CUA50725 is the nationally recognised Diploma of Graphic Design. It prepares you for work as a graphic designer. It has been the current version on the national register since 2025, when it replaced CUA50720. Employers posted about 405 graphic designer jobs in June 2026, down 8.8% on a year earlier.
Register data synced 18 Sept 2026 from training.gov.au
Online job ads · June 2026
405last month
Graphic designer roles advertised across Australia
Down on a year earlier
Long-term outlook
Mixed
One structural signal up; current job ads down
Register status
Current
Replaced CUA50720 in 2025
Enrolments
First year
10 enrolled in 2025, its first data year
Funding status
Verification pending
Checked against official state program lists
The short answer
The signals behind the Diploma of Graphic Design are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Employment is projected to grow through 2035. Job ads in June 2026 were down 8.8% on a year earlier and the official shortage list does not rate its occupations in shortage. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Jobs and Skills Australia
Is the work there?
Employers are posting fewer graphic designer jobs than a year ago. About 405 graphic designer jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 8.8% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 5,400 job ads, while 10 people were training in the qualification nationally (2025). Ads show the market. Enrolments show the pipeline. Neither is a job promise.
Jobs and Skills Australia, Internet Vacancy Index · latest month June 2026 · ANZSCO 2324
Combined monthly online job ads across Graphic Designer, to June 2026
Official shortage list
Australia's official shortage list rates graphic designers, illustrators, multimedia designers and web designers as not in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Graphic Designer, Illustrator, Multimedia Designer and Web Designer as not in shortage.
Jobs and Skills Australia, Occupation Shortage List · 2025 assessment
Ten year outlook
Graphic designer jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 55,688 workers in May 2025, 61,178 by May 2030 (up 9.9%) and 66,245 by May 2035 (up 19%).
55,688
workers, May 2025
61,178
workers, May 2030
66,245
workers, May 2035
Jobs and Skills Australia employment projections · May 2025 to May 2035
Occupation mapping by Get Course, shown with ANZSCO codes so it can be checked.
NCVER Total VET Activity
Who is training
National enrolment data for CUA50725 starts in 2025: 10 people enrolled that year. There is no earlier year to compare yet.
2019
not yet introduced
2020
not yet introduced
2021
not yet introduced
2022
not yet introduced
2023
not yet introduced
2024
not yet introduced
10
2025
NCVER Total VET Activity · 2025 collection
training.gov.au · Australian Qualifications Framework
What does studying it involve?
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
How long it takes
A Diploma is typically 1 to 2 years of full-time study under the Australian Qualifications Framework. Providers set the exact length and pace.
Delivery
Providers set the delivery mode.
Credit for experience
Recognition of prior learning applies to CUA50725 like any qualification on the national register: an approved provider assesses your evidence against each unit.
training.gov.au national register; Australian Qualifications Framework.
State subsidised training lists
What does it cost, and who funds it?
State funding for CUA50725 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.
Official state subsidised training program lists, verified per state. Full-fee prices will appear here as partner courses are listed.
training.gov.au · unit packaging
What is in the qualification
The register lists 9 core units for the Diploma of Graphic Design, plus 66 elective options. One unit has prerequisites, marked below.
CUAACD531Refine drawing and other visual representation tools
CUADES413Develop and extend design skills and practice
CUAGRD501Research visual communication history and theory
CUAGRD502Produce graphic designs for 2-D and 3-D applications
CUAGRD503Produce typographic design solutions
CUAGRD514Create and manipulate graphics
View all 9 core units
CUAGRD515Design and manipulate complex layouts
CUAGRD516Develop graphic design practice to meet industry needs
CUAPPR513Present a body of own creative work
View the 66 elective options
BSBCMM411Make presentations
BSBCRT412Articulate, present and debate ideas
BSBCRT413Collaborate in creative processes
BSBCRT512Originate and develop concepts
BSBESB402Establish legal and risk management requirements of new business ventures
BSBLEG525Apply legal principles in intellectual property law matters
BSBMKG437Create and optimise digital media
BSBMKG439Develop and apply knowledge of communications industry
BSBMKG546Develop social media engagement plans
BSBMKG551Create multiplatform advertisements for mass media
BSBMKG555Write persuasive copy
BSBPEF501Manage personal and professional development
BSBPMG430Undertake project work
BSBPRC402Negotiate contracts
BSBTEC501Develop and implement an e-commerce strategy
BSBTWK401Build and maintain business relationships
BSBWHS512Contribute to managing work-related psychological health and safety
BSBWHS521Ensure a safe workplace for a work area
BSBWRT411Write complex documents
CUAACD522Work with photomedia in creative practice
CUAACD532Create observational drawings
CUAACD533Select and refine a specialised drawing technique
CUAACD534Research and apply light and colour
CUAACD536Refine 2-D design ideas and processes
CUAACD537Refine 3-D design ideas and processes
CUAANM513Design specifications for animation and digital visual effects
CUACMP511Manage copyright arrangements
CUADES412Interpret and respond to a design brief
CUADES511Implement design solutions
CUADES512Establish, negotiate and refine a design brief
CUADIG304Create visual design components
CUADIG401Author interactive media
CUADIG413Create user interfaces
CUADIG511Coordinate testing of interactive media products
CUADIG512Design digital applications
CUADIG513Design e-learning resources
CUADIG516Design interactions
CUADIG517Design digital simulations
CUADIG519Investigate technologies for the creation of digital art
CUAFIM511Source funding for projects
CUAILL401Develop and refine illustrative work
CUAILL511Develop professional illustrations
CUAILL512Refine illustration techniques
CUAIND411Extend expertise in specialist creative fields
CUAIND412Provide freelance services
CUAIND512Enhance professional practice using creative arts industry knowledge
CUAMWB401Develop and implement own self-care plan in the creative industries
CUAMWB402Manage feedback on creative practice
CUAMWB403Prepare to work with confronting material and processes in the creative industries
CUAPHI523Employ colour management in a digital imaging workplace
CUAPHI524Prepare digital images for pre-press processing
CUAPHI531Apply visual communication theory to photo imaging practice
CUAPOS412Manage media assets
CUAPPR408Integrate disability access and inclusion
CUAPPR511Realise a body of creative work
CUAPPR512Develop sustainability of own professional practice
CUAPPR514Establish and maintain environmentally sustainable creative practice
CUASOU304Prepare audio assets
FNSORG501Develop and manage a budget
ICPPRN3840Set up and produce basic digital print
ICPPRN4960Set up and produce complex digital print (has prerequisites)
ICPPRP422Digitise complex images for reproduction
ICPPRP4300Manage colour
ICPPRP4350Generate complex imposition
ICPPRP4840Set up and operate automated workflow
ICTWEB513Build dynamic websites
training.gov.au national register, CUA50725 release 1
Get Course maps CUA50725 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 2324) 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: NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; register training.gov.au, synced 10 September 2026; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; register synced 18 Sept 2026. Page last updated 19 Sept 2026.
About this page. Every number on this page shows its source and date. Register data synced 18 Sept 2026 from training.gov.au. Compiled by Get Course from public data sources. It is not provided or endorsed by any training organisation, and nothing here is advice about your individual situation. Statistics describe groups; your result depends on you. If you represent a training organisation and want to correct or add to this page, contact hello@getcourse.com.au.