Advanced Diploma of Agribusiness Management

The Advanced Diploma of Agribusiness Management is a one-year qualification for people who want to run the business side of a farming or agricultural enterprise. You study how agricultural production meets finance, marketing, staffing and compliance. Typical units cover farm business planning, commodity marketing, rural finance and budgeting, agribusiness supply chains, work health and safety, and the legal and environmental rules that apply to land use. Assessment is practical: you build budgets, analyse a farm's books, write a marketing plan for a product, and work through a case study of an agribusiness facing a real decision. The course is delivered by Viva Institute Pty Ltd under CRICOS course code 119762C.

How the qualification is structured

Australian qualifications sit on the Australian Qualifications Framework. This is an advanced diploma, which sits above a certificate IV and below a bachelor degree, and it is normally delivered over one year of full-time study. Providers usually split the year into two or three study periods, and you enrol in units of study that each carry credit points. There is no honours year at this level and no research thesis. Some providers build in a work placement or industry project, so ask Viva Institute directly whether placement hours form part of your units. If you later want to move into a bachelor degree, credit for your completed units is assessed under the institution's credit transfer policy.

Skills you come away with

You learn to read a balance sheet and a cash flow statement and explain what they mean for a farm. You learn how to price a commodity, hedge against a bad season, and negotiate with buyers and suppliers. You learn to manage staff, contractors and seasonal workers, and to keep records that satisfy auditors and regulators. You also practise the communication side of the job: writing a loan application, presenting a business case to a bank, and explaining a compliance issue to a team. These are the skills that agricultural businesses in Australia hire for, whether the operation is broadacre cropping in the wheatbelt, a dairy in Gippsland, horticulture in the Riverland, or a supply chain business in a regional town.

Who this suits

This course suits people already working on a farm or in an agricultural business who want to move into management, and people from outside agriculture who want to enter it with a business grounding. It also suits family farm successors who will one day take over the books. If you are an international student, you will need to meet the English requirement set by the provider, and you should check the Department of Home Affairs threshold for the Student visa separately. While studying, a student visa generally allows 48 hours of work per fortnight. After graduating, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream may be available depending on your circumstances. Confirm all details, including tuition, on the official CRICOS register and with Viva Institute.

• Farm business manager, running the day-to-day operations and finances of a cropping, livestock, dairy or horticultural enterprise.
• Agribusiness operations coordinator, coordinating production schedules, contractors and logistics for a farming business or cooperative.
• Commodity marketing officer, selling grain, livestock, wool, horticulture or dairy products into domestic and export markets.
• Rural finance officer, assessing loans and seasonal finance for agricultural clients at a bank or rural lender.
• Supply chain coordinator, moving agricultural inputs and produce through storage, transport and processing.
• Farm safety and compliance officer, keeping work health and safety, chemical use and environmental records in order.
• Agricultural sales representative, selling seed, fertiliser, machinery or agtech to farming clients.
• Station or property supervisor, managing staff, contractors and infrastructure on a large rural property.

These roles sit across Australian agriculture, food processing, rural finance, agricultural retail and agtech, and in the regional towns that service them.