Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management

The Advanced Diploma of Leadership and Management is a one-year qualification for people who want to run teams, projects and business units, not just study them. It sits at the diploma level on the Australian Qualifications Framework, above a Certificate IV and below a bachelor degree. At CHOICE BUSINESS COLLEGE you cover the practical side of management: leading teams, managing budgets and financial plans, developing workplace policy, managing risk, building customer relationships, and planning and monitoring projects. Assessment is competency-based, meaning you demonstrate what you can do, often through workplace scenarios, case studies and projects rather than exams alone.

How the course is structured

Australian qualifications of this type are built from units of study, each carrying credit points. A full-time advanced diploma is usually delivered over two or three study periods, semesters or trimesters depending on the provider, and you need to complete all required units to graduate. Delivery at CHOICE BUSINESS COLLEGE is 52 weeks of full-time study, which fits the one-year duration on the CRICOS register. Your units are grouped around leading people, operational planning, financial management and workplace safety, and many providers include a capstone or applied project where you pull those skills together on a real business problem.

Skills you build

You learn to write a business plan that a manager would actually use, read a profit and loss statement, lead a team through change, and handle a difficult customer without escalating everything. Group work and presentations are common. So is work-integrated learning: many advanced diploma programmes include a placement or industry project so you spend time in an Australian workplace applying what you have covered in class. That experience is what employers ask about in interviews.

Who it suits

This course suits school leavers who want a faster, more practical route into business than a three-year degree, and people already working who need a formal qualification for a supervisor or team leader role. It also works as a pathway, some graduates use it for credit towards a bachelor degree, though you should confirm articulation arrangements 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, and the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream may be available after you finish, subject to Home Affairs requirements.

Entry is through CHOICE BUSINESS COLLEGE, and international applicants need to meet the published English requirement, IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the common standard for coursework 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. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 108281M. Check the official page for current unit lists, intake dates and fees before you apply.

• Team leader or supervisor, retail, hospitality, logistics, manufacturing and contact centres across Australia
• Office or operations manager, small and medium businesses, professional services firms and not-for-profits
• Project coordinator, construction, IT, events and government agencies
• Customer service manager, banking, insurance, telecommunications and utilities
• Business development officer, sales teams and account management roles
• Administration manager, health practices, schools, real estate agencies and community organisations
• Pathway to further study, credit towards a bachelor degree in business or management, subject to the receiving institution's rules