Advanced Diploma of Business

The Advanced Diploma of Business is a practical, one-year qualification for people who want to work in business administration or move into a supervisory role. It is delivered over 44 weeks by the Melbourne College of Hair and Beauty and the Melbourne College of Training & Assessment. The course covers the core of running a business: managing budgets and financial plans, leading teams, developing marketing plans, managing recruitment, and putting together business plans and risk management strategies. You will spend your time on case studies, group projects and written assessments rather than exams, because the point is to build skills you can use in an office from day one.

This is a vocational qualification, not a university degree. It sits at the diploma level of the Australian Qualifications Framework, below a bachelor degree, which normally takes three years. The course is made up of units of competency, each with a set number of credit points, and you need to complete all of them to graduate. There is no research thesis or major capstone project at this level. Assessment is competency-based: you either demonstrate the skill or you don't, and you can be reassessed if you need more time. Work-integrated learning is built into some units, where you might work on a simulated business scenario or a real project for a local organisation.

You will finish with a set of skills that employers in small and medium businesses ask for: how to read a profit and loss statement, how to roster staff, how to write a marketing plan, and how to keep a project on track. The course suits people who are already working in administration and want a formal qualification, school leavers who want a faster path into the workforce than a degree, and international students who need an Australian qualification to apply for a post-study work visa. The Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream is available to eligible graduates of Australian qualifications, and while you study, your visa lets you work up to 48 hours per fortnight. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register, and you should check the official course page for current fees, intake dates and English requirements. International applicants generally need IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall, though the Department of Home Affairs sets its own English threshold for the student visa.

• Business administrator or office manager in small and medium enterprises
• Team leader or supervisor in retail, hospitality or professional services
• Executive assistant or personal assistant to senior managers
• Accounts clerk or payroll officer
• Marketing coordinator or sales support officer
• Project support officer in construction, health or government
• Customer service manager in banking, insurance or telecommunications

These roles are found across most Australian industries, including retail, health care, construction, professional services, government and not-for-profit organisations.