HLT31020 is the nationally recognised Certificate III in Ambulance Communications (Call-taking). It prepares you for work as a radio despatcher. It has been the current version on the national register since 2020, when it replaced HLT31015. Employers posted about 264 radio despatcher jobs in June 2026, down 5.8% on a year earlier.
The long-term signals behind the Certificate III in Ambulance Communications (Call-taking) are positive, though current job advertising is below a year earlier. Radio despatchers are in national shortage, employment is projected to grow through 2035 and enrolments are rising. Job ads in June 2026 were down 5.8% on a year earlier. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Employers are posting fewer radio despatcher jobs than a year ago. About 264 radio despatcher jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 5.8% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 3,300 job ads, while 685 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 clinical coders as in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Clinical Coder as in national shortage; Production Assistant (Film, Television, Radio or Stage), Proof Reader, Radio Despatcher, Facilities Administrator and Clerical and Administrative Workers nec as not in shortage.
Radio despatcher jobs are projected to grow. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 21,864 workers in May 2025, 22,751 by May 2030 (up 4.1%) and 24,176 by May 2035 (up 10.6%).
More people are choosing the Certificate III in Ambulance Communications (Call-taking) every year. Across Australia, 500 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 685, up 37% in a year. National data for HLT31020 starts in 2021.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for HLT31020 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 HLT31020 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 5999) 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: register training.gov.au, synced 29 August 2026; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; NCVER Total VET Activity 2025 collection; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; Jobs and Skills Australia Internet Vacancy Index latest month June 2026; register synced 29 Aug 2026. Page last updated 30 Aug 2026.