People come to counselling from all over: nursing, teaching, welfare work, or their own hard decade. What the job needs is trained judgement, because sitting with someone in distress without a method behind you helps nobody. Employers listed 1,663 roles across counselling and welfare support in June 2026. Counsellor advertising itself was down 18.1% from a year earlier, while projections for the same occupation run up 23.4% over the decade. Those two facts pull against each other, and the sections below work through why. The Diploma and the Cert IV below both carry national codes.
Welfare support roles took about 1,250 of the ads posted in June 2026, and they are holding close to last year's level. Counsellor jobs are the smaller and sharper story. Employers posted about 420 of those, and the count is down 18.1% from a year earlier, which is a genuine drop rather than month to month noise. Most of the 1,663 roles advertised that month sat on the welfare support side rather than in counselling proper. That shape matters if you're planning a first job, because the welfare support end is where the volume is and it's also where a lot of counsellors start.
Counsellors are the smaller occupation and the faster growing one. There are about 34,000 of them now, and the projection runs up 23.4% over the decade, which brings about 7,950 more into the field by 2035. Welfare support workers are a bigger group at about 96,500, their projection is up 11.9% over the decade, and that adds about 11,500 more people. So the monthly advertising and the long range outlook disagree at the moment, and that combination is commoner than it sounds. Advertising answers to this year's budgets. The projection answers to how many people will need this kind of help, and that number is only going one way.
Here's the part that sits oddly against the monthly count. Counsellors sit on the national shortage list for 2025, so employers report real difficulty filling those positions even while the advertising eases. Welfare support workers carry no shortage rating, and that side competes on normal terms. A rating is not a job offer. What it tells you is that employers are struggling to find qualified people, and qualified is the operative word here. The Diploma below is the level those roles are usually written around.
The register's recorded first step for these occupations is the Certificate IV in Employment Services. The code on it reads CHC41115, and 895 enrolments were recorded for 2024. That's a small qualification and it isn't a counselling one. The busiest qualification anywhere near this field is the Certificate III in Community Services, and it recorded 17,565 enrolments in 2024. That one is broad community services rather than counselling as such. Counselling proper starts further up a ladder that runs to 34 qualifications. The Diploma of Counselling below is what the job ads are usually written around. The Cert IV beside it pairs alcohol and other drugs with mental health, for the work next door to counselling.
Compare what each one covers, then enquire on the one that fits you. The provider sorts out the details with you directly.
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Are counselling jobs in demand?
It depends which measure you take. In June 2026, counsellor advertising came to about 420 roles, and it was down 18.1% from a year earlier. The same occupation is still rated in shortage nationally for 2025, and the long range projection runs up 23.4% over the decade.
Why are counsellor ads falling if there's a shortage?
Because the two measure different things. Advertising follows this year's funding and vacancies, and it was down 18.1% from a year earlier. A shortage rating reflects how hard employers found it to fill the roles they did advertise. Both can be true at once.
What qualification do I need to be a counsellor?
In practice a Diploma. The Diploma of Counselling below is the level most counselling roles are written around, and the professional associations set their own membership requirements on top of it. The Cert IV beside it covers alcohol, other drugs and mental health work.
What's the difference between the two courses here?
Scope. The Diploma of Counselling goes deep on counselling practice itself. The Cert IV pairs alcohol and other drugs with mental health, which suits community and clinical support settings. Each one carries a national code, and each one includes placement.
Can I study counselling online?
Yes, and both listings come from Open Colleges. Supervised placement happens separately from the study blocks, and those hours are usually the first real experience on your resume. The provider sets out start dates, fees and placement arrangements once you enquire. Open Colleges was still listing both in August 2026.