This paper provides a history of the Western Region Student Unit which operated for more than a decade, from 1982 to 1993 in the Western suburbs of Melbourne. Its significance lies in the way it opened up a broad range of field education options, provided a vehicle for different social work schools to work collaboratively and built a strong relationship between schools and the field. In this period of limited resources, and for some schools, increased difficulty in finding field placements, it offers insight into how to increase field education opportunities by using a community development and trading approach in the search for placements.