CHC81315 is the nationally recognised Graduate Certificate in Career Development Practice. It prepares you for work as a careers counsellor. It has been the current version on the national register since 2015, when it replaced CHC70308. Employers posted about 424 careers counsellor jobs in June 2026, down 18.1% on a year earlier.
The signals behind the Graduate Certificate in Career Development Practice are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Careers counsellors are in national shortage and employment is projected to grow through 2035. Job ads in June 2026 were down 18.1% on a year earlier and enrolments are falling. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Employers are posting fewer careers counsellor jobs than a year ago. About 424 careers counsellor jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 18.1% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 5,600 job ads, while 270 people were training in the qualification nationally (2025). Ads show the market. Enrolments show the pipeline. Neither is a job promise.
Australia's official shortage list rates rehabilitation counsellors as in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Rehabilitation Counsellor as in national shortage; Careers Counsellor, Drug and Alcohol Counsellor, Family and Marriage Counsellor, Student Counsellor and Counsellors nec as not in shortage.
Careers counsellor jobs are projected to keep growing strongly. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 34,045 workers in May 2025, 38,465 by May 2030 (up 13%) and 42,000 by May 2035 (up 23.4%).
Fewer people are enrolling in the Graduate Certificate in Career Development Practice than a year ago. Across Australia, 315 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 270, down 14.3% in a year.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for CHC81315 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.
The Graduate Certificate in Career Development Practice is 7 units: 5 core, plus 2 electives chosen from 9 options on the register.
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 CHC81315 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 2721) 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. Funding rows appear only after verification against the official state program list. Source vintages: employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; register training.gov.au, synced 14 September 2026; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.