AHC31424 is the nationally recognised Certificate III in Conservation and Ecosystem Management. It prepares you for work as a conservation officer. It has been the current version on the national register since 2024, when it replaced AHC31421. Employers posted about 439 conservation officer jobs in June 2026, down 8.2% on a year earlier.
The independent signals behind this qualification are positive. Specifically: its main occupation is rated in national shortage and employment in its occupations is projected to grow through 2035. These are official statistics, not a promise about any individual's result.
Employers are advertising fewer of these roles than a year ago. Across Conservation Officer, about 439 jobs were advertised online in June 2026 (down 8.2% on a year earlier). Roughly 5,416 openings were advertised over the last 12 months, while 45 people enrolled in the qualification nationally in 2024. Enrolment counts people in training, not completions, so the two figures describe the pipeline and the market, not a job guarantee.
At least one occupation this qualification leads to is officially rated as in national shortage. In the 2025 Occupation Shortage List assessment, Environmental Research Scientist is rated in national shortage; Conservation Officer, Environmental Consultant, Park Ranger and Environmental Scientists nec are rated not in shortage.
Employment in these occupations is projected to grow. Government projections put them at 31,500 workers in May 2025, 34,300 by May 2030 (up 8.9%) and 36,800 by May 2035 (up 16.6%).
National enrolment data for this qualification begins in 2024: 45 people enrolled that year. There is not yet a second year to compare against.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for AHC31424 is being verified against official program lists.
Eligibility and student contributions vary by program and provider. The official state listing is the source of truth. In a subsidised place the government pays most of the tuition and you pay a co-contribution set by the program and provider.
No Get Course partner currently lists this qualification. Check the national register for organisations approved to deliver it, and remember that approval to deliver is a regulatory fact, not a recommendation. You can browse live courses from our partners and enquire today.
Browse coursesGet Course maps AHC31424 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 2343) so the mapping can be checked. Job advertisement counts come from the Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index and count online ads, not vacancies filled. Enrolment counts come from NCVER Total VET Activity and count people in training, not completions. Outcome benchmarks marked “typical” are medians computed by Get Course across all qualifications at the same level in the same NCVER collection; they are derived figures, not official NCVER benchmarks. Funding rows appear only after verification against the official state program list. Source vintages: Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; NCVER Total VET Activity 2024 collection; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; register training.gov.au, synced 20 August 2026; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; register synced 29 Aug 2026. Page last updated 30 Aug 2026.