Diploma of Agriculture

The Diploma of Agriculture is a one-year qualification for people who want to work on the land or in the businesses that support it. You'll study the practical side of farming: how to run livestock, manage crops, handle soils and pastures, operate and maintain machinery, and keep the books straight. There's also the safety and compliance side that every Australian farm deals with, from chemical handling to workplace health and safety. The course is built around doing the work, not just reading about it, so you'll spend time in the field and in workshops as well as in a classroom.

How the course is structured

As a diploma, this sits at the middle of the Australian Qualifications Framework, above a certificate III or IV and below a bachelor degree. It's delivered over one year of full-time study, usually across two or three study periods depending on the campus. You'll complete a set of units of study, each with a credit point value, and you need to pass all the required units to graduate. TAFE NSW runs this course at regional campuses with farm facilities, so much of your learning happens on working properties rather than in a lecture theatre. Assessment is practical: you'll demonstrate skills like drafting livestock, identifying pasture species, or calibrating spray equipment.

What you'll actually learn

Core units cover livestock production, crop establishment and harvesting, soil and water management, farm machinery operation and maintenance, and farm business management. You'll also look at biosecurity, sustainable land practices, and how to plan and budget for a season. Some campuses let you specialise in a particular enterprise, such as beef, sheep, dairy, or cropping, depending on local industry. By the end you should be able to make day-to-day decisions on a farm, supervise casual workers, and talk to agronomists and advisors in their language.

Who it suits

This diploma suits school leavers who want a hands-on start in agriculture, people already working on farms who want formal recognition and a step up to supervisor or assistant manager, and career changers who want to get into farming without a three-year degree. It's also a pathway into further study: many graduates use it to enter a bachelor degree in agriculture or agribusiness with credit for the units they've completed. If you're an international student, you can work up to 48 hours per fortnight while your course is in session, and you may be eligible for the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) post-study work stream after you finish. Tuition is listed on the CRICOS register. Check the official TAFE NSW page for entry requirements, campus locations, and start dates.

• Farm hand or station hand on beef, sheep, dairy, or mixed cropping properties
• Assistant farm manager or section supervisor
• Livestock production worker or stockperson
• Cropping operator or harvest crew member
• Farm machinery operator and maintenance assistant
• Irrigation assistant or pasture improvement worker
• Agribusiness sales support or rural merchandise officer
• Biosecurity or compliance assistant on larger enterprises

These roles are found across Australian agriculture: broadacre cropping in the grain belts, livestock operations in the pastoral zones, dairy in the south-east, and horticulture near the major river systems. Employers include family farms, corporate agricultural companies, agribusiness suppliers, and rural service providers.