Advanced Diploma of Business

The Advanced Diploma of Business is a one-year qualification for people who want a practical grounding in how organisations run. You study the areas that show up in almost every business role: managing finances, leading teams, developing marketing plans, managing risk, and building business relationships. Assessment is competency-based, meaning you are graded on whether you can actually perform the tasks to industry standard, not on a curve against your classmates.

How the course is structured

Australian vocational qualifications are built from units of competency, each carrying credit points. The Advanced Diploma of Business sits at the diploma/advanced diploma level of the Australian Qualifications Framework. Delivery is typically face-to-face over two or three study periods across the year, with each unit assessed through a mix of assignments, case studies, projects and practical tasks. ALTEC College delivers this course to international students under CRICOS course code 107013F, and the tuition fee is published on the CRICOS register.

Some units include work-integrated learning, where you apply your skills in a real or simulated workplace. That might mean preparing a budget for a small business, running a team meeting, or writing a marketing plan for an actual product. These tasks are the closest thing to a capstone in a vocational qualification, they pull together the skills from several units into one piece of work.

What you actually learn

By the end, you should be able to read a profit and loss statement and know what it is telling you, manage a project from brief to handover, recruit and induct staff, and put together a business plan that stands up to scrutiny. You will also practise the written and verbal communication that Australian workplaces expect, emails that get to the point, meetings that finish on time, and reports that a manager can act on.

Who it suits

This course suits several groups. School leavers who want a job-ready qualification without a three-year degree. People already working in administration, retail or hospitality who want to move into a supervisory or coordinator role. And international students who want an Australian qualification and a pathway into further study, an advanced diploma can often lead into a bachelor degree with credit for some units, though you need to check the specific pathway with the receiving institution.

If you are an international student, you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session. After you finish, you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream, which lets you stay and work in Australia for a period that depends on your qualification and circumstances. English requirements for entry are set by the college; IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the common standard for courses at this level, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and the college's own English programmes accepted as equivalents. The Department of Home Affairs sets a separate English threshold for the Student visa itself. Confirm all details on the official page before you apply.

• Administration manager, overseeing office operations, budgets and staff in sectors like health, education, government and professional services.
• Business development officer, identifying new clients and markets for firms in finance, property, manufacturing and business services.
• Team leader or supervisor, managing a small team in retail, hospitality, logistics or customer service.
• Project coordinator, supporting project managers in construction, IT, events and government.
• Executive assistant, providing high-level administrative support to senior managers across all industries.
• Small business owner or operator, running your own venture with a better grip on finance, marketing and compliance.