HLT51020 is the nationally recognised Diploma of Emergency Health Care. It prepares you for work as an ambulance officer. It has been the current version on the national register since 2020, when it replaced HLT51015. Employers posted about 52 ambulance officer jobs in June 2026, down 1.3% on a year earlier.
The independent signals behind the Diploma of Emergency Health Care line up. Ambulance officers are in national shortage, employment is projected to grow through 2035 and enrolments are rising. These are official statistics, not a promise about your result.
Job ads for ambulance officers are holding steady. About 52 ambulance officer jobs were advertised online in June 2026, down 1.3% on a year earlier. Over the last 12 months there were about 600 job ads, while 3,490 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 ambulance officers and intensive care ambulance paramedics as in shortage. The 2025 Occupation Shortage List rates Ambulance Officer and Intensive Care Ambulance Paramedic as in national shortage.
Ambulance officer jobs are projected to keep growing strongly. Jobs and Skills Australia projections put these occupations at 28,154 workers in May 2025, 31,283 by May 2030 (up 11.1%) and 34,529 by May 2035 (up 22.6%).
Results for Diploma of Emergency Health Care graduates are mixed against other Diplomas. In the 2025 NCVER Student Outcomes survey, 94.7% were employed or in further study after training. The typical Diploma result is 92%, across 34 qualifications. Median income after training was $69,100, against $63,250 typical. 74.8% were satisfied with the training, against 89% typical. Income here is the survey median about six months after training. It includes part-time work, so it is not the full-time award rate.
Enrolments in the Diploma of Emergency Health Care are growing. Across Australia, 3,285 people enrolled in 2024. In 2025 it was 3,490, up 6.2% in a year. National data for HLT51020 starts in 2021.
The register and the national framework set some of this. Providers set the rest.
State funding for HLT51020 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 HLT51020 to its occupations using the register’s own outcome wording, shown with ANZSCO codes (here, 4111) 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 Diplomas 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 2025 collection; NCVER Student Outcomes survey 2025 survey; Occupation Shortage List 2025 assessment; employment projections May 2025 to May 2035 release; register training.gov.au, synced 29 August 2026; register synced 29 Aug 2026. Page last updated 30 Aug 2026.