Diploma of Leisure and Health

The Diploma of Leisure and Health at Canberra College of Management and Technology prepares you for work in community services, aged care, disability support and recreation programmes. You study how to plan and run activities that improve people's wellbeing, how to assess client needs, how to work safely with people who have complex needs, and how to link people to community resources. The course sits in the social work subject area, so you learn the ethical and legal side of care work too, duty of care, privacy, mandatory reporting, and how to work within the National Disability Insurance Scheme and aged care frameworks.

How the qualification is structured

This is a two-year diploma. Australian diplomas are made up of units of study, each carrying credit points, delivered across semesters or trimesters. You complete core units in leisure and health programming, client assessment, communication, workplace safety and legal compliance, then choose electives that suit the setting you want to work in. Assessment is mostly practical, you plan activities, run them, write reports and reflect on what worked. Most diplomas include a work placement or professional experience component, and this one sits in a field where placement is standard, so expect supervised hours in a community centre, aged care home, disability service or council recreation programme. Confirm the exact unit list, placement hours and delivery schedule on the official course page.

What you actually learn

You learn to design programmes that match what clients can do and want to do. That means running a gardening group for older residents, setting up a social club for adults with disability, organising holiday activities for young people, or supporting someone to join a local sports team. You practise writing care plans, keeping records, managing behaviour, responding to incidents, and talking with families and other professionals. You also learn the business side, budgeting an activity, sourcing equipment, and reporting to funding bodies. By the end, you can work fairly independently with clients and supervise volunteers or small teams.

Who it suits

This diploma suits people who want to work directly with others rather than in an office, and who are comfortable with the physical and emotional demands of care work. It is a good fit if you are already volunteering or working in aged care, disability or youth services and want a formal qualification to move into a coordinator or team leader role. It also works as a pathway into further study, many graduates go on to a bachelor degree in social work, community services or health science, often with credit for the units they have completed. International students should check the English requirement carefully: social work sits in the group where institutions commonly ask for IELTS 7.0–7.5, higher than the general 6.0–6.5 standard, so confirm the exact score for this course before applying. The Student visa also has its own English threshold set by the Department of Home Affairs, separate from the college's requirement. While studying, a student visa generally allows 48 hours of work per fortnight, 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 112994K, check there and on the college's official page for current fees, intake dates and entry requirements.

• Leisure and health officer, plan and run activity programmes in aged care homes, community health centres and local councils.
• Activities coordinator, lead recreation and social programmes for residents or clients, manage budgets and supervise support staff.
• Disability support worker, assist people with disability to take part in community, recreation and social activities, often under the NDIS.
• Aged care activity assistant, deliver individual and group programmes that keep older people engaged and connected.
• Community development assistant, support local government and not-for-profit organisations to run inclusive community events and programmes.
• Youth support worker, run recreation and life-skills activities for young people in schools, councils and youth services.

These roles are found across Australia in aged care providers, disability services, local councils, community health organisations, hospitals, retirement villages and not-for-profit agencies. The diploma also gives you a pathway into bachelor degrees in social work, community services or health science, where prior study may count towards your new qualification.