Diploma of Accounting

The Diploma of Accounting is a one-year qualification for people who want to work in bookkeeping, accounts payable and receivable, payroll or assistant accounting roles, or who want a shorter pathway into further accounting study. You learn how the Australian accounting system actually runs: processing transactions, preparing financial reports and statements, maintaining ledgers, reconciling bank accounts, handling payroll, and using accounting software the way it is used in real workplaces. There is also the compliance side, GST, PAYG, Business Activity Statements, and the record-keeping rules that sit behind them. Units are taught with a practical focus, so you are working through ledgers and software tasks rather than only reading theory.

How the qualification is structured

As a diploma, this sits at Level 5 on the Australian Qualifications Framework, below a bachelor degree and above a certificate IV. The course runs over one year of full-time study, usually delivered across two or three study periods, semesters or trimesters depending on intake, or by accelerated delivery. You complete a set of units of study, each carrying credit points, and you need to pass all required units to graduate. Assessment is typically a mix of practical tasks, software exercises, short written responses and tests, with some units assessed through a simulated workplace scenario.

Skills you build

By the end you can keep a full set of books for a small organisation, produce financial reports that meet Australian reporting requirements, calculate and lodge GST and PAYG obligations, run a payroll, and use accounting software confidently. You also pick up the habits employers look for: checking your own work, meeting lodgement deadlines, keeping records that stand up to scrutiny, and explaining financial information to people who are not accountants.

Who it suits

This suits school leavers who want a job-ready accounting qualification without committing to a three-year degree, career changers moving into finance or bookkeeping, and people already working in an accounts role who want formal recognition of what they do. If you plan to go on to a bachelor degree, a diploma can give you credit towards it, how much depends on the receiving institution, so check before you enrol. International students should confirm the English requirement, tuition and intake dates on the official course page and the CRICOS register, since published details can change.

Studying in Australia on a Student visa lets you work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session. After you finish, the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream may be available depending on your circumstances and the current rules, check the Department of Home Affairs website for your own situation. English proficiency is required for entry, and the Student visa has its own separate English threshold set by the Department of Home Affairs.

• Assistant accountant, supporting a qualified accountant with reconciliations, journals and month-end tasks in small and mid-sized firms.
• Accounts payable officer, processing supplier invoices, running payment runs and managing creditor records.
• Accounts receivable officer, invoicing customers, following up overdue accounts and reconciling debtors.
• Payroll officer, calculating wages, superannuation and PAYG withholding, and preparing payroll reports.
• Bookkeeper, keeping day-to-day records for small businesses, often in a bookkeeping practice or on a contract basis.
• BAS agent support, preparing Business Activity Statements and GST records for a registered tax agent or BAS agent.
• Financial clerk or accounts assistant, general finance administration in government, health, education, retail and construction organisations.

These roles are advertised across Australia in accounting practices, bookkeeping firms, small businesses, not-for-profits, and the finance teams of larger organisations. Some graduates use the diploma as a stepping stone into a bachelor degree in accounting, which is the usual route to professional accreditation with CPA Australia, CA ANZ or the IPA.