Diploma of Accounting

The Diploma of Accounting is a one-and-a-half-year qualification that gets you into the practical side of bookkeeping and accounting. You'll work through the accounting cycle from start to finish: recording transactions, preparing journals and ledgers, reconciling bank statements, and producing financial reports for a business. Along the way you cover Australian taxation law and how to prepare individual tax returns, payroll and superannuation obligations, budgeting and forecasting, and the software that accounting practices actually run on. You also pick up the compliance side, GST, BAS statements, and the record-keeping rules that sit behind them.

Australian diplomas are built on units of study, each with a set number of credit points, and you'll typically complete eight to twelve of them across the course. The Diploma of Accounting sits at AQF level 5, a step below a bachelor degree, which means it's shorter, more hands-on, and focused on job-ready skills rather than theory for its own sake. Most colleges run intakes across the year, with study spread over semesters or trimesters. Assessment is a mix of exams, assignments, and practical tasks like preparing a set of accounts or lodging a simulated BAS.

You'll finish with the skills to do the books for a small business, work as an accounts clerk or payroll officer, or assist a tax agent during the busy season. The diploma also gives you credit towards further study, many graduates go on to a bachelor degree and carry their units across. If you're already working in an office and want formal recognition, or you're starting out and want a qualification that gets you a job reasonably quickly, this is a sensible route. International students can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while studying, and graduates may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream, check the Department of Home Affairs for current rules.

English requirements are set at IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall for this level of study, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced, and the college's own English programmes accepted as equivalents. The Student visa has its own separate English threshold set by the Department of Home Affairs. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 110453M, confirm fees, intakes, and unit details directly with the college or on the official page.

• Accounts clerk, maintaining ledgers, processing invoices, and reconciling statements for businesses of all sizes.
• Payroll officer, running pay cycles, calculating superannuation, and handling leave and deductions.
• Bookkeeper, managing day-to-day financial records for small businesses, often on a contract or part-time basis.
• Assistant accountant, supporting qualified accountants with reporting, reconciliations, and month-end tasks.
• Tax return preparer, assisting registered tax agents during peak season, working within Australian Taxation Office requirements.
• Accounts payable/receivable officer, managing supplier payments and customer invoicing in medium and large organisations.

Industries that hire diploma-qualified accounting staff include public accounting and bookkeeping firms, small and medium businesses across retail, trades, and hospitality, government departments, not-for-profit organisations, and recruitment or labour-hire agencies placing finance staff. Many graduates work while they study and move into permanent roles with the same employer.