: Week 5 Friday (14 Aug 2026) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 6
Begin Date: 17 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Environmental determinants of health- waste management
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation week
Begin Date: 24 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 7
Begin Date: 31 Aug 2026Module/Topic
Evidence based risk management
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 8
Begin Date: 07 Sep 2026Module/Topic
Environmental Health regulation
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Case Studies (Part B) Due: Week 8 Friday (11 Sep 2026) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 9
Begin Date: 14 Sep 2026Module/Topic
Environmental Health Policy
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 10
Begin Date: 21 Sep 2026Module/Topic
Solving environmental health challenges at the population level
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 11
Begin Date: 28 Sep 2026Module/Topic
Solving environmental health challenges at the population level
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Week 12
Begin Date: 05 Oct 2026Module/Topic
Solving environmental health challenges at the population level
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Exam Week
Begin Date: 12 Oct 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Vacation/Exam Week
Begin Date: 19 Oct 2026Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
This unit is delivered in flipped classroom mode, with learning materials provided via the Moodle site with opportunities for active learning being provided in tutorials. Students are expected to engage with the learning materials independently before attending tutorials.
Students enrolled on an International Student Visa must attend a minimum of 80% of scheduled face-to-face tutorials on-campus at Melbourne. The tutorials are not compulsory for domestic students, however you are strongly encouraged to attend and participate in the online tutorials provided for you. Tutorials provide a structured opportunity to explore, discuss and clarify unit concepts, learning activities, and assessment tasks. Generally speaking, the tutorials will tend to focus on opportunities to consolidate understanding of unit learning material, apply unit concepts to practical examples, develop assessment and otherwise support learning.
1 Case Study
A series of four (4) environmental health case studies relating to the environmental determinants of health will be provided on Moodle. Write a short analysis of each case study, identifying the root cause and contributing factors that caused the problem. Explain your process for arriving at these factors and provide recommendations to ensure the issue does not happen again. Use appropriate evidence from the literature to support your ideas.
Part A: One case study, due in Week 5 (25%)
Part B: Three case studies, due in Week 8 (75%)
Word limit: 1000 words per case study, not including references (±10%)
Level of GenAI use allowed:
Level 1: You must not use Al at any point during the assessment. You must demonstrate your core skills and knowledge.
Part A due Week 5, Friday 5:00 PM; Part B due Week 8, Friday 5:00 PM
Part A will be returned by Friday, Week 7; Part B will be returned by Friday, Week 10.
This assessment task will be graded according to the following criteria. A more detailed marking rubric will be provided on Moodle.
- Relevance (35%)
- Validity (45%)
- Organisation (10%)
- Presentation (10%)
- Critically apply a systems approach to Environmental Health issues to identify, evaluate, and manage risks at the population level
- Identify and critically assess actual and potential Environmental Health problems to evaluate and manage associated risks at the population level.
2 Report
Background
A policy brief is a concise, focused document that presents a specific issue, outlines relevant evidence, and offers actionable recommendations for policymakers or stakeholders. It is designed to inform decision-making in a clear, accessible, and persuasive way. Environmental health is a complex trans-discipline and environmental health issues usually require a range of approaches to address them comprehensively. A policy brief can assist policymakers to understand the complex way in which a range of factors can interact.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (genAI) is a powerful tool that can be used to assist public health professionals in preparing such documents, but it is very important to learn how to combine your own knowledge of the subject with the power of the system to use it effectively and with integrity. In this assessment task, you will use generative AI to assist in the development of a policy brief for an environmental health issue.
Task Details
Part A: Use Google Notebook LM to generate a draft policy brief on an environmental health issue (a list will be provided on Moodle). Attach a screenshot or copy/paste of your prompts to show how you directed Notebook LM to develop the brief to show how you have critically reflected on the set topic.
Part B: Using evidence from the unit material and the academic literature, critically review Notebook LM's output and provide recommendations for how it could be improved.
Part C: Revise the improved policy brief, according to your recommendations. If you use Notebook LM to refine your brief, attach a screenshot or copy/paste of your prompts to show how you directed Notebook to achieve this.
Word count: 4000 words, excluding references and prompts (± 10%)
Use of generative Artificial Intelligence (genAI)
As with any University assignment, when you have used genAI, you MUST identify which tool you used and how it was used. Include an Acknowledgement of genAI use for EACH part of this assessment task.
Part A
- Level 4: You may use Al extensively throughout your work, as specifically directed in your assessment. Focus on directing Al to achieve your goals while demonstrating your critical thinking.
Part B
- Level 1: You must not use Al at any point when writing your critique. You must demonstrate your own individual thinking and reflection.
Part C
- Level 3: You may use AI to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text and refining your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use.
Week 12 Monday (5 Oct 2026) 5:00 pm AEST
Prior to Certification of Grades
This assessment task will be graded according to the following criteria. A more detailed assessment rubric will be provided on Moodle.
- Relevance (30%)
- Validity (50%)
- Organisation (10%)
- Presentation (10%)
- Critically evaluate the Public Health regulatory context and integrate this understanding into environmental health activities at the population level
- Apply Environmental Health knowledge and practice to critically analyse and address population-level health challenges
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
