Diploma of Accounting

The Diploma of Accounting is a one-year qualification for people who want practical accounting skills and a recognised Australian credential. It sits at the diploma level on the Australian Qualifications Framework, below a bachelor degree, and is delivered over two semesters of full-time study. You will study units of account, each worth a set number of credit points, covering the core of bookkeeping and financial reporting: processing transactions, preparing journals and ledgers, reconciling bank statements, completing BAS and other compliance lodgements, and producing financial statements for small and medium businesses. Alongside the numbers, you will learn the software that accounting workplaces actually run on, and the tax and legal rules that sit behind everyday accounting work.

Assessment is competency-based. You show you can do the task, not just describe it. That means working through simulated business scenarios, completing sets of accounts from source documents, and being assessed on your accuracy and your ability to explain what you have done. Many providers build in a work placement or a simulated office environment so you finish with something closer to real workplace experience. If you continue to a bachelor degree afterwards, you may receive credit for units you have completed, which shortens the degree. Credit is granted unit by unit and depends on the receiving institution, so check before you enrol.

Graduates come out able to keep a full set of books for a small business, prepare financial reports, lodge business activity statements, and use accounting software confidently. You also build the softer side: explaining financial information to people who are not accountants, working to deadlines, and keeping records that stand up to scrutiny. These are the skills employers ask for in bookkeeping and accounts roles, and they are the same skills that make the first year of a degree easier.

This diploma suits school leavers who want a fast route into accounting work, career changers moving into finance or bookkeeping, and people already working in a business who need formal recognition of what they do. It also works as a pathway qualification. If you are an international student, you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while you study, and after you finish you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream. English requirements for international applicants are set out on the official page, and 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 110514C. Confirm all details, including intake dates and credit arrangements, on the official page before applying.

• Accounts clerk or bookkeeper, keeping day-to-day records, reconciling accounts and preparing reports for small and medium businesses across Australia.
• Accounts payable or receivable officer, managing invoices, payments and debtor follow-up in commercial and government organisations.
• Payroll officer, processing wages, superannuation and leave entitlements under Australian workplace rules.
• Assistant accountant, supporting qualified accountants with month-end processes, journals and financial statements.
• BAS agent or tax preparer, preparing business activity statements and tax returns for individuals and small businesses, subject to registration requirements.
• Accounting practice administrator, working in an Australian accounting firm handling client records, lodgements and correspondence.