Advanced Diploma of Hospitality Management

The Advanced Diploma of Hospitality Management is a two-year qualification for people who want to run hospitality operations, not just work in them. You study the things that keep a venue trading: financial management and budgeting, rostering and labour cost control, stock and purchasing, food and beverage operations, accommodation management, marketing, and the legal side of liquor licensing, food safety and workplace obligations. Alongside that you build the people skills the industry runs on, leading teams, handling complaints, managing functions and events, and dealing with suppliers.

How the qualification is structured

Australian vocational qualifications are built from units of competency, and each unit carries credit points. You complete the units set out in the training package for this qualification, with the college's course structure confirming which are core and which are electives. Delivery is typically split across study periods through the year, with a mix of classroom teaching, practical service sessions and assessment tasks based on real workplace scenarios. Assessment is competency-based: you either demonstrate the skill to the standard or you don't, and you get another attempt rather than a letter grade. Some units require you to show you can perform tasks in an actual hospitality setting, which is why work placement or current industry employment often forms part of the course.

Skills you come away with

By the end you can write and work to a budget, read a profit and loss statement, build a roster that meets wage targets, run a shift, train new staff, manage a function from enquiry to pack-down, and keep a venue compliant with health, safety and licensing rules. You also learn to deal with the parts of the job nobody enjoys, an understaffed Saturday night, a supplier who short-ships, a customer who wants a refund you can't give.

Who it suits

This suits people already working in hotels, restaurants, clubs, resorts or catering who want to move into supervisory or management roles, and school leavers who want a practical, industry-facing qualification rather than a three-year bachelor degree. It also works for international students who want an Australian qualification with a strong practical component. If you later want to go further, an advanced diploma can be a pathway into higher education study, and Australian institutions assess that entry on a case-by-case basis with credit for prior study where it applies.

Studying in Australia

Hospitality is one of the country's largest employing industries, and training is closely tied to the venues, hotels and event operations where graduates work. International students on a Student visa can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while their course is in session, which many hospitality students use to get paid experience in the same industry they're training for. After completing the qualification, graduates may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream, subject to the Department of Home Affairs requirements in force at the time. English entry is set by the college: international applicants need to evidence English proficiency, and IELTS Academic 6.0–6.5 overall is the common standard for coursework programs, with TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, Cambridge C1 Advanced and the college's own English programs accepted as equivalents. The Student visa itself has a separate English threshold set by the Department of Home Affairs. Tuition is published on the CRICOS register under course code 112608C. Check the official page for current entry requirements, intake dates, unit structure and fees before you apply.

• Duty manager or shift supervisor, running day-to-day operations in hotels, pubs, clubs, restaurants and resorts.
• Food and beverage manager, overseeing restaurant, bar and banqueting service, staffing and costs.
• Front office manager, managing reservations, reception teams and guest relations in accommodation venues.
• Functions and events coordinator, planning and delivering conferences, weddings and corporate events.
• Restaurant or venue manager, responsible for budgets, rosters, compliance and profitability.
• Housekeeping or rooms division supervisor, leading cleaning and room servicing teams in hotels and serviced apartments.
• Catering manager, running food service for hospitals, aged care, schools, airlines and contract caterers.

Employers include hotels and resort groups, hospitality and pub companies, registered clubs, event and conference venues, contract catering firms, and tourism operators across Australia's cities and regional centres. Some graduates go on to run their own small venue or catering business.