A nationally recognised qualification on the National Register of vocational education and training. This page answers the questions that actually decide whether it is worth your time and money: is the work there, what happens to people who finish, who pays, and who you could study it with. Every figure carries its source and date.
Often searched as Cert 3 in Health Services Assistance. It prepares people for work as hospital orderly.
This is the current version of the qualification on the national register. It replaced HLT32512, whose currency ended on 4 August 2015.
The signals behind this qualification are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Specifically: employment in its occupations is projected to grow through 2035 and the official shortage list does not rate its occupations in shortage. These are official statistics, not a promise about any individual's result.
Live courses on Get Course run about 52 weeks of delivery. Plan for at least 80 hours of work placement.
Three official signals crossed: live job advertisements, the national training pipeline, and government employment projections.
Employers are advertising more of these roles than a year ago. Across Hospital Orderly, about 1,840 jobs were advertised online in May 2026 (up 27% on a year earlier). Roughly 20,037 openings were advertised over the last 12 months, while 17,525 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.
Enrolments in this qualification are steady. National enrolments moved from 17,340 in 2023, to 17,525 in 2024 (up 1.1%).
Employment in these occupations is projected to keep growing strongly. Government projections put them at 115,000 workers in May 2025, 130,900 by May 2030 (up 13.8%) and 143,400 by May 2035 (up 24.7%).
Outcomes for this specific qualification, each anchored against what is typical at the same qualification level nationally.
Outcomes for this qualification run below what is typical for a Certificate III. In the latest national outcomes survey (2025), 82.9% were employed or in further study after training, against a Certificate III median of 88% across 105 qualifications. Median income after training was $46,600, compared with $54,000 typical at this level. 91.5% were satisfied with the training, against 90.6% typical.
The three wallets: a subsidised seat, paying full fee, and the time commitment that decides whether you can keep working.
Subsidy programs change and have eligibility rules. The official listing linked above is the source of truth; no dollar amounts are shown here because they vary by person and provider.
Fees for unsubsidised places are set by each training provider and vary widely. Provider pricing, intakes and payment options live on the individual course pages linked below, never on this page.
Live courses for this qualification on Get Course run about 52 weeks of delivery, depending on provider and study mode. The register requires at least 80 hours of work placement to complete this qualification. That placement is the fixed time commitment to plan around; study hours beyond it depend on the provider and study mode you choose.
The crossing no single dataset can give you: official shortage status, subsidy availability and training demand, read together.
The signals behind this qualification are mixed, and both sides are worth weighing. Specifically: employment in its occupations is projected to grow through 2035 and the official shortage list does not rate its occupations in shortage. These are official statistics, not a promise about any individual's result.
None of the occupations this qualification leads to is rated as in shortage on the official list. In the 2025 Occupation Shortage List assessment, Hospital Orderly, Nursing Support Worker, Personal Care Assistant and Therapy Aide are rated not in shortage.
Approval to deliver is a regulatory fact, not a recommendation. Start with who is approved, then compare actual courses.
The five questions people actually ring up and ask, answered only where official data backs the answer.