Diploma of Hospitality Management

The Diploma of Hospitality Management is a 24-week course that gets you ready to work in hotels, restaurants, bars, event venues and tourism operations. You study how a hospitality business actually runs: rostering and staff supervision, food and beverage service, front office and housekeeping, budgeting and stock control, workplace health and safety, and the legal side of serving alcohol and managing premises. Assessment is practical as well as written, you plan and run service periods, handle customer complaints, cost a menu, and work through the compliance paperwork that venues deal with every day.

How the qualification is structured

Australian diplomas sit at level 5 on the Australian Qualifications Framework, below a bachelor degree and above a certificate III or IV. They are made up of units of competency, each carrying credit points, and you need to pass every required unit to graduate. Delivery at this level is usually face to face or mixed, with a timetable of classes plus supervised service sessions. Epoch International College runs this course over 24 weeks, so it is a fast, focused qualification rather than a three-year degree, expect full-time study and no long summer break.

Skills you build

By the end you can supervise a shift, write a roster, train new staff, control food and beverage costs, take a booking, deal with a difficult guest without losing your cool, and keep a venue compliant with health, safety and liquor rules. You also practise the commercial side: reading a profit and loss statement, ordering stock, and working out what a dish or a room actually costs you. Communication matters as much as technique, you will deal with customers, kitchen staff, suppliers and managers, often all in the same shift.

Who it suits

This diploma suits people already working in hospitality who want to move into a supervisory or duty manager role, career changers who want a practical qualification quickly, and international students who want Australian training and a pathway into further study. If you are an international applicant, check the English requirement before you apply, IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the common coursework standard, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic and Cambridge C1 Advanced accepted as equivalents, and the Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa itself. A Student visa generally allows 48 hours of work per fortnight while your course is in session, which is useful in this industry, and graduates may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 112956E. Confirm entry requirements, start dates and fees on the official page before you apply.

• Duty manager or shift supervisor, hotels, pubs, clubs, restaurants and resorts across Australia.
• Food and beverage supervisor, restaurants, function centres, catering companies and hotel outlets.
• Front office supervisor, hotels, motels and serviced apartments.
• Housekeeping supervisor, hotels, resorts and cleaning contractors.
• Events and functions coordinator, conference venues, wineries, stadiums and event companies.
• Bar or restaurant manager, licensed venues, cafes and small hospitality groups.
• Tourism and guest services roles, tour operators, visitor centres and hospitality groups.

Employers include hotel groups, hospitality and pub chains, catering and event businesses, clubs, resorts and tourism operators. The diploma also gives you credit toward further study, such as a bachelor degree in hospitality, tourism or business management.